CHENNAI: As two young girls in school uniform stepped off the stage after an enthused and inspirational talk, the applause from students of MGR Nagar Government Higher Secondary School was spontaneous. When children talk, other children listen, and what could have been seen as boring sermon if delivered by a teacher or a parent was taken seriously when it came from girls their age.
Students from NSN Matriculation School, Chrompet, have been going around to other schools in the city with their correspondent Chitra Prasad to talk to students about how to take the right decisions in life, and Krithika and Roshni, Class 11 students, spoke to students of MGR Nagar Government School about the values they learnt from ‘infinitheism’. Encouraging them about confidence, belief in oneself and hard work, the students spoke in flawless Tamil.
Charles Dickens, Napoleon, Stevie Wonder, they all overcame adversity. “Even Michael Phelps had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but won a total of 22 Olympic medals,” said Krithika.
“All of you want to feel like heroes, but you should follow the right way to feel like a hero,” she said.
Roshni spoke about adolescence and the problems that come with it. “You may be encouraged by your friends to do things for mass appeal. But don’t be part of the 90 that follows the crowd, be part of the 10 who are different,” she said.
It’s all in the mind, the girls said. “If you look at the Mona Lisa when you are happy you think she is smiling, but look at it when you are sad and you think she shares your sorrow,” said Roshni.
The students covered 12 schools this year. “We help them out with the talk, but mostly it’s what they learn from the philosophy of infinitheism,” said Chitra Prasad.