by Rohan Jolly

Created on: January 17, 2010

I remember it as vividly as it might have happened just a few hours ago. I guess somethings never really leave you. The task was to write a letter to a friend. Simple grade two class work. I had just been promoted midyear from grade one to grade two upon the request of my parents and having successfully passed the IQ test. We didn't speak English at home and the teachers at school weren't really no great shakes at it either, therefore English wasn't my strongest point.  It was a terrible piece of work with atrocious spellings, but it was cruel of them to make fun of it. We later on became good friends but I never really got over it on a very deep subconscious level.

Years on, I always used to get into arguments with my English teachers. English isn't exactly a definitive subject with a lot left to opinion and personal understanding. Needless to say my wavelength was always a bit off with theirs. There were times when I was failed, not because I didn't know about the subject, but because of personal grudges based solely on a difference of opinion. You can imagine how fun it must have been to learn English. After finishing my O levels I had little desire to continue studying English. After two consecutive attempts at the paper I was still left with a B grade. I was done with the subject. My teachers were done with me.

By some coincidence, I had a change of heart. As luck would have it the principal of my higher secondary school where I was to do my A levels was a family friend and a kind hearted lady. She gave me a late entry into the English program, that too into the A class where only those with an A grade in O level English are allowed into. The course was a lot different even if the teachers were still a bit stiff. The focus now was more on style and class rather than grammar or adhering to the standards expected. I kept my O level results a closely guarded secret for the entire duration of my course. The classes were very interesting and the activities worthwhile.

Then the Results came out. It was a absolute shocker for everyone and most of all me. With three scores in the above exceptional range, speaking being the highest, I had received an A grade in the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, the highest exam in English by the University of Cambridge. it was one of the few A's received that year in the whole nation. I can only imagine how every felt, especially my old teachers. After all the arguments, punishments, fails and setbacks encountered, this finally proved everything that needed proving. I doubt I would have been able to do it if it wasn't for all those stumbles and slips along the way. It makes you tougher, it makes you believe in your abilities more and trust your own convictions regardless of what anyone might say or do. Somehow I feel I learned more about life and success from my endeavor than about the English language itself but looking back, I wouldn't change one thing along the way.

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