What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person.
5th December: The day that I will never forget. It was the day I got selected for the inter-school athletics and I was on the top of the mountain. But at 10pm my mom got a call from my grandmother saying "come to the hospital as soon as you can" and she hung up. My mother was in shock and wanted to recall what just happened but without wasting any minute we left for the hospital. We saw our grandmother sitting in the waiting room, with her neighbors who had helped her to the hospital, she started crying as she spoke "dad just had a heart attack". My mom fell on the seat on hearing this. My grandfather was 85 then and just had a surgery 2 years ago. It was 2 in the morning when the doctor came out of the emergency room and told us "he is out of danger, he is a fighter", those words brought me more joy than anything that ever had. As we were in a joy our neighbor said "it is because of the good wishes your grandmother got by helping the poor". That was the first time I encountered the power of well wishes, her words were stitched to my brain.
Coming from a Sikh family I have always been taught to respect and care for others. I got most of my values from my grandmother as she visits the temple regularly at 5 in the morning. Not only does she visit the temple, she is also the kindest person I have ever come across in my life. She is always there to help the poor and underprivileged and its effect was clearly visible. This incidence inspired me to help others in my life. In the light of this idea I started volunteering at the NGO's. I not only taught the children basics of Computer Applications and English but also conducted computer graded test and gave them hands on experience. In all the assessments, one kid stood out. He scored perfect every time. Even in the classes he was the most attentive consistently. Wanting to help him further, I talked to the staff of the center about getting him admitted to a regular school. Since doing so was outside the mandate of the NGO, I persuaded them to let me take the responsibility of educating him and worked out the modalities.
I got him admitted into the school where my mother is a teacher under the government's Right to Education program where children from economically weaker section are taught for free. I used my savings and borrowed some money from my parents to buy him a school bag, uniform and books.
Today, he is in the seventh grade, doing well in his studies and dreaming of a meaningful life ahead. From him, I have learned that if a drug addict can change this much, so can almost anyone. Ways need to be found and efforts need to be made. Since the entire process has been personally fulfilling I am sure that I am going to be taking my opportunities for similar contributions, hopefully at a much larger scale, all through my life.
An incident inspired me to help others
5th December: The day that I will never forget. It was the day I got selected for the inter-school athletics and I was on the top of the mountain. But at 10pm my mom got a call from my grandmother saying "come to the hospital as soon as you can" and she hung up. My mother was in shock and wanted to recall what just happened but without wasting any minute we left for the hospital. We saw our grandmother sitting in the waiting room, with her neighbors who had helped her to the hospital, she started crying as she spoke "dad just had a heart attack". My mom fell on the seat on hearing this. My grandfather was 85 then and just had a surgery 2 years ago. It was 2 in the morning when the doctor came out of the emergency room and told us "he is out of danger, he is a fighter", those words brought me more joy than anything that ever had. As we were in a joy our neighbor said "it is because of the good wishes your grandmother got by helping the poor". That was the first time I encountered the power of well wishes, her words were stitched to my brain.
Coming from a Sikh family I have always been taught to respect and care for others. I got most of my values from my grandmother as she visits the temple regularly at 5 in the morning. Not only does she visit the temple, she is also the kindest person I have ever come across in my life. She is always there to help the poor and underprivileged and its effect was clearly visible. This incidence inspired me to help others in my life. In the light of this idea I started volunteering at the NGO's. I not only taught the children basics of Computer Applications and English but also conducted computer graded test and gave them hands on experience. In all the assessments, one kid stood out. He scored perfect every time. Even in the classes he was the most attentive consistently. Wanting to help him further, I talked to the staff of the center about getting him admitted to a regular school. Since doing so was outside the mandate of the NGO, I persuaded them to let me take the responsibility of educating him and worked out the modalities.
I got him admitted into the school where my mother is a teacher under the government's Right to Education program where children from economically weaker section are taught for free. I used my savings and borrowed some money from my parents to buy him a school bag, uniform and books.
Today, he is in the seventh grade, doing well in his studies and dreaming of a meaningful life ahead. From him, I have learned that if a drug addict can change this much, so can almost anyone. Ways need to be found and efforts need to be made. Since the entire process has been personally fulfilling I am sure that I am going to be taking my opportunities for similar contributions, hopefully at a much larger scale, all through my life.