I had been a mediocre student all my life, securing a rank after the top ten of my class. After high school, I took WBJEE and with a predictably low rank got chance to study in one of the best private engineering colleges in Kolkata, however in a less sought-after course, for obvious reasons. I flunked one subject in the first semester followed by another in the second. I do not know or possibly do not remember why that was still not alarming me. Probably, I had taken my parents’ support and understanding for granted or maybe I had already given up. I called up my father to tell him that I got a backlog in Computer Science. For the very first time, I did not hear motivation or support in his voice. In a significantly low pitched voice, he said, ‘Please pull up your socks now. If you continue with such a result at the end of every semester, you’ll be doomed. Totally doomed’ and then he hung up the call. These words ring like an alarm clock even today. Next semester onward, I started paying attention to every class, taking tests, getting my doubts cleared and solving previous years’ question papers. I set small achievable targets before every unit test or examination. I could gradually surpass each classmate and achieve my targets. Once this gained momentum, there was no looking back. By the end of my fourth year, I worked my way to the top and was awarded a gold medal for being a star performer in my class.
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