Dear 11th cohort fellows,
Transitioning from grade 10 to 11 and adjusting in a private school of Kathmandu can be overwhelming, but I’m sure my experiences here would be helpful for you to feel motivated. My high school memories are something that will never fade away and whenever I have a little glimpse of them, it brings tremendous happiness to my life encouraging me to cherish and adore every part of it.
My grade 11 classes started on August 16, 2020. The country was under lockdown, so all the colleges were running their classes virtually and so was mine. During that time, I was in my village and due to internet issues, I couldn’t participate in it as much as I wanted to. I was even confused about my classroom schedule, so it was very tough and challenging for me in the initial classes. Moreover, I was unable to comprehend the courses because of the same reason.
When I came to Kathmandu after having 2 months of online classes, it was the beginning of something new. It was the period when I had to stay in a new hostel, a completely unfamiliar place where everyone was new to me; it was entirely a new world for me. I knew that it would be challenging for me to adjust in a city and to learn the modern ways. When I reached here, I was not even sure about how to get to the hostel. Luckily, Samaanta seniors were there to help, so I called one of the seniors, Navindra dai to help me with the location. When my classes started in-person, I was quite overwhelmed on one hand but on the other, I was very nervous because I completed my 10 years of schooling from a government school where we were taught everything in Nepali but the college I was going to be part of was a private English-medium college. However, all my stress gradually faded away when we had our orientation class before starting the in-person classes. I got to know about the rules, policies of the college, students’ duties, history of the college and many more in just a few hours. When I saw other students just like me from different schools and places, I thought we are all in the same boat now and I’m not the only one going through this change. The orientation class pushed me to work harder and made me more confident. Even a small thing like receiving the class routine was helping me. It made me feel responsible and accepted.
Since childhood, my favorite sport has invariably been cricket. I used to play cricket a lot and I have even won a lot of matches before. But once I came to Kathmandu, I didn’t get such an opportunity for a long time to participate in any cricket tournament. One day when I came to know about the cricket tournament which was going to be held in the college, I was very happy and nominated myself for the team. Dear 11th cohort fellows, please understand that studying and also engaging yourselves in something creative is equally important. You need to find extracurricular activities in college that motivates you. These 2 years of high school are really precious and exciting, so do utilize it at the fullest.
Almost all my high school experiences that I have gathered so far are very significant and memorable for me. Even that particular day when I was late for class due to traffic jam. I wasn’t feeling good about it and on top of that, the college head wasn’t happy with it and took a disciplinary action. I was embarrassed and angry with that incident, but I think it taught me a big lesson about punctuality.
Lastly, I would like to add that I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 years of high school. During that time period, I made many friends, I never disrespected any teachers, got opportunities to visit new places, learned about my strengths and limitations and more importantly, got a level of clarity for future studies and a career. I always made sure to prepare for my lectures on time and I am sure that following this habit will be useful for you all as well. I will always cherish these amazing 2 years of memories and experiences throughout my life. We recently got farewell from college and it was a mixed feeling to celebrate farewell day. On one hand, we were excited about graduation and on the other hand, we were sad to be separated from our friends and teachers. The whole event was quite emotional for all of us.
I enjoyed my high school days to the fullest and I feel that I have become more confident and fearless in these 2 years. Having said that, please understand that it is important to maintain a balance between your studies and having fun. If we can find that balance, then we can make each moment memorable.
Yours,
Jay kumar Sahani
9th cohort fellow, Samaanta Foundation