Play a game
At my age I find it stressful to be up to date with all the information that comes my way both at home and school. I find that playing tennis and watching tennis on TV are excellent ways to relax. Playing cards with the family is also an energiser.
N. Advik, II G, Jawahar Vidyalaya, Chennai
Get rid of tension
According to me tension is something that we are curious and scared about. When I get tense, my hands turn cold. I think then I begin to feel better and I relax. This is my quick solution to situations like getting the exam paper and so on. When I get a scolding, I feel so angry and sad; then to control myself I try to forget it and think about every happy incident that took place that day which works well most of the time.
AABHA AJ, VIII A, K.V., Pattom, Kerala
Find a solution
“Every cloud has a silver lining” believe me, it is true. Whatever happens — good or bad, there is a reason for it. This may seem foolish at the beginning, but when you go deeper into your problem, you find a solution. So, if something difficult blocks the long run of your life just kick it away and say “I don't care”. Never lose patience, your good times are yet to come.
Abhirami S. Rajeev, IX.A, Navdeep Public School, Kollam, Kerala
Think, a little
When I face difficult situations I try not to sit in a corner and weep. Instead I pray, then I think of the proudest moment in my life, a happy moment and then I think about people who are under a lot more stress than me. Automatically I forget my troubles.
JEENA JOHNSON, IX-A, St Mary's Residential Central School, Alappuzha, Kerala
Laugh it off
I choose to let my anger, sadness, depression and my humiliation come out of me in a creative way. If I make a mistake or shout at someone, I think about it and see what I had done wrong and if I was the one to blame I would apologise. Whenever I feel humiliated or embarrassed, I go into my room, pull out a piece of paper and write down all the good things about myself. I look at it and tell myself “I am special”. I laugh along with the people who laugh at me.
Aakansha Chacko , VII, The High Range School, Munnar
Say ‘I can’
To cope with failure I engage myself doing things that I love. Sometimes I read, otherwise I play the piano. When I am really disappointed or sad , I go outside and just SCREAM to get my mind off things. I even study to feel better! Who knew that physics and chemistry could actually help me! One of the best ways to take your mind off things is to spend time with family and friends. Writing also helps me cope with my failure. The most important thing is to never give up or say “I can't”. Get back on your feet and try , try , try again.
Tamanna Elizabeth Chacko, X, The High Range School, Munnar.
Listen to the rain
Waves are my inspiration, not because they fall again and again, but every time they fall, they rise again.
Last year I met with an accident and my limbs were paralysed. It was during the rainy season and I, being a rain lover, would look out for and enjoy the beauty of the rain. The drizzling water drops and the wet green leaves of the tall trees would make me much happy. Nature heals us mentally, I believe. When one is disappointed or distressed, listening to music or doing things one loves will help.
Sai Sindhura Tipirneni , XI, Bhadrachalam Public School, Khammam Dist., Andhra Pradesh
Beat the blues
There are times when I think it’s the worst thing that could ever happen to me and other times when someone or something has caused me discontent and distress can never be forgotten. But the worst of all this was ‘Beating the boarding blues’. It is natural for children to experience homesickness at the beginning of a school term, but for me it became uncontrollable and used to occur frequently. At nights when I went to bed I was miserable with homesickness. I missed everything — home, friends, love... I was a pampered kid and I became pensive. But friends and co-curricular activities helped me battle this. Looking back it wasn’t that I did not like my school: I'd been the one who wanted to board but it was all so different. Now I look back at that time as a character-building experience and I am pleased to have gone through it.
Mirra R., IX, The Lawrence School, Lovedale. Nilgiris
Don’t lose heart
When we fail or get less marks in a subject in which we hoped to get good marks we must not get sad or lose confidence. Instead find out where you have gone wrong and work hard to rectify the mistake.
ZAINAB WAFA RASHEED, X, Mary Nilayam English Medium School.
Another chance
Whenever I feel low, I remind myself that this is not the end. God will give me more chances to win and I will make it one day! Filling my heart with these thoughts, I listen to music!
G. Siddharth, IX, Shrishti Vidhyashram, Brammapuram, Vellore
Quote for life
I have a book filled with my favourite anecdotes and inspiring quotes. I turn to this book when everything seems to be going wrong and I feel extremely stressed out. These words fill me with hope and inspiration. Everything seems so much more manageable after I do so and I seem to find new ways of looking at things and finding better solutions to problems.
