Everyone has dreams. I never thought that mine would begin to come true, but they did. Some things take time and you just have to except that.

When I was young, I was terrible at everything. Since kindergarten I was never good at my studies. I remember in the first grade, the same teacher taught us math and Islamic studies. She was very strict and I got in trouble when she was around. She always kept an eye on me because she knew what an irresponsible student I was and that I paid little attention in class.

I despised her, and every word of hers felt like a sharp object pinching my skin. My heart contracted when she entered the classroom. I was afraid of every step of hers, but I still got bad grades.

Dreams can come true, things can change for the better, but it takes time

After I got promoted to the second grade, we had different teachers for all subjects. I was still a terrible student. I remember how hard teachers tried to help me but I didn’t change.

When I got into the third grade, we had a new teacher who taught us most of the subjects. She was nice, but I just didn’t see it at the time. I dreaded her in a way, but I also missed her when the holidays started, though only a tiny bit.

In the fourth grade, I found my calling. It was English. It just came to me. I never studied for tests, but I was still great and ended up getting the highest marks. As most of you might know, with every positive follows a negative. And so it happened that I was awful at maths. I barely managed a C, but I still stood second in my class. My parents were proud of me and hoped for better results next time. That’s where the trouble began.

My skills for English grew better next year but maths became worse. I still managed to pull off an A in maths though, somehow, through a miracle I suppose. In the sixth grade, it wasn’t so great. You know how there is always a girl in your class who stands out and is amazing at everything -- well we had one in our class too.

She was so incredible that she made everyone else look silly. Only in English did I come anywhere close to her. Our teacher was great, but it was obvious she thought this girl was much better than the rest of us and I felt jealousy creep up. It was funny in a way because I had never felt jealous before. So many children in my class had always been geniuses, but I had never been jealous of them.

I was determined to be better that year but when she came along, she took away that chance from me. I didn’t get a position that year and my report card was disappointing. I was severely scolded and told to work hard. For the very first time, I felt ashamed of myself and angry for failing myself and others. I felt crushed.

But I also realised something, I had made new friends and had actually grown better at things that I was terrible at. I had grown into a better person. I wasn’t awful anymore. My parents had grown to expect more from me because I had shown them I was worth expecting more from. I had proven to myself that I was worth their expectations. I could do better and I would because sometimes even when the world seems against you, there is always hope for more.

My maths has improved and one day my dream of getting a degree in English and doing something extraordinary with my life will come true.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 2nd, 2019