The Twist of Fate That Made Me Happy
by Dev Kapur
(Pondicherry, India)
Dev
The final year of school is very important because your scores determine the college you will get into. I was in the final year and my subjects were Physics, Chemistry, Math and Biology. I had a life-long dream of becoming a scientist.
I thought nothing would make me happier than to gaze at stars all day long and learn more for the benefit of the whole of humanity. My grades so far had been great and I had high hopes. But destiny had planned something else for me…
As my exams started, I started getting a really bad case of stomach flu, throwing up, cramping and other debilitating symptoms. I was diagnosed with some viral fever. I had terrible fever and was unable to prepare for my exams because my headaches were so bad I could not even open my eyes for days.
I decided to go take the exams regardless. I was determined to do my best. During the exams, I had to be seated in a different room to keep other students from becoming ill, and needed frequent breaks to visit the restroom. That ate into my time allotted for exams. The only papers I managed to complete reasonably well were my language papers.
Two weeks later when my results came, I discovered that I had passed but not with the superb marks I had hoped for and needed to get into science. I scored above 90% only in my language papers.
I felt that all my happiness had gone out of the window. My dreams were shattered when I realized I could no longer be a scientist. I kept on thinking... What would I do with my life?
I imagine the whole world would laugh at me and ridicule me. I was filled with self-doubts. I had insomnia. I was depressed.
I turned to my parents for support. As always, they were there for me. They made me see how this was not the end of the world. I could still get into a good college and study English or Hindi.
Or I could wait a year and write an improvement exam. They made me see I had choices and was not trapped. No matter what I chose, they would be there for me. They believed in me, and that made me feel valued and I started feeling happier as the days went by.
After a few days, I realized that I had always been good at the arts subjects and humanities and enjoyed writing. Doing a Bachelor’s Degree in English would actually be ideal for me.
I could at last see a future for myself, thanks to my parents’ support. I entered college taking English as my main subject. It was the best decision of my life.
I'm in fourth semester now and enjoying every bit of it. I learned that sometimes fate can have a twist that points us in a different direction, and even when things don't make sense, the important thing is to be happy with the opportunities we get in life. As long as we are alive, at least we have a choice.
