Abha Mondhe had a tough time in school, struggling with Math and Chemistry. To top it all, her handwriting was an eyesore. She remembers how she got inspired and finally achieved the unthinkable-for her.For me, school is equal to mathematics and chemistry, which I couldn’t care about and never wanted to learn. When I was a school, my teachers focused on idealism, moral education and excellent handwriting.

To have a good handwriting with no spelling mistakes was like having something precious. But exactly as in mathematics and chemistry, I was bad in writing also. It was in the 8^th standard when they announced that the annual magazine for the school would be completely handmade.

The text as well as the design would be done by students who had a good handwriting. Although I didn’t fit the bill, I desperately wanted to do it. There was a test which I had to take, but my handwriting looked as if a drunken ant dipped in ink was crawling along the page.

Still, I wanted to be the part of the team because slowly all my friends were selected for it. My best friend had a wonderful handwriting, another could draw very well, yet another could decorate pages beautifully. I was left alone, when they went to work on our handmade annual book. I felt sad.

Sometimes I was really jealous too. My ego was playing games but I loved my friends and could not hurt them in any case. Well time went by and I was selected for the dance program.

But magically, my handwriting automatically became beautiful. It was my best friend Neelam who inspired me indirectly to write beautifully and today, I am proud of my Hindi as well as my English handwriting. I wonder why the children today don’t work on their handwriting!

Abha Mondhe