Bucket Bonds & Breakfast Queues!

- By Swathi

"Sometimes, it’s the smallest tasks that make us feel the most trusted."

I walked into the university that day with my bag packed—not just with books and notes, but with hope, doubts, and a quiet determination.

All my UGC NET materials, every handwritten line from long nights of studying, were tucked in neatly. I had decided to start again, to look at everything with a fresh set of eyes—no pressure, just purpose.

Though I had written the exam fairly well, a soft cloud of uncertainty followed me. Will I clear it? Will I fall short?
That question kept echoing.

I stood outside the room for a few minutes, waiting, heart thudding a little louder than usual. When Nivetha came, we walked in together and settled into our usual places.

A few moments later, my guide walked in—calm, observant as always.
He looked at me and simply asked, “How did it go?”
I gave a small, unsure smile and said, “It was okay, sir.”

He nodded, almost as if he had already known. Then he said something that wrapped around my anxious heart like a warm blanket:
“Okay ma, you’ll clear it. Don’t worry.”

Just those words—simple, unforced, but powerful.
And for the first time that day, I breathed a little easier.

And then came the first task he ever gave me.

In our university, couriers arrive daily—not fancy parcels, but bundles of handwritten dreams: students’ assignments from across regions, sent to my guide’s cabin. My job was to open the envelopes, take the assignments out, and sort them by semester and batch.

Simple, right?

But somehow, in slicing open those covers, I was opening tiny chapters of a much larger story—one where I wasn’t just a student anymore, but a part of the system that supported others. With each stack of paper, I understood the silent trust placed in me.

The smell of ink, the careful handwriting, the hope folded into every submission—
they reminded me that we are all bound by a shared pursuit of knowledge, no matter where we stand on the path.

“Growth doesn’t always begin with applause; sometimes, it begins with scissors, papers, and quiet trust.”

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