THE UNSUNG BRIDGE B/W COLLEGE AND SCHOOL (THE DROP YEAR)

In this Pandemic not only people are losing life, jobs, hopes, but there is one more thing awaiting our attention, a DROP YEAR. Those who are still in Schools, believe me guys, you are the luckiest living being on earth right now because taking a Year Break takes a lot from you and add so much in your mind about life and people.

You, Yes my dear you who are sitting in the study room, having Physics HC Verma and some stickers on Hand Made notes. Can you do me a favor?  Just  lie down on your back, with folding hands behind your head and look at the fan and close your eyes. Now stay like this and imagine… You are in the school class room on your bench, and many of your friends are enjoying the cricket world cup with paper as ball and copy as bat, many Kohli and Jadeja are waiting like eagles to catch the ball, filled with the spirit to catch falling meteorites, with bare hands.  Now The gatekeeper shouts, “Sir is coming, and everything settles down like autumn leaves, fallen on the ground”. Many of you have opened your eyes what happened?

Guys, do you know what happened?

Well, a instructor in the Droppers mind always asks them “Hey focus, don’t you want to crack the IIT-JEE or NEET?”.

Of course, our beloved IIT-JEE and NEET and, The Journey of clearing the Entrance exam is the most frightening Roller coaster ride. Even, if god would try, he would also think, “Did I really make these types of questions?” and he would not be able to clear it because there is age eligibility criteria. Right? For attempting the exam, and believe me god is a pretty old player in this world.

Here is a joke to lighten up the Environment,

 

School Life

Most of the Droppers usually have passed the high school right? Those who have not, you will, if not this year then another, believe me at the end of the Road, it really does not matter when you did. In School life the definition of trouble for us was to wake up in the morning, take a shower, have breakfast and get ready in the same school dress. I am sure most of you think, "If I was allowed to wear informal in school, I would  have been Tom Cruise of that building", and everyone got this chance once a  year, on their birthdays, and on those days, by moving our hand brushing our hair we think that we look like one. But friends that's Shah Rukh Khan who brush his hair with his hand and stretch his arms in the air, not Tom Cruise.😜

Sharing lunch with the class, naming teachers, finding saturation point in labs, using someone else's cover on your copy for checking, bunking class for games period and collecting strength to confess your feeling and picking fights for our friends that's all about school life. And finally day comes, when we write on the t-shirts that we are never going to be apart, stay in touch, your life will be the brightest star. Yes the last day of the school. But then that t-shirt finds a place in some corner of your cupboard and we become the part of the uncountable stars.

 

Our elders often advice us that  “Practice makes a man perfect”, but what they never mention is what to practice for? For the society who always find some flaws in us? or For the life who holds the ups and downs in every next target?

The Journey of Preparation Before Drop Year

I think they mean the preparation, which starts for someone after high school(12^th )  and for some after Senior Secondary(10^th ). For me, it started after 10^th . With good grades, comes Parents' hope. Parents start dreaming and investing in you all their savings, thinking that it will encourage you, but deep within it scares you and small seeds of “What Ifs” start converting into buds, “what if I am not able to do what they think I can and the money……”. Well most of the parents also invest in some coaching center who promises to hold their child's hand and 42000 others' and walk them to the gate of the prestigious colleges of IIT with only few lakhs of token money. Of course, you know they are so generous that they allow us to pay in installments but here is the thing what they did not explain us in their seminars, that the so called IIT has 11,279 seats only, that includes birthright quota seats and its simple math so you know the story better. Now you are wondering what happens to the other children apart from the Photos who have found place in their front line boards? Well back then while seated in the coaching's seminar I thought that may be the wall was too small for so many glories to show off, that might be the reason that all the faces were not on the board.

Well if you are preparing after 10^th  or 8^th, you will observe that it's a lot to balance in a day, school homework, coaching classes studies, both of the homework and question practices and with time most of us loose the pace and the direction that we are really preparing for competitions. We saturate ourselves in this long journey and make ourselves comfortable, but Entrance exam preparation needs focus, great dedication, and all your attention. Giving your hundred percent at one goal and finally the results of it are out. Few homes get lighted with happiness as their hard work pays off , while most of the houses have a eerie silence as their payment of hard work did not reach their accounts.

“If you put your leg on two boat, you will probably sink”

 

 

Realization of the World, who judge you on Grades😔

Well after 12th, when you take up the entrance exam for the first time, you are nervous, some circles if correctly filled will end your all struggle and a great life will welcome you with open arms and seeing all those children at the exam center taking up the same entrance exam as of yours, make you realize, you are the part of a big game. Even when you give test in coaching centers and based on that your classes are decided, gives you the taste of the bitter realization that from now on you will be labeled, based on your performance, in coaching centers, among relatives, among your friends and the most heartbreaking thing, in your parents' eyes also.

