Anand Jeyasingh, Student Counsellor, Career Guidance Cell, Yuvabharathi Public School

Mr. Anand Jeyasingh is a Student Counsellor and the head of the department of Mass Media Studies at Yuvabharathi Public School, Coimbatore. He holds a Master’s Degree in Technology and is an IC3 certified Career and College Counsellor. He has been the Teacher in charge of the school’s Atal Tinkering Lab since 2017 and got featured on the ATL Wall of Fame in September 2020 for his efforts in encouraging students to build a surveillance system. The school’s Career Guidance cell organizes/conducts periodical in-person /virtual information sessions, workshops, edufairs, webinars, in-house sessions and the like to disseminate the information about the diversity of available courses, admissions processes, and scholarship/financial assistance available at various Indian Universities and Universities abroad.

 

Remembering one of those days when I was like 12, I had a dream in which I was standing in the middle of a street where no one was around and it was dark. Far away in a distance, I could sense a hungry Alsatian walking slowly towards me. What do you think I did after that? Yes. I RAN. The very sight of the wolfy dog sent shivers down my spine as I was stuck in a narrow way with nowhere to escape. I tried climbing a dump and then onto a wall and jumped and I was on the floor in my bedroom for real and the dream ended. What a whimsical ending!

Nightmares can create a very unsettling feeling for that moment and an elevated heart rate. What scares you at the moment could be a challenging future, a relative who is intimidating, a friend who is mean or a rival from the workplace or being alone. Sometimes what could scare you is an exam or a competitive atmosphere. Other times it could be what others think or opine about you. Has any of those fears become a nightmare to you?

Do you feel anxious sometimes? And how much listening to music has played a role in bringing your spirits down more than uplifting your mood. Have you ever thought of these things? I hope you are with me when I say some songs can break you to pieces and leave you depressed. How much the internet feels like a friend when you feel left out by your peers and reduces your appetite. How much does it hurt when your parents or a friend says something mean even when they did not intend to. There could be so many things that make us imagine adverse things that could happen and make us stay fearful about it. What are we going to do when no one around understands or even gets to the crux of the fear that you are carrying.

Beware all! What’s there inside of us can be deeper than what you even feel about yourself and around you, which makes it worse for others to judge who you are. When you feel every element around you is only judging you and not understanding you, the solution to come out of the feeling is definitely not to switch to the internet or be sleepless all night watching motivational videos or listen to music and cry all day. It takes more than that.

When there’s a challenge that blows like a storm, just hold on to the strengths that you possess for which you need to identify them in the first place. Travel places where you would find newness in yourself. Whether you are a silent person or not, choose to speak up and be open to sharing the happenings of your life with a friend or a sibling. It’s like how sometimes at the gym, you get support from your companions while lifting heavy weights along with you, although it is YOU who is actually lifting it. You are still a self-made person even if you seek someone to listen to you occasionally.

Listen to music or motivational videos on the internet only if it makes you a better person, sometimes they could be deceptive and depressive. Crying out loud at times or breaking down on a particular day might deliver you from a pain that’s been holding on to, but crying for every little challenge might make you weak. Try to interpret the small messages that life gives you at various instances and only get up and move on like how you would slip and fall and get up on a road for instance without someone lifting you up. It could be intimidating when you see your friends around you being bold and that you are running out of motivation or skills. Let not your WhatsApp story be a sad chronicle. Instead spread positivity and your smile alone.

IT’S TIME to rule out your fears that chase you away from what you really want to be or do. Let me narrate a real incident with you about what happened in my life months after I got the wolfy dog dream. I was visiting a sugarcane farm, and  I was walking down a street in a village in the Northern parts of Uttar Pradesh. As deserted as the street was, terrified I found myself confronted by the so-called man’s best friend. I immediately chose to run and reached the end of the road. To my surprise, All I could do was turn around and stand on my feet, face my opponent and stop running as the scope for running away was absolutely nil. It was an unnerving experience as I also witnessed a fear in my opponent right at that moment. I felt like I was creating a fright in my enemy when I STOPPED running and FACED it. And that’s it. I took advantage and moved forward and the dog fled before I could even threaten it.

Yes. Strength doesn’t come from around us. It comes from within us. So more than binge-watching inspirational videos on the internet or listening to depressing songs, let your confidence grow as you are determined to defeat your negativity by being who you are. I personally could tell from my experience, Faith can destroy all Fears.

Boost your confidence by identifying what you are good at and improvising them. Be your own guardian before seeking help from others. Be stubborn when you have to, even when no one approves of your uniqueness. Appreciate yourself for every small good thing you do even if nobody recognises it. Stop complaining and move on, even if there are plenty of issues with people around or the place where you live. Above all, Have courage and also choose to be kind, for even kindness takes a lot of courage and forgiveness is a foretaste of heaven. Cheer up my friend, hit some ‘Man of steel’ or ‘Avengers’ soundtrack aloud and feel like a hero for who you are and not for what others want you to be. There’s no need to be anxious. Turn your every Nightmare into a Thriller! Just enjoy it. There’s always HOPE!

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