There are a lot of Hollywood moviesbased on high school life. And why high school ? Because a teenager's life has spice and everything nice. If you observe carefully , your class might resemble a stereotype high school movie.
Any classroom essentially consists of these basic characters. The bully or the dada of the class — his wish is everyone's command and he is the unquestioned herder of the flock of clueless, naïve sheep; the class jester — gets ridiculed for apparently no reason and he has no say in it; the nerd— spends sleepless countless hours on cracking math problems, (He has no materialistic desires in life. He lives and breathes the spirit of education. Probably, possessed by the spirit of Aryabhatta.); the dude of the class who is always surrounded by people.
And then you. You seem to fall in none of these categories. You seem to be the spectator.
No stereotyping
For all that you know, your class story might share the same story as that of a box office hit. But is it the same? In reality, each one of these characters has emotions.
The bully might have had marring experiences in his past. He would have once been picked upon, which might have developed an inferiority complex and thus dominating over a timid crowd might actually give him a confidence boost. The class jester, who is always the laughing stock and object of mockery, might actually mean nothing funny. For all that you know , he might actually want to communicate something serious.
The nerds bonded to the pen and calculator might have some long term goals that they are driven to achieve or for the love of the subject. The so called ‘dude' of the class, who is supposed to have a very high ‘cool' quotient, might actually not enjoy always being surrounded by people. He might actually want to enjoy some peace and solitude for once.
So never bar or limit people, by framing them within an identity of your opinion. Do not fence them and mark their territory, because when you do so, people get scared to try something new or something out of their league as it is not what others expect of them. Afraid of ridicule and gossip, they stick to the title given to them.
Do not let the society tell you who you are. You build your personality and identity, don't let others mould it. Take a brazen step to do what you desire. Live life for yourself , not the one tailored by others. As Shakespeare once said,' “A rose called by any other name , smells as sweet.”.
Roshni Murali, I Year , B.Tech, SSN College of Engineering.
