To the kids riding through Latur's tuition areas right now
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I’ve been back in Latur for a few months now working remotely, and every time I step out, I see swarms of you 11th and 12th graders. Bags on your backs, riding frantically in area , dealing with NEET/JEE stress, and inevitably teenage drama.
Seeing you all brought back a flood of memories. I’m writing this because I want to share a story about my own time in those same tuition batches. I’m not posting this to brag or to seek sympathy, but because I know exactly how heavy the world feels when you're 17, and I wish someone had told me this back then.
Back in my 12th grade, I was completely invisible. I was your classic, hyper-introverted, shy guy. I wasn't a topper, and I definitely wasn't winning any beauty pageants. I wore whatever oversized shirts my parents bought me and rode a battered cycle.
Like clockwork, I developed a massive, all-consuming crush on a girl in my tuition batch. For an entire year, I put her on an impossible pedestal. I analyzed every micro-interaction, every time she asked for a pen, every time she glanced in my direction. By the time the syllabus ended and our 12th-grade farewell rolled around, I hyped myself up. I finally gathered the guts to tell her how I felt.
I didn't just get a "no." I got humiliated.
She didn't just reject the proposal; she dissected me. She made it brutally, explicitly clear that I wasn't even in her league because of how I looked, what I wore, and the fact that my family didn't have much money. It wasn't just a heartbreak; it was an attack on my entire identity.
At 18, you don't have the emotional maturity to process that kind of rejection. Instead of brushing it off and realizing she was just a shallow teenager, I internalized every single word. I convinced myself I was fundamentally unworthy of love, attention, or a normal life until I was "rich enough" or "successful enough."
That incident turned me into a complete robot. For my entire engineering college life and the first few years of my professional career, I completely shut down. While my batchmates were hanging out, dating, taking trips, and making mistakes, I was locked in my room. I buried myself in coding, assignments, and work. I never gave myself a second chance. I denied myself the basic joy of just being young and reckless because her voice was always in the back of my head, telling me I wasn't good enough yet.
Fast forward to last week. I was out in town, just picking up some things, and I saw her.
She was hanging out at a corner, roaming around with a guy who, to be completely honest, fit the exact local "chapri" stereotype—loud bike, weird haircut, you know the type.
Today, financially speaking, I make about twice what her entire family earns combined in a year. I have the career I killed myself to get. But here is the absolute craziest part of this whole story, and the reason I’m writing this out:
I didn't feel a single thing.
There was no cinematic "I showed her" moment playing in my head. There was no anger, no smug satisfaction, and no lingering sadness. I just looked at her and felt completely, overwhelmingly indifferent.
And as I walked away, it hit me like a truck: I sacrificed my entire youth, my college life, and my emotional well-being over the opinion of someone who doesn't even matter. I invested years of self-hatred because of a judgment made by a 17-year-old kid.
My Advice to the Juniors:
If you are grinding through your inter or school days right now, feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, please read this carefully:
Do not attach your self-worth to a teenager's opinion.The people rejecting you right now do not have the maturity, the life experience, or the vision to gauge your actual worth. If someone rejects you over superficial things like your current pocket money, your bike, or your awkward teenage phase, they are doing you a massive favor by filtering themselves out of your life.Don't punish yourself for failing. Whether it's a rejection, a bad mock test score, or feeling left out do not let it turn you into a robot. I spent years punishing myself. Work hard, build your career, but please, go out with your friends. Give yourself permission to live.
Stop emotionally over-investing.You are literally still forming your personality. The person you are at 17 is not the person you will be at 25. Investing all your emotional energy into another kid is a terrible gamble. Invest that energy into your own skills, your physical health, and your hobbies.
The universe balances the scales. You will absolutely get what you are worthy of. Focus intensely on building your character and your career. When you respect yourself and build a good life, the right kind of people will naturally gravitate toward you.