The day I knew, I really did change a life path.

There were good days. There were bad days. And then there were normal days. It din't feel life changing to be honest. I had a great feeling. I loved my job. I smiled more often. But that was it. Until today.

I visited one of my students at his home. This being a first, I was cautious. I selected the best kid in the class so I could take my chances and learn. Omkar was one of those kids who made your life simple. He always topped the class. Spoke without hesitation. Helped others. Loved bhaiyya to bits. I never knew any other side of him. 

Today afternoon, I went to his place. All the greetings later, his father opened up. Tears in his eyes, he said, "I dont know what you did to my kid. " 

Omkar,  my turn around kid.

Subsequent conversations revealed Omkar wasn't always like that. He was sent out of his earlier school because he was "rowdy and very violent". His teacher gave up on him. He once bit his mother because she "forced" him to go to school. His father slapped and hit him in front of his entire class because he refused to study in the school. At Aliya, he banged the principal's desk because she agreed to give him admission into the school. He picked up fights 15 days in a month with the kids in the community.

That was almost a month back. Today, he tops every exam in the class. He is the leader for his group. He teaches his mother English words that he learnt in the school. He never comes to school with a broken button because he wants to look "neat and tidy like Bhaiyya."

Omkar is such a turn around, it is difficult for me to believe there was a different side to him. I am exuberant today. I have my proof. A proof, that is my own. My proof, that every kid can turn around. 

Thank you Omkar. It is kids like you who change our lives.