The rooftop was her escape.... Deepika sat cross-legged on the rough cement, staring at the night sky stretching infinitely above her..... the stars flickered, distant and unreachable much like her dreams..... from below, she heard her mother working in the tiny kitchen, the rhythmic clang of metal utensils mixing with the muffled hum of the television from
their neighbour’s house. The air smelled of burnt oil and damp earth. This was home.
This was her world.
But it was not the world she wanted.
She closed her eyes and imagined it a classroom filled with students, the scent of old
books, the sound of pages turning, and her voice, steady and confident, explaining the
beauty of Shakespeare’s words. She wanted that life more than anything.
Yet, reality was cruel!
“A professor? You can barely pass your own exams!” her uncle had laughed over dinner
one night. “Stick to something simpler,” a teacher had advised when she hesitated over
her career choices her friends had exchanged glances when she spoke about her
dream... their silence louder than words. Maybe they were right. Deepika had never
been the smartest student. Mathematics felt like an unsolvable puzzle, science
confused her, and history blurred into a maze of dates she could never remember. Her
grades were average at best, and her confidence was even lower.
But English? That was different.
Books had been her escape ever since she was a child. While others played outside,
she sat in corners, losing herself in stories. Words made sense to her in a way numbers
never did. But loving something was not enough people reminded her of that
constantly..... the thought made her chest tighten. She had lost so much already....
Friends had come and gone, relationships had started and ended, and loneliness had
become a constant companion. Some nights the weight of these thoughts crushed her,
leaving her breathless. She wondered if she was meant to walk alone forever.
Then, she heard her mother’s voice calling from the kitchen.
“Deepika, get down from there! You’ll catch a cold.”
She smiled softly. Her mother always worried, always cared and the best part was her
mother always believed in her. Her mother said ...
“Icche thakle sob kichu sombhob.”
“If you have the will, everything is possible."
Deepika clutched those words like a lifeline. Maybe she was not the best... maybe she

was not the brightest but she would try. She owed herself that much.
And now the Fight Begins!!
The first step was getting into college. When she arrived in Kolkata, she felt like a small
fish in a vast ocean. The students in her class spoke English fluently discussing
literature as if they had grown up with the classics. She sat in the back, quiet and
uncertain she was afraid that if she spoke people would hear her broken sentences and
judge her.
Semesters came ....She failed her first literature paper.
That night, she locked herself in the hostel bathroom and cried. Maybe she was not
meant for this after all. Maybe everyone had been right. But then she remembered her
mother’s words “Icche thakle sob kichu sombhob”.
And she realised that she has to prove herself!!
She could not give up!!
So she stayed up late, reading with a dictionary beside her. She practiced speaking in
front of a mirror, even when anxiety made her voice tremble. She forced herself to
answer questions in class, even when her words stumbled...
Slowly, she improved.
There were days when exhaustion weighed her down, when self-doubt whispered in her
ear. She saw her classmates attend parties, their laughter filling the air, while she sat
alone with her books. She wanted to be a part of that world, to belong, but she knew she
could not afford distractions! Her friendships suffered..... Some friends drifted away,
tired of her constant studying. Others mocked her ambitions, calling her “nerd” , “too
serious.” It hurt but she told herself that the pain was temporary.
By the time she completed her degree, she was not just passing she was excelling. But
she knew her battle was not over.
She in her mind decide to
“Become the Impossible”
Getting into a Master’s program was another challenge, but she pushed forward. She
spent hours in the library, writing and rewriting her research papers. She worked parttime, tutoring students to support herself. She had no one to hold her hand, no one to
guide her but she kept going........When she finally passed the NET exam, securing the
qualification to become a professor, she stared at the result in disbelief.
She did it!!!!!!
Yet, success did not mean the end of her struggles....
Her first teaching job was at a small college, where students barely paid attention to her
lectures. Some questioned her authority, whispering that she was “too young” to be
taken seriously. She doubted herself again....fearing that she was still the same girl who
had once struggled to speak in class But one day, a student approached her after class.
“Ma’am, your lecture on Sylvia Plath really inspired me. I’ve always felt lost, but the way
you spoke about her writing… it made me feel understood.” Deepika felt a lump rise in
her throat. This was why she had fought so hard. This was why she had refused to give
up.....
She realised.....
Years later, when she stood in front of her first full-time classroom a sea of students
looking up at her expectantly! she felt the old fear creeping in. What if she was not good
enough? What if they saw through her, saw the girl who had once doubted herself?
But then, she took a deep breath and spoke. The words flowed effortlessly, her voice
steady. And as she taught her first lesson, she realized something.... She had spent her
life believing that she was an underdog, that she was not meant for greatness. But now,
standing in the place she had fought so hard to reach but now she understood that “The world does not decide who you are or what you do the only limits that exist are the ones you refuse to challenge."