Are Obstacles Meant to Avoid?

This will be the last year I teach. I am retiring this year. It’s been a wonderful 35 years, and at the age of 63, everything becomes harder — standing for a long time, seeing things, and sometimes even remembering things. But I love this job. It is not always boring. It’s like a loop, teaching the same things over and over, but there will always be a kid who makes it interesting by bringing in new problems.

We teachers act like we get mad, but those are the moments you remember most, and I am going to miss them all. But lately, everything has been kind of dull. My classes are less energetic, and even the problem child has been absent for a long time. I can’t help but think it’s my fault — maybe I’m doing something wrong.

I heard he had been in an accident, but this kid was just skipping school. Hohoho! He is in a lot of trouble. I was worried sick for him, but there he was, playing near the school. He ran immediately when he saw me. I asked his friend what was going on, and after I heard the story, I understood that not everything we see is the truth.

The kid had injured his foot in the accident and recovered quickly, but on his way back to school, he couldn’t climb the inclined road with his bicycle, which is on the way to school. His friend said he feels like he lost his energy in the accident. To gain it back, he comes to the slope and tries to climb up every day. He tries to go up but fails and falls down.

After his parents and I talked to him, he agreed to come to school. But every day, he brings his bicycle, tries to climb up, falls down several times, and then walks to school with scratches all over his legs. After school, he walks back home. He stays silent in class as if he lost something important to him.

Everyone tried to cheer him up. Many told him to take the easy route; some told him to forget about it; some even told him to leave his bicycle. But he kept on trying to climb up the slope. So, I was curious and asked him why he was obsessed with that route and why he couldn’t wait until the injury healed completely.

He told me, “Climbing that slope makes me feel stronger. I forget everything while I do it. It feels like anything is possible. My fear disappears after I climb that slope, and it gives me energy for the day. But more importantly, when I leave school and go down the slope, I feel free. I feel like I earned it.”

I was amused and shocked to hear those words from a kid, and I felt envious of him. It was admirable how he walked back and never gave up. He tried for a few more days, and one day, that kid broke his shackles of sadness and went home freely. He brought back his energy — and new problems — to our class.

I am proud that he didn’t listen to others or choose another path, or forget about it, or leave his bicycle. I am happy that he is this cheerful — even though he disturbs the entire class, he makes everyone cheerful again. Sometimes even kids teach us things. Today, I learned not to give in to weakness. Maybe I can go one more year before I retire. Sixty-four is not that old, is it?

Written by

Arjun Sahasya

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Originally published Medium.