ONE HALF GONE; THE NEXT TO COME.

 Once upon a time there was a little girl, and she was sad. ‘Why?’ you may ask. She was six. This was the reason for her sadness. She had just got her hat and the rolled up paper thingy (those are the girls’ words) and spend her last day at her preschool, Time Kids. “How wonderful it would have been if I could go to school at Time Kids!! ’’ she would think. The girl had got admission at an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar name and unfamiliar people. Trying to be a brave little kid, she dressed up in her smart new uniform and took her new bag with some of her new school books and set off for her first day of school. Walking through the gate with her parents and her grandparents, she felt weird to be going with a bag and uniform to somewhere other than Time Kids. ‘Christ Nagar International School’ she read looking at a board in the front of the school. She had cried so many times saying “I don’t want to go to first grade!!!’’ and look where she was, going to first grade. After the assembly, the girl waved bye to her parents and sat down on a bench of her first school classroom. She felt grown up! Then entered the class teacher; Janet Ma’am. She looked like she would do great as a class teacher but the girl didn’t know how or what to think of the new people. They had a round of self introduction and she heard a lot of names she had never known before. She never knew that some of these names and a few others would make the best moments of her life. They had their classes every day till Friday. She learnt the names of most of the teachers quickly. Sreedevi ma’m. Roshni ma’m. Vishnu sir. Preethi ma’m, and many more… They all turned out to be nicer than she thought, in-fact, great!! So was the principal, Rev. Fr. Cyriac Thundiyil CMI. He was really friendly with all the CNItes.

The girl experienced a really proud moment when she was chosen as the class prefect. She felt a sudden feeling of responsibility. They had assemblies every Thursday and finally the day came when they were told it was their class' turn for the assembly. Wow! The girl had danced for Christmas celebration, but never participated in an actual assembly conducted mostly by the students! The cherry on the cake and a sort of turning point in the girl’s life was the fact that she was chosen to anchor the assembly!!! 

To add on, she was there for the songs and dance. Why this was a turning point, you will understand later. For now let’s go on to watch the girl and her classmates put the show on the road. It came and the girl was more excited as she could ever be… She dressed up smartly in a pink gown and powdered her face up. She had to look her best for this day. They started the assembly with a thought and the prayer and went forth with the programme. The girl was amazed with herself, at how she didn’t stutter and was so confident with herself. After sometime, they rocked the stage with a dance performance and although she was a bit nervous about being in the middle, she thought she did well. After doing a bit more of compering, the girl was going to sing a group song on a stage for the first time! Singing with Vishnu sir strumming on his guitar was also a fun experience. This school had something called its cultural fest, where they had to prepare songs, dances, poems, stories and so on. The students would be awarded prizes based on their performances and the girl shined.

The girl knew well that she wouldn’t be able to do all she did in her first year without the support of her friends, teachers and also the support of the non-teaching staff, all of which she was really close too. There were the vacations. They passed and then she was a second grader. The girl had many close friends now (the name list I am not specifying as it would be a teensy-weensy bit long) … Reya and Joanna were the girl’s best friends and the girl grew closer to them day-by-day… Her friends were the main reasons for her happiness at school. This year, CNIS saw a new principal, Rev. Fr. Sebastian Attichira CMI, who was also a great principal…

The teachers and staff saw the growth of the girl since she stepped in her first grade classroom, led the way, held her hand (sometimes watched her from behind, I presume) and made sure that she was on the right path. By the time she was in third grade, the girl had grown fond of all the teachers and earned a special place in their hearts. As the years passed by, the girl and all her grade mates became thick friends and always did everything together. They all became strong members of the CNIS family. Not only the kids in her grade supported her but also, the students of other grades. She enjoyed every moment in the school.  Those memories will always be in her heart (not mind) to cherish… She studied under Rev. Fr. Sony Palathara CMI after Sebastian father and then her 5^th and 6^th grades under Rev. Fr. Thomas chennattussery CMI… The girl turned 12 and the story has come 6 years from the beginning … Six years, is a long time… The girl was now an active 6^th grader… “How much you have grown!! ’’ her teachers from first grade would say…

The School was shifting to Kazhakuttam that year. And it was too far from the girl’s house, her parents decided to change her school. With broken hearts, she and a few of her friends gave their admission forms in some schools. Corona had preponed her vacation, but both coming together meant no outings, no movies, no play-dates, no visiting your hometown. So the girl started doing all sorts of activities at home. The time passed by and as half of the vacation got over, the girl got information that the school would only be relocating next year. “Yay!’’ the girl thought…“ So this means one more year at my school, my second home. One more year with all the teachers and the jokes and games we used to have.’’ But the girl was wrong; a few weeks later the girl’s mother got a call from St Thomas Residential school, saying that she had to attend an interview. Tears swelled up in her eyes; she didn’t know why, this was supposed to be a good thing right? Then, why was she crying? Memories of CNIS rushed into her head… She didn’t even get admission, so she consoled herself and sat for the online interview. For many days, the girl and her parents sat anticipating the call any time. By the time they had given up, her mother got a call, nervously she picked it up and seeing the euphoria and then seriousness in her mother’s eyes, she knew… She knew that a few weeks later she would be wearing a different uniform, talking to different people and studying under a new atmosphere. Her mom cut the phone and then it was confirmed, she had gotten admission in STRS! She didn’t know what to feel… She called all the teachers and all her friends to inform them… Although she trained her mind to be happy about the change, she felt something inside her, deep down, when she spoke to all those teachers… She consoled herself by thinking about the fact that she had earned a place in all the hearts of the teachers and other staff. She took admission, got all her school books and uniform. Having her first day of school the next day at STRS, she sat down to type a few words about her beloved home, tears forming in her eyes. She meant for her text to be short, but her life at CNIS cannot be put in short paragraphs… That girl is me; Marwa Sajjad and I want to say thanks to all those great people who nurtured me, accompanied me, taught me, helped me and even the people who I make a small quarrel with, for teaching me the lesson that friendship, love and respect are the greatest qualities in the world, that they are greater than all the information you can gather up in your head.

I thank you all for supporting me these 6 years and I know that even if I change schools, I need your support and care and I hope it will be with me always.

I told that my life at CNIS cannot be put into short words, so wait for my blogs describing the best and worst moments of each of those 6 years, memories of which I love like jewels…