School, by the firsts

Ah, school. A place that has made memories that we carry into our lives. Some of which we would like to forget. Either way, here are some of my memories, some of which are even people I spoke to.

First day in school

Being so young, I barely remember what it was like on my very first day. My only memories of school were being in my own world, keeping quiet to myself, and speaking only a few words to anybody. However, I was quite a bright kid for my age. I was also quite rebellious. I vividly remember barging in during dance practices, and even bringing toys to school (which was against policy).

My cousin sister Lipi shared that she only remembers her first day crying her eyes out.

First time I was on stage

I remember this fondly. It was an all-girls performance and we were wearing white frocks with red spots. I don’t have a picture for that though, it exists only in my memory. We were in the makeup room getting dressed. As I write, I have vivid images of the teachers putting my lipstick on. I was perhaps too excited, looking forward to getting on stage and dancing in front of my parents for the first time. Since then, I have participated on the big stage almost every year at school, be it dancing, games, or any other cultural event.

First field trip

Like a lot of things, my memory of this is very vague. It was first grade. We had gone to a local park in Bangalore for a picnic. One of the few things I remember is constantly straying away from the group for my own curiosity. I got a good scolding for that. There was also lots of dancing and music for us, as well as games like passing the parcel. Another such memory was sitting on the grass in the sunshine, shortly before we left to go back. Interestingly, guys were paired with girls as field trip buddies.

First time I won something

In second grade, we had a group dance competition. The theme was festivals across India. Much like my first time on stage, this was an all-girls performance. We spent our class hours rehearsing the dance. Me and the girls had worked really hard. I remember seeing a lot of great performances that day. There was a Christmas-themed performance, and a Diwali-themed one. Ours was around Pongal. I don’t remember the song we performed on, but sure enough, we killed it. And we won first position in the event. I remember wearing my red saree while performing. Now that was quite a challenge.

First time I failed

It was ninth grade. For a long time, I was always seen as an intelligent student by my family members and teachers. My test scores had fallen, and all of a sudden, I was hit with the reality that I wasn’t as bright a student as I thought I was, or so I thought. I hadn’t quite failed on paper, I had barely passed. But that was enough to get a meltdown out of me. Since then, I have always had a fear of failing, and even worse, failing to meet expectations of others. That has neither changed, nor diminished. They say failure is a part of life, but some people like me are still learning to handle it.

First experience of a graduation

Fast forward to 10th grade. After a lot of ups and downs, I was finally moving to the next stage of life: my higher secondary education. The biggest task was looking for a suitable saree. My friends and I planned to wear the colours of our Hogwarts houses (I’m a Hufflepuff. Any Harry Potter fans out there?). So, I picked a yellow saree after much hunting. All of us were gushing over each other and how we looked.

I still remember the songs our juniors and seniors performed on, “See you Again” by Charlie Puth, “Hall of Fame” by The Script and will.i.am, just to name a few.

Little did I know, things would change after that. We shifted to Chennai for my higher secondary, and I’ve stayed there ever since.

First time I was proud of myself

There were many moments like this. But a moment imprinted in me was second grade. It was getting the results of my English test. I had gone through the test confidently. I remember bragging to my mom and dad how I answered all questions with ease. Fast forward to result day, and I got an ‘A+’ on my test. The cherry on the cake was a remark saying ‘Great going!’. I then began dancing around the classroom in happiness. My teacher even gave me a kiss to appreciate my performance.

All these firsts have shaped me to become the person who I am today. And I am somewhere still that girl from her school days.