SJC Sambalpur: Those Were the Days!!!

Before the utter anonymity of adulthood settled in, were those six wonderful years I spent at St. Joseph’s Convent Higher Secondary School, Sambalpur. The school that became a part of who I am today. The school that helped me discover myself.

I joined SJC in 2001. Class 7C. It was a whole different world inside the school premises. The mediocrity of the town it is situated in has absolutely no effect on the culture & class of this school. I was overwhelmed for maybe a second, after which I knew this was where I belonged.

I wasn't a great student, as far as grades were concerned, but I was sharp and an extrovert. I excelled in the subjects that I liked, English in particular. And that always kept me in teachers’ radar. And I was a major attention junkie. So, I soon found myself performing on stage on every possible occasion.

And that, I feel is the greatest gift that SJC gave me.

From a nervous self-doubting 11-year old to a confident optimistic 17-year old, my journey at SJC was legendary. There was so much to learn, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computers and the meaning of Life. Each challenge that I came across taught me something new.

Exciting new friends, a new social order, tumultuous teenage and there I was, a rebel and a philosopher. It was a time when I cared for good grades, but studied only during the last few weeks before the exams. And there was this compulsive habit of going to the water tank and putting water on my hair. And then checking myself out in Binod Sir’s scooter’s rear view mirror.

It was a time when the lunch break was the time for all fun things to happen, well lunch break and zero period. I remember we had a tradition in high school, we used to plunder each other’s tiffin boxes. And girls sitting nearby would look upon us as if we were beasts.

Another fun part of growing up in that environment was the shuffle that took place each year. We would find ourselves put together with students who were in other sections in the previous year. Sometimes, it led to clashes but often, it led to life-long friendships.

And then came the junior college years, decidedly the best two years of school. The classes in 11th and 12th grade consisted of only a handful of students. And this meant way more fun than earlier. Coz this close knit arrangement of students affected each one of us differently.

For a lot of students who went about their days unnoticed till Class 10, the 11th grade brought recognition and a new found opportunity for leadership. For a few socially awkward kids like Manoranjan Mishra, the last 2 years of school brought necessary rebellion and social acceptance.

For me, 11th grade brought more and more of the good stuff. I had more opportunities to participate in stage functions and events and I kept getting a lot of attention from junior girls. Good times. Ha ha.

And before I conclude this articles, I have to mention these:

• Dozing off during Ranjita ma'am’s Biology classes.
• Mass bunking Aruna ma'am’s Maths Class leaving behind only Shruti & Manoranjan to attend.
• Aruna ma’am sending Manoranjan to look for us; Manoranjan deciding to hide along with us in the Basketball court.
• Writing a poem on the Chemistry question paper as I didn't know the answers.
• Getting Anjaneya to forge parents signature on Report cards.

I feel it is safe to say that life will never be as good as it was then. I miss those days. Anjaneya, Amit, Sandeep, Arif, Jay, Rahul, Manoranjan, Aniket, Akash, Deepak, Shruti, Kiran: This article is dedicated to you guys. Keep rocking!