Courage
and Patience Reinforces Tenacity
“I believe that you can; of course, you can,” the teacher muttered reflexively as she looked deep into his
eyes that mirrored the very depths of the ocean.
Yes, he is the true epitome of
clarity, firmness and perfection. He confronts all challenges with his
perseverance. Rohit always maintains his scores in academics. In Grade-IX too,
he proved himself by earning the best scorer record. His journey was not at all a bed of roses. He treats ‘Patience’ as the companion of his
wisdom and ‘Courage’ as the weapon to endure every situation.
As we
know, our classroom is a miniature society, where we deal with many different
minds and mindsets. Some are bold, some shy, or courageous while some are
timid. His peers leave no stone unturned to comment on him but he always
handles those tactfully, by turning deaf ears. Moreover, punctuality is an
indispensable trait of Rohit. It is a foundation, not an embellishment for him.
It was time for selecting
students to the student council. After a great deal of scrutiny, the names were
forwarded. At the same time, there was a great deal of speculation among the
students. “Rohit’s name will be forwarded, undoubtedly,”
Riya said to her friend, Swapna, who sat beside her.
“Of course, he is the favourite of
all,” Swapna responded meaningfully, glancing at Rohit.
The teacher could foresee the
reactions of the other children present in the class. As usual, Rohit was indifferent
to all those remarks.
Persistently Rohit cleared all
the levels of testing as he inched closer to becoming a member of the student council. However, in what seemed to be a bolt from the blue, he did not make it in the final selection.
Predictably, no heartbreaks or overwhelming articulation of emotions came from Rohit. He seemed stoical in dealing with an adverse situation.
“Rohit, how do you feel about this
result?” the teacher asked, perplexed at the youngster's calm and composed demeanour despite the defeat.
“Its fine, Ma’am! ... I am okay with
everything. It’s all a part of life.” It was indeed a courageous answer from a school-goer like Rohit. He showed true mastery over his emotions as he had realised that despite his talent he lacked the power of charming others through the use of captivating words. This wisdom was beyond his years and can rarely be seen in the children of his generation. For him, success was not final, failure was not fatal; what mattered was the patience to continue.
During the Investiture
Ceremony, the teacher witnessed the peak of his acceptance when he was assigned
the role of an anchor. He worked tirelessly to write the script and he was on his
toes to follow instructions. Once again he seized the attention of the audience and
the guests. Being one of the most deserving candidates of the student council,
he was neither sceptical about his actual role in school nor felt any regret over that event. Importantly, he did not grudge the success of his peers as they were called to the podium and felicitated - an honour that he had certainly coveted. Looking at his set countenance, the teacher saw his patient acceptance, without bitterness, confident in his conviction that its fruit will be sweet for him one day.
Courage and patience are two fundamental
attributes to achieve success. Both are complementary to each other. Courage
does not mean being physically strong. As we
have seen in the case of Rohit, courage means examining the situations or resources
patiently and acting to rightfully achieve the goal. Sometimes, it is
necessary to overcome our fears by taking risks to achieve success and careful
examination of the situation will certainly gather the courage for the same.
Harmony @ Billabong High International School, Thane
- Abira Chakraborty, Pooja Khona, Bhumika Ailsinghani, Rajshri Rane, Soniya Kuril, Poonam Choudhary, Kavita Shetty