Z - ZILLA PARISHAD HIGH SCHOOL

Zilla Parishad School (ZPHS) – I take Z for this government run school, as it reminds me of my school days, and the attitude that I and my friends had towards ZPHS.  ZPHS was situated near the bus stop.  I had to cross this school to reach my school, which is a English medium convent school, managed by the sisters of charity.

The ZPHS was a Telugu medium school, and most of the poor children went to this school, the building was old, no black board, there were no benches for students, it was very badly maintained.

As convent school students I and my friends always felt, that we were a little above them, and showed our attitude, when these girls came towards to the shops, play ground or near our school. We were very proud about our school, the uniform we wore, the books we carried and the activities that we had in our school; we spoke only English and refuse to speak Telugu, as it was below our dignity to speak the local language.

Those poor students with a different color uniform and without slippers and torn bags would not raise their eyes to make an eye contact, as they were frightened of us, and did not raise their voice to confront us, even if we bullied them.

Years have passed, and my life has led me to situations and circumstances, wherein I had to speak and interact in the local language. I got married in a joint family, and to my surprise I found my in laws speaking Telugu, I did not want language to become a barrier in my relationships. So I began to accept and now my daughter communicates in Telugu to me. 

I picked up Telugu so well that, I counsel the students in Telugu, and even take sessions for them in Telugu.  I am amused and happy to see the change in my attitude.  Now I feel compassionate when I meet students from ZPHS background.  I am happy to be of service to these students, as 80 % of them come from Government colleges with varied issues, providing me opportunity to reach out to them.

I quote Kahlil Gibran who says “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

This being the last post of this A-Z challenge. Friends! I am grateful to each one of you for commenting on my post, with your encouraging and supportive words, if not for you.I would not have been able to complete this challenge. 

I thank and appreciate each one of you for sharing your knowledge, insights, poems, photography, learnings, and experiences. It surely enriched me and I feel quite rich because of U!

Hope to be in touch!

Today I'm on Z of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge.