He'd forget to do stuff and that day he'd forgotten to wait for his mum after school was done. He'd seen some kid on a Skateboard and in a fit of impulsiveness (which he was often prone to) he raced after him whilst the monitor's back was turned. He was fast, and he was trouble according to the teachers carly on. Always doing his own thing and not following instructions. "He's just not a team player" they'd say like it was some kind of curse. A damning indictment of his inability to stay on track. But that day he'd followed the kid to a skating park two miles away and hung out with some older kids until it got dark. When everybody had abandoned their boarding due to poor lighting he went home. It took him a long while as he hadn't been paying attention which direction he'd been going By the time he reached home it was gone ten pm and his parents were livid. They'd phoned around and rode the streets looking for him. Apparently the police had been called. He'd left his backpack at school without realising. His phone had been in it but he'd never given it a second thought. It frightened him he'd been so absent minded. So stupid. So useless.That day, sIx years ago, they'd realised he was getting worse. That's when they admitted his problem was getting out of hand. He was diagnosed with serious ADD and assigned a counsellor to aid him. He'd gotten through five of them in that time, They helped, his parents helped, his teachers helped to limited extent, but he knew to get through it, to beat this thing he had to help himself.
Ever since then he'd been working on slowly improving. He researched what he could and devised ways and means to help better his chances of staying focussed. As soon as he had homework and exams things got harder. He had to intensify his efforts. He knew he was no good around people as he lost interest easily and seemed bored and callous. It wasn't his intention to upset his mates, but he found it hard. He worked extra on forging decent relationships. They wanted to give him medicines but he'd secretly ween himself off them. He knew they helped his moods especially his hyper focus. He could get too intense, too single minded and the meds helped bring him back down. But he didn't like taking them. They reminded him he wasn't like the rest. They signalled his difference Were a reminder he was something other than normal. So over the intervening years he gradually and secretly weened himself off them. He felt he had to plan his own path to his own recovery and keep improving. Keep struggling on and hope he wouldn't mess up. Of course he'd have his failures but his affirmations and meditation helped with that. They lowered his dosage anyway when they saw the improvements. They knew he was working very hard to improve his condition. But no-one knew exactly how amazing young Anirudh Patel truly was in reaching his goals.
Until that day he passed all his exams! He didn't get the high grades others got. He didn't stand out and appear all smug at his achievements. No-one knew except maybe his siblings and his parents what a miraculous success it really was. He'd passed them all and he was soon to be a young man launched into a big wide word. And Anirudh felt ready, happy and proud. He'd tried and worked, sacrificed and struggled. And for all his successes he still only stood side by side, level pegging to the average successful student.But to him, a proud guy with big dreams of making something of himself, he was truly the best version of himself he could be. And that was enough.
To me, he's a demi-God, a mythical hero for his ability to put himself first with the best intentions and keep believing in himself. Sometimes you've just got to settle for being the best version of yourself you can be. Work on it every day, plan it, develop and adapt it, be willing to change and learn..and be inspired!
End.
