Teens
The E-Word
Back to my early teens the one memory that stands out is that of exams. My early teens ( as I guess is every one's) was an unending series of exams. If you asked me then I would have said that "exam" was the most horrible four letter word you could find. The others couldn't even come close. There were exams to finish my school and exams to get into another. Exams to get into an interview and exams after clearing the interview. There were even exams to prepare you for the exams. My worst nightmare was that one day I might be forced to give an exam for appearing in an exam. Thank goodness no one except me thought of that or may be only people with specially gifted brains like me can think of such brilliant stuff. Its another thing that my Mom thinks it was "gifted" to me because no one else will have it. But again. what do Moms know about such things?
Come exams and with them came a host of other unasked for attachments. Buy exams and you get these free. With the e-mergence of e-xams my e-motions get e-xtraordinarily e-responsible and respond to e-very distraction (attraction?) in sight till I get e-nraged. With years of relentless research I have arrived at the following conclusions( yes I found the topic interesting enough to write a thesis on. Pity the education board didn't agree).
Your relatives, even the ones you didn't know you had, have a infallible sensor when it comes to your exams. They will descend on you in hordes to wish their "dear little child" best of luck, thereby blowing to shots your pretences at studies. The most dangerous of this species are the retired teachers. They are in an unstinting effort to prove their worth and try all their experiments on you.
The television networks dig up all their best stuff (yes some of them are actually viewable) and decide to telecast it on the eve of your exams. And they keep on telling you about it till you are tempted and mind wavers between bulky books and lovely programs. Oh what is the heart to do in such a circumstance. My true sympathies with Adam. I know he felt in the garden of Paradise.
Your creative urges are at their most sensitive. You stare at a column of financial figures and your heart sings songs of how woeful it is to be locked up on such a lovely day. You study a diagram of the heart and verses of love just flow through your heart. You try to make sense of Shakespeare and your mind wonders how Hamlet would sound sung by Britnney Spears. After all you can't dictate to a creative mind. You have to allow for such vagaries of a creative bent of feelings.
And then to mothers. Those lovable creatures who's constant endeavor is to step on your toes. They will offer to stay up with you late in the night when you are "studying" making endless cups of tea. They will promise to let you "study in peace" just asking every ten minutes if you need tea and every fifteen minutes if you need any help and every other minute how the others in the neighborhood are faring. Yes they let you study in peace, Now if only my mother would understand all I want to do is stare in peace.
Come exams and the person you have been having a crush on for a long time will call you up and ask you out for a date, He or she will claim that they were too shy earlier to voice their feelings and has had a mad crush on you for long. You heart rises in ecstasy but the little voice in your mind says you really have to forgo this date and keep the one with your books however unromantic it sounds. Oh the cruelties of fate!
Exams are up next week and I can hear the door bell ringing Yeah just as I thought so. The phone rings too and I am sure its either my relatives or a friend or that cute guy down the street. I wonder if he noticed me. The story begins again.
19-Apr-2001
More by :
Smitha Chakravarthula
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