Everyone claims that school life is the best part of a person’s life & it’s like a dream which will never come back & prove the same by quoting an assumption that during school time, social pressure is negligible but one should realize that level of handling stress is also negligible.

I was the eldest in family & had faced a lot of pressure from my relatives and friends; superb academic performance was a lot important in the environment in which I had grown up. Even, I won this rat race & none in my surrounding can ever think to cross me, I still had a feeling of a rat who is able to bell the CAT with a percentile that the candidates can only imagine in their dreams & not in reality.

The story goes back to 2003, when my little cousin had come to this beautiful world. That time, I was in class 10th & was struggling hard for that silly rat race tournament, which is popularly known as the board exams. Since childhood, my grasp over Mathematics was extreme but at other domains, I use to struggle a lot. I had won several scholarships at national & state level & due to this, my relatives & neighbors use to get regular panic attacks & depressive mood disorder. Society had raised their hope from me & was expecting something in the range of 95% in that popular rat race tournament.

That time, everyone loves to enjoy my company because of my over-hyped intelligence but my little brother just needs my lap to enjoy. After the mock exams, schools were closed & I was all alone. He was the only friend who supports me. Before the time, I use to hate kids & especially, the infants because of the mess they create everywhere but I had never felt a glimpse of anger when my little brother gives 2-3 daily showers over my clothes while playing on my lap. I spent most of the time with him & rarely studies. Everyone scolds me for the same but his cute attitude & voice eases the same.

Finally, that rat race tournament had started & all my wickets had fallen within a short interval. When the results were declared, everyone got a shock,

Maths: 99 (Run Out),

Science: 95 (Thanks to my school for allotting 22 in practical out of 25);

Sanskrit: 81, SST: 72, English: 67 (Clean Bold);

My family was a lot upset but had appreciated my performance; for everyone else, I was just a loser & a matter of joke who fell from 95% to 83%. The people who enjoys my company started treating me as a non-productive person. I moved to a state of low self-Esteem & this again lowered down my performance in IITs & AIEEE. Finally, I was admitted in a private Engineering college as a patient.

It was a lot painful to study in this mental asylum due to cultural discrimination & again, the same was located 630Kms away from my home. During 2nd year of Engineering, I realized that I am standing at middle of nowhere. Even, I secure a placement in companies like TCS, Infosys, I have to spent my life away from my little brother & again, the net savings will be around 10K/month. I felt that my life is over but because of my little brother, I regained myself. I promised myself that “whatever had happened with me, will never happen with him”.

I realized that I have to become the strongest component of the society in order to protect my brother from this useless society. I decided to develop my profile. One day, I come to know about CAT that it doesn’t test GK & had great emphasis on Mathematics. My English was quite weak but CAT neither asks for grammar nor the meaning of bombastic words. I prepared CAT for next 2 years & was able to bell it with a decent percentile, which was sufficient to take admission in any college of India; just name it, I have the call letter.

Despite of the same, I took admission in an IIM, which is located in my city; it’s a new one but had helped me to remain close to my little brother. I got selected in 2 companies with a superb package but chose to join one, which was present in my city; package was 80% of the second but final savings per month will be approximately same. I joined the same in last June.

My brother is happy with my job as now I can purchase anything for him but still hates me a lot. Few days back, he told me that his life is like a hell & I am responsible for the same. He will turn 11 years in a few months but his statements are like an adult person. Now, he ignores me, hurts me intentionally. Just a year and half back, he loves to cuddle over me; remain seated on my lap, such that he use to call my lap as the best place to sit but now, he try to maintain maximum distance with me.

Thanks to this rat race tournament & silly society who constantly compares my performance with his. My little brother’s academic performance is average & he is resistant to Mathematics; but still, everyone is trying to inspire him to become like me. This constant force of comparison had created Jealous & hate inside him. Every individual is different but none will accept this & will still try to convert either of them.

He is too young to handle the rat race. I myself hate this rat race & comparison; I had done everything to protect him from the frustration of rat race but had never imagined that I will be at the root for my little brother’s frustration. I had always treated him like my baby but this rat race had converted a best friend to the worst enemy. Who the hell claims that the school time is the best time!