Madhumita

I joined art class only a year ago , but to me it feels like a second home. I’ve learnt from watching others and seeing my own interactions that the Art class acts as a safe space for all students in our very fast-paced lives.

Even before Lakshmi mam’s art classes, though most school teachers have said wonderful things about me they still feel that I need to interact more in class. That’s something hard for children like me who fear harsh judgement and mockery from their peers .I don’t really open up to a lot of people easily which makes me look aloof but that might stem from the fear of not blending in. When I walked into art class for the very first time, I was pleasantly surprised with the structure and discipline of the online class despite my previous scepticism. I watched all the Seniors’ pictures and wondered If I ever had the talent to reach there like my teacher keeps telling me. Later, I found out that every child has the potential to reach such heights and Ma’am knows how to bring out the best in them. I found the class to be my safe space where I could say whatever came to mind freely, without anticipating judgement from the students there. I remember how Lakshmi mam initially had to pull me out of my shell to get me to talk, but I continued doing so speaking my points fearlessly because she’s repeatedly told us there’s no shame in being wrong.

Sometimes I can be pretty hard on myself and set unrealistic expectations so whenever I did something I’d always feel it could be better. Ma'am helped me get over this by saying every mistake is a good learning and sometimes their welcome ones too, as they help us beautify the picture. Lastly, I admire Lakshmi ma'am’s endless optimism and encouragement for every student whether it’s pushing them out of their comfort zones or praising them every confusing step in the way. This is an important skill that all us kids must have because in today’s world its easier to tear people down then put them back together piece by piece.

All these values really impacted me in the coming year I found the confidence and strength to audition for my house’s drama selections after being selected , I gave it my all during practice and finally on stage it didn’t bother me that around 575 students might be watching me and I played my roll so well that many people I didn’t know congratulated me for my efforts. K-MUN , the model United Nations of our school is considered to be one of the biggest school events in school. During my audition, I was given 30 seconds to make my point. I realised a lot of people before me took the same stance as I did, so I decided to say “leave whatever happened in the past to stay in the past rather than bringing data into picture” like others did. This creative point helped me score better and earned me a seat I one of their coveted committees. If it weren’t for the self-confidence, fearlessness and most importantly perseverance Mam has reiterated into us I’m not sure I could have come this far. I would like to dedicate this to our art class , as without its push to help me express myself I wouldn’t have been here.

In all, Art is definitely a way for expressing yourselves and for some a form of therapy and self confidence too. I really hope my feedback convinces someone to take up the classes because I can assure them that a difference will be made in their lives. I’m happy to inform that after all the things I’ve noticed from class , I decided to implement them this year. K-MUN , the model United Nations of our school is considered to be one of the biggest school events in school. During my audition, I was given 30 seconds to make my point. I realised a lot of people before me took the same stance as I did, so I decided to make a creative point to leave whatever happened in the past to stay in the past rather than bringing data into picture like others did. This earned me a seat to represent Sweden as its delegate in a human rights committee which was a great learning experience. I also was one of the two people selected from my class for our English debate in our literary fest events . I would like to dedicate this to our art class , as without its push to help me express myself I wouldn’t have been here. This resonated deeply with all my interactions in art class and strengthened this value for me. I found the confidence and strength to audition for my house’s drama selections. After being selected, I gave it my all during practice and finally on stage it didn’t bother me that around 575 students might be watching me and I played my role so well that many people congratulated me for my efforts.

with best regards,
Madhumita