Then something happened last week that has forced me to see myself in a new light.Suddenly the daemons have shrunk in appearence,suddenly the pain,anxiety has reduced..So here it goes..
I am a member of CRY Club of NIT,Trichy.Every year we held c,cpp classes for the juniors to help them improve in the respective subjects.But this year it was different.Due to an unfortunate ragging issue,the first years were not allowed to join the course offered by us.To add onto that ,the second years were being taught the most important compskee subject "Data Structures" by none other than Mohan itself..Mohan i must let you know is the dumbest teacher to have ever stepped in compskee department..even a tenth grader will be knowing more than him in the field of computer science..And then there was a rumour that this year CPC might not be conducted by seniors..These set of circumstances motivated us to do a course on "Data Structures" itself..Now that the topic of the classes was decided,the real problem kicked in..All the fundoo compskeees had prior commitments in the form of GRE,AGRE and what not..Still somehow four teachers were arranged for the four batches of second and third year...Everything was going well..Then something happened..Abhishek "Cyber" Verma,decided to withdraw from taking the classes due to some unforeseeable reasons..And that was it!! That set the panic button ON!!..Mayank and kastu were desperately looking for teachers and there were none apart from me,capable enough to handle the advanced batch of second year..But there lied the problem..I, who had an enormous stage fear,was approached for the job..I declined the offer plainly ,not because i was not capable enough to teach them , but because of my stage fear..But after repeated plea by mayank and kastu , i had to give in..So i was assigned the task of handling advanced batch of second year..
So after giving a nervous,but decent presentation for the Network lab in the afternoon , I left for the CRY Class in the evening..My first day topic was "SORTING IN LINEAR TIME"..I entered the class and introduced myself and asked for their brief intro too..I felt guilty for showing off a little during the introductory session when i proudly said that i am currently placed in "D E Shaw"..But i did that only so that just in case they didn't know who i was , they will be impressed with my achievement and won't keep on crying on the replacement teacher who had come in place of the great "Kastu"..Well after the initial formalities, i went about my task smoothly..I explained them the three important algorithms and even cleared all their doubts..When the class finally got over,i felt so happy..As i was about to sleep that night i suddenly realized that i really enjoyed teaching the juniors that day and after a few initial hiccups,i fared pretty well..Over the period of next three-four days i really became very comfortable with them and enjoyed answering their questions and clearing their doubts..Not only was i growing in confidence,i was becoming more dramatic in the class..I would do all sorts of hand movements to show my enthusiasm for the subject and seeing their response i assume they were also appreciating my lectures and taking keen interest in the problems that i was dishing out to them..I too on my part was giving my best effort to use all my experience and expose them to the best problems in all topics..I was in a way working harder than them because i seriously wanted it to be a very fruitful learning experience for them..In between they too asked me a few doubts,gave some test cases that nullified my proposed algorithms..But i would make sure that i find the answer for each of their questions and give them the answer in the next class..I wanted to teach them more , but my prior commitments like my wisdom cup matches forced me to cancel the remaining classes..I was more than satisfied after taking this course..but just one thing bothered me..made me doubt myself for a moment or two..I remember throughout the classes a girl named , Ramya , kept on smiling and laughing behind my back..By the way,just in case you guys don't know about her, she is an amazingly beautiful girl and has a very refreshing smile!!..Ok thats not the point..And she is the highest ranker in her batch..So was the course just too easy for her that she didn't bother to concentrate or was there something funny about me...Thought of asking her sometimes..But then i realized how the teachers feel when he laugh behind their backs..This course also gave me a chance to see teaching in a different light and the issues related to it..And must confess that it is indeed a very demanding job...
I grew in confidence during these classes..I won't say that i am very comfortable on the stage even now , but surely these classes have given me the confidence that "I can and i will overcome my stage fears.."..I have the courage now to stand before a crowd and voice my opinion..I guess thats the reason why i have again volunteered to actively involve myself in CPC-Software section..This will again give me a chance to reach the crowd..Ya there will be occasional hiccups on the way..I might be sometimes embarrassed not to clarify simple doubts of students,but i know "someday i will become the person i always wanted to become...."..Indeed those 8 hours spent with 20 odd juniors inside those four walls have transformed me!!
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