Metamorphosis

 Isn’t it strange how quickly time slips by? One moment we open our eyes to a world we barely understand, and the next we are at its edge, wings ready, hearts racing, ready to discover our place in this vast, magnificent ball of wonder.

Standing at the edge, I can’t help but look back at the footprints of the journey that shaped me......my wings, wings that are ready to soar, yet carrying a quiet anxiety for what lies ahead.

Looking back, I can certainly say that one of life’s greatest blessings is being surrounded by the right people. They have the power to lift you up, heal your wounds, guide you, and shape you. More importantly, they lead you towards the right path, a path that fills you with courage and humility.

School and I didn’t exactly start off as best friends. After five years of being the unofficial target of playground politics , it’s safe to say I developed a rather slight phobia of anyone in uniform.

On the bright side, those years also introduced me to a rather persistent companion. The one who makes my hands shake , my palms sweat and my heart sprint without warning .... Anxiety, the uninvited guest who clearly missed the memo about leaving.

It tends to show up right on cue whenever I fear disappointing people ,like a very dedicated alarm system. Who needs Spider-Man’s sixth sense when you have one that alerts you you’ve disappointed someone just by saying hello?

If you think anxiety was my only companion, you’d be mistaken. It arrived with a bonus ..a pair of roommates living rent-free in my head: overthinking and a tendency to stress about everything. We made quite the trio, perfectly complementing each other whether I wanted to or not.

I once believed it wouldn’t really affect my health I couldn’t have been more wrong. The headaches came relentlessly, like tiny reminders I couldn’t ignore, until a doctor advised my parents to find an environment where I could finally breathe without tension and unwanted flashbacks.

Bless my parents, who would move mountains just to see me smile. And so, in ninth grade, I stepped into a new school ... a place I never imagined I’d be, yet one that quietly changed my story.

Ninth and tenth grade passed quietly. I was no longer caught in playground politics, yet I built walls of my own. I kept people at a distance, convinced it was safer ... safer for them, so I wouldn’t become a disappointment, and safer for me if I stayed guarded.

But everything shifted when Plus One began. It gently broke the walls I had built and led me into a vibrant world I had never known ...a world where I discovered something entirely new: kindness, in its purest form, wrapped in empathy, joy, and understanding.

It changed me for the better. For the first time, I found myself surrounded by people whose kindness felt effortless and real. They showed me more warmth than I ever expected, and slowly almost without me noticing , they changed me.

They encouraged me to try new things, stood by me when I was afraid of disappointing them, and understood me without needing many words. In return, I learned something I hadn’t allowed myself to believe in for a long time: I learned to stop being hard on myself , and more importantly, I learned to trust people again.

The flashbacks still visit now and then, but time has softened them. Joining this school marked a quiet beginning, and if anyone carries the most joy from it, it’s my parents relieved to see me finally at peace.

I found my people at last. And yet, there comes a time to let go, because sometimes letting go is the purest expression of love.

So, dear readers , I hope you find your people too and more importantly, that we all try to be the kind of people we wish to have beside us. In a world where kindness can sometimes feel like it’s fading, let’s make the effort to bring it back, because even the smallest warmth can change a life including our own.

As we step into the long journey ahead, may we never forget what truly makes us human..

Thank you.

Leona Biju, XII Humanities 2024-26 Batch