Hope and Friendship - Innovators BHIS

A friend is hope when life is a low…a friend is a place when you have nowhere to go…”

Rhea and Cecilia were inseparable friends since the days they joined their new school. Their bond of friendship was much talked about in school. They actually set an example for everyone as to how friendship could help one sail through all problems with ease. 

Both of them had the same choice of food, dresses…they would share everything in life. Cecilia and Rhea’s friendship spilt over post their school hours too and they spent a lot of time together studying, singing, dancing together at either of their homes whenever they would get time. 

Their parents too were happy with this bond they shared because they felt that both these girls had a very fulfilling relationship…they wouldn’t let go of each other’s hand at the time of distress. Each was ready to fish the other out of any trouble that would ever come up. Thus the days flew past happily and both these vibrant teenagers passed out with flying colours in their ICSE exams. 

Now came a difficult choice for them both, since Rhea, aspiring to be an aeronautical engineer had to pursue Science and Cecilia wanting to start up her own business chain, wanted to pursue Commerce. Both these girls decided to stay on in the same school but were put in the sections of their individual choices. They had no other option but to accept it and so they did. Each of them assured each other that their bond of friendship was matured enough to sustain the distance between classrooms. 

By the end of Grade XI, they started realising that they had become so busy with their own fields of study that they could barely get time with each other. Their free time of singing and dancing together had now been replaced by the various different tuition that they had to attend. To top this up, Rhea, the more outgoing one among the two had been chosen as the school Head Girl. She now had to shoulder various responsibilities and be involved in a lot more activities in school, thus, not able to spend time with Cecilia even during breaks. Both of them had started feeling distanced from each other. They could no longer confide in each other, even found it difficult to communicate with each other…and with a little more time stopped talking to each other totally. This distancing in their friendship affected both their well being and reflected in their low scores as well. She instilled in them the hope that nothing was lost….the hope that true friendship can never be broken, it can only strengthen with time. The girls believed in their teacher and realised their mistake and promised never to let go of the hope of friendship which will make them sail through all adversities in life.

Innovators@ Billabong High International School, Thane

 -Vaishali Phatak, Krishnakshi RaviShankor, Smita Bhobate, Bhumi Punjabi

Hope and Friendship - Optimizers BHIS

The Face of Friendship: A True Story of Hope and Transformation

Humans are highly social beings, prone to connect with people who appreciate and are glad to see or hear from one another. Eventually, these people become our lifelines. Lacking that, we may feel alone, abandoned and even hopeless. Living life entirely on our own is unimaginable.

This is an incredible story of hope, healing, transformation, and grace that can teach all of us something about friendship, acceptance, and compassion.

Janvi was a newcomer to the Grade 7. She was a soft-spoken girl. Being obese, she was overly conscious of being the fattest child in the class. Due to her being overweight, she always hesitated to mingle with her classmates, never moved out of the class during break time and was ridiculed by other students while boarding the school bus.

Her classmates too ignored her and did not involve Janvi in any task. Every day, she shared all her worries and issues with her teacher. She found solace in speaking with her class teacher. The teacher was highly disturbed at her class mocking the girl and body-shaming her. Janvi felt that even the teachers ignored her due to her unflattering size. She had lost hope in continuing with school life and it was difficult for her to focus on studies. All these reasons made Janvi feel dejected and were disheartened. She was on the verge of a breakdown.

Friendship is Hope

The teacher was distressed and wanted to rekindle hope in Janvi. She reassured Janvi to hold on to faith. The next day, Janvi was absent. The teacher took this opportunity to discuss the concerns with her class. The responses were varied and unconvincing. She informed them of Janvi’s thoughts and requested the class to work together to bring Janvi out of this melancholy.

The students felt remorseful and wrote an apology letter which the teacher texted to Janvi. Every day, the classmates, after reaching home, called Janvi up and encouraged her to revive herself with new hope and assurances of friendship.

After a week, Janvi resumed school. The class welcomed her warmly, with friendship cards, flowers and songs. Day by day, the positivism exuded by the class brought tremendous change in Janvi. In the ‘Edufest’ the entire class performed a skit and Janvi’s performance was applauded by her friends and teachers.

We can make a difference by providing direction to our learners on how to navigate their relationships with their peers when they face obstacles and make mistakes. Above all, there should be no place for self-pity. The students who are exposed to positive affirmations rather than being on a guilt trip for their shortcomings. Everyone contributes in this path making one most likely to reach one's goal successfully.

The onus of helping students, cultivating hope and friendship lies on both parents and teachers. Not only will it help them improve academically, but will also boost their confidence and self-esteem to pursue their long-term goals in school and life.

Optimizer @ Billabong High International School Thane
- Madhubala Saji, Kalyani Chaudhari, Ajita Bhoir, Kshama Rajgor, Momita Banerjee, Rupal Trivedi, Sanket Patel