On Children’s Day, students were joyously greeting everyone and I too was greeted. But these greetings concealed teases — the ones that meant I still looked like a small child.
I’m a class XII student, short, lean, with a child-like appearance. The trouble is that people have made up their minds on how a child ought to look at different stages. So when I’m being introduced to someone, they say,“You don’t look like you’re studying in class XII. Do you eat properly? Nobody will believe you are an adolescent.”
When will people begin to respect a person’s character and their talent rather than their physique? I accept that my physical growth is stunted and I don’t eat properly. Just because I don’t look how I’m supposed to doesn’t mean I can’t accomplish anything. I’m a talented, creative person, good at writing poems and an artist, who produces unique ideas. I had contributed articles to a Tamil magazine. Yet I don’t get the due respect because of my build.
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From a young age, I was warned by my mom that people will respect only one’s physical appearance. But I was convinced that talent played a pivotal role. I have been proved wrong. There are many like me. This develops an inferiority complex in us and we shy away from people. Don’t push people down because of their height and weight. This might be a silly topic to rant about, but it holds water.
The writer is a student of class XII, Alpha MHSS Sembakkam