15-year-old Anjali was a very confident girl, but suddenly something happened in her life that took away the smile from her face. In this story, Anjali shares her experience with us. Let’s see what happened to Anjali…

I was always a confident girl, and till grade 8, my only worries were my crush, school projects, cricket classes, and staying on top in class. But when I reached grade 9, a huge change happened in my life. Although my parents tried to hide it from me, I overheard my dad one morning, when he got up, got ready, and left for work. I heard my mom say that dad had lost his job. My dad was a software engineer in a multinational company, and my mom is a homemaker.

After my dad lost his job, our life changed. We used to go to restaurants every Sunday for dinner, and mom and I would go shopping on weekends, but all that stopped. Instead of going to malls, we started shopping from regular stores. I was scared that my cricket classes might stop, and then I feared that my schooling might stop too. For a few months, things were fine because of our savings, but then my mom and dad started arguing more. There was a tense atmosphere at home.

Bills started piling up

Bills kept piling up on the kitchen counter. We started living a very simple life. I stopped hanging out with my friends, but slowly, I realized I had to do something, or things would get worse.

One day, while my mom was cooking in the kitchen, I said to her, “Maybe I should start tutoring the younger kids in our building. I’m good at math, and I can help them with their homework. It won’t be much, but I could earn some pocket money.”

Tears filled my mom’s eyes. She said, “You don’t need to worry about these things, you’re still young.” But when I insisted, she agreed.

Tutoring helped

After school, a group of kids from the neighborhood started coming to me for lessons, and I began tutoring them. Instead of buying new books, I started borrowing books from the library.

These small efforts helped things slowly get back to normal. My mom started baking cakes, and my dad began freelancing. Things started getting better.

One night, while we were having dinner, my dad smiled at me and said, “Anjali, you’ve taught us some important lessons. It’s not just about how much money we have; it’s about how we face challenges together as a family.”

That day, I learned that it’s important to express your feelings. If I hadn’t shared my feelings with my mom, I probably wouldn’t have started tutoring, and our life wouldn’t have gotten better. Finally, things are getting better at home, and dad is still looking for a job. My mom’s cakes have become quite popular, and I’ve become the favorite math teacher for the kids. Now, I think I might become a teacher when I grow up… or maybe something else!

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