We come home and calculate our marks, we know the cut off criteria, console ourselves saying that “As paper was tough, the cut offs might go down”,  but it does not. As result announcement day comes closer and when we know our rank would be displayed soon, we all have this mix emotion of a huge fear and hope. Some of us even don’t get enough sleep prior to these days. Finally amidst all these, the results get published. Now, for some, it becomes a process of filling forms of college according to their rank, along with their parents' happiness, and for others it become a series of torture, giving explanation to relatives.

Students go through a turmoil and the feelings of self-doubt, underestimating own learning, loss of direction, loneliness start building a nest in their soul. Some even change their fields, some apply for private colleges, some go into depression and some start developing bad habits of smoking and drinking, and some Take  the “ DROP YEAR”.

 

  

 

If you ask me, it's hard to define the drop year properly in a single line for students because it varies from person to person. How many year you take, your family culture, background, financial condition, the society you belong to. Each of them makes the drop year's journey different. Some of us again take admission in the promising institution with some special features like only question practice, or weekly classes etc. Some take up the distance learning, study from home and some move to different places like KOTA or DELHI.

Preparation from Home

Those who stay at home and prepare, people and parent start seeing you differently. We ourselves also avoid much public functions and start giving guests appearances. We have the fear of being questioned regarding the preparation and the outcome of it, because deep within we all feel that building hope and positivity again will result into its breakage. We spend most time alone in our studies, or better phrase it as, at least try to study. We start having less conversation with friends who cleared it or took admission in private colleges. This all forms a cocoon around us and with time we become emotionless, we think when once we clear the exam, we will reproduce into a new person in college as no one would be knowing us there. With time, things settle down with people, parents and preparations. Those who stay focus they analyze their performance and they improve it with time, others go into much deeper regret and series of fear.

 

Preparation in Another City

Well those who move apart from home they go to new place, look for a house on rent. In my experience going to a new place really changed me and my mind at some level. You have new surrounding where no one knows you, it's like starting again. Taking admission in new coaching, meeting new people, new method of learning, really motivates in the beginning. We have mess or tiffin for food, some feel home sick and some feel lonely and some miss home food, well all do. Things looks promising there, but other thing that comes with it is independence, freedom, and responsibilities.

  

We have the freedom to study or not, we are independent to choose our surroundings, friends. Now there is no society who knows you and will make you realize to what you should be doing or the parents face who are waiting to end their struggle with yours. So apart from your weekly test results, nothing shows you the mirror of your progress, due to it many children get mislead into wrong peer groups and start bad habits like drinking and smoking.  Many spend their time at their room and do not follow the class routine properly for a whole year. You miss festival celebrations with your family, for some it make them realize the importance of family, for others it's realization of self-living and freedom. At the end of February, you realize exam are near and again try to come back on track but, you already lost it in long run,

    “Preparation is an everyday meal for progress, you miss meal you miss success”

Reattempting for Droppers

Droppers again fill application forms at some shops online and some from home, take train, bus, flight to reach the examination centers one day before along with our parents who stay with us in this whole journey. We really understand the meaning of family when we come outside of the gate after the exam and they are waiting for us under some tree. It multiplies the respect you hold for them in your heart. Droppers when see the center's gate, they know what is going to happen in that building, they understood the system in their previous attempt, they accept themselves and the situation and they match their roll number and go to their allotted rooms and at the exam desk they are more calm as compared to another group of first timers in the hall. Dropping really matures us in very less time in life as a person.

Again result comes, some get admission in college, and some again take the DROP and this journey always go on in loop. But those who take the second drop year even after preparing from a different city get a pinch of the relatives comment, "KOTA jaake v clear nahi hua?"

 

 

What Drop Year Really Concludes?

In my experience, Drop year takes you in an unexpected trip where in the beginning you adjust yourself with life, mind, people and with time you grow and the situations nurtures you as a human. It is our responsibility, what we take out of it or what we choose in the journey, all that matters is your action. Even an eagle when jumps off a cliff, falls before it fly. Just because your journey is different it does not mean you are lost. Life is a journey that has a lot of different paths, but any path you choose, use it as your destiny. So eventually we all become something at the end of the road but yes Drop years takes a lot from you but at the same time it also gives you a lot. You succeed or not that depend on your preparation and your behavior of never giving up, but what really matter is, you do not loose yourself in the journey,

Once you come out of this phase and when things will get settle at their places, and believe me it does settle, and you turn back and see the dots, I am certain you will find something meaningful. No journey, no experience happens without a reason. So learn to trust the journey even though you do not understand it now. It is a journey where it does not matter where you end up. It is all about how you get there, keep your mind open  and you never know what it could be until you do not try it. I would suggest you not to waste an opportunity. Just hang in there and give your best, so that you do not regret at the end or make statements like "Wish I had studied some more", study like you can say proudly later, that it is not your fault, you did everything you can. So just cheer up and think for the next move. It's also a humble request to the society to understand the child's sentiments who are taking up the drop years and support them morally instead of pulling them behind.