Niveditha.M, XII, D.A.V. Gill Nagar, Chennai
Light after darkness
When I have negative feelings, I stop, freeze time and think for a second. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, remind myself what life is about and convince myself that there is always light after darkness. Then I open my eyes and think about the situation and see if I can do anything about it. If I can, I give it a shot and if I can’t then I tell myself that there is no need to worry. Usually when I do this, I get courage to face the problems and the problem appears small to me.
Swetha Murali, XI, SRV School, Tiruchi
Read a book
When I am tense I read a book and this really calms me down.
Parvathy R. Sekhar, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ottapalam, Palakkad
Gallop away your fears
It was on a scorching May evening that our car pulled into Bikaner, a place right in the Thar Desert. I was grumbling that I had to leave my school in Delhi and live in, what I presumed was a one-horse town. My father told me that I would start horse-riding lessons straightaway so that at least I would have something to look forward to. I baulked at the very idea. Horse- riding indeed! My father and his funny ideas! My father would have none of it. He wouldn’t listen to any excuses and I would go and that was all. I was assigned Maharaja, the tamest of the horses present there. A rather stern looking instructor showed me how to mount the horse and both literally and figuratively took the reins of my life in his hands. I screamed in terror and fell off the horse. No amount of coaxing or admonishing could get me on to Maharaja.
I came home in tears and swore that was the end of my brief affair with riding. My mother told me the story of Helen Keller who achieved a lot despite her disabilities. I coped by reading books on great people with disabilities, like Terry Fox, who ran across Canada with a prosthetic leg. After reading Terry’s story, my fear seemed very silly. I swore that I would overcome my fear and here I am today, galloping away.
Rohini Narayanan, VII, Sanskriti School, New Delhi
Easy solutions
I worry that my teacher will shout at me if I do not take the books correctly. So, I have made it a habit to check twice that I have packed as per the time table.
When I get very angry or irritated, I follow my grandmother’s advice to drink two glasses of water. I also try to figure out if I am hungry and if this is true, I eat soemthing. Many times, I feel my anger goes away along with my hunger.
I feel stressed before the final exams and at such times, I pray and this helps me calm down.
Whenever anything happens that makes me feel very bad, I talk to someone — my mother, father or grandmothers, about it depending on who is there at that time. Also, I try to keep in mind what my mother always tells me when I get upset about something: “For everything, there is always a solution. All you have to do is remember this and think calmly.”
SANATH S., V B,
S. Cadambi Vidya Kendra English Secondary School, Basaveshwarnagar, Bangalore
Share your troubles
When I get sad or am disappointed I speak to someone close to me. If I cannot share my sorrow with someone then I write my diary. When I study for a long time I get stressed .Then I do something that I enjoy so that I can relax. .I like to paint, write stories, listen to music and watch television.
Shreyank S. Kotian, X C, Milagres P.U. College, Mangalore
Swim through
I got selected for a swimming tournament in my middle school. I had only basic swimming skills. When I reached the tournament site, I was shocked to see the big swimming pool. As feared, I lost. I was disheartened. I lost confidence, was scared to face my friends and the teachers who had trusted me. After a brief mourning, I recovered and decided that I must not lose hope. I asked my parents to send me for swimming coaching classes and requested my teachers to give me another chance. With perseverance and intense training, I took part in the next tournament and won. Hence I attribute my victory to my positive approach towards failure and ‘never-say-die’ attitude.
Sanjana R.P., VIII A, Bishop Cotton Girls School, Bangalore
Talk about it
When I feel stressed, I talk to my mom. I feel better and he gives me tips on how to cope and solve the problem. The same way when I face failures, though I feel disappointed, I remind myself that one cannot always be victorious and failures are indeed stepping stones to success. I try to reason out where I’ve gone wrong and rectify those flaws. Instead of thinking about the failure if we analyse why we have not been successful we can improve ourselves.
G. Parvathy, X, Vana vani M.H.S.S, Chennai
Face it
Sorrow, loss, grief, failure, disappointment… are a part of our lives. If we do not accept them, we cannot cope with our emotions and they occupy our thoughts to a great extent. As a result, we cannot do anything else. We should have the guts, the confidence to face these obstacles.
ABHINAV ROY, IX, K.V. Ballygunge, Kolkata
