Ever since I was a kid, my parents taught me the importance of..........

 Ever since I was a kid, my parents taught me the importance of education in life. While I had been a class topper from my first grade itself, my parents ensured I didn’t get satisfied just with my performance in school. I started appearing for national competitive examinations from my fifth grade, and started evaluating myself on a national level instead of just focusing on my school grades. I spent more time reading science books that helped me prepare for these national exams, than I spent reading my school books. As a result, I have never been afraid of competitions and exams. JEE, IIT, CAT, IIM - I had heard these terms way back when I was a kid.

Even as a child, I used to read English novels. When I was in my first grade, I used to read Amar Chitra Kathas, but I migrated to reading proper fiction novels from my fifth grade. I have two cupboards filled with books at my home, and I still keep adding to the collection. This helped me not just improve my language skills, but also exposed me to the world outside.

My parents also taught me that while education is the most important factor in life, extra-curricular activities are also important. I used to play sports quite frequently, and had also enrolled for music lessons.

As a kid, I was given a pocket money of Rs 5/- per day, which I used to buy snacks at school. My school canteen used to sell samosas for Rs 2/-, veg puffs for Rs 3/- and burgers for Rs 5/-. My biggest dilemma used to be whether I should buy a combination of 1 veg puff and 1 samosa, or go for 1 burger instead. Sometimes, I used to save so that I could buy two burgers the next day, as I really loved those burgers. I learned the importance of money and savings quite early on.

The first time I was given a cell phone was in Class 10th, because I had started going for my JEE coaching classes then. It was my mom’s old flip phone, which I used only when I needed to call my parents to inform them about my whereabouts. There was nothing else one could do on that phone anyway. As a result, mobile phones had never been a distraction for me.

Once, a stray dog had given birth to two cute puppies near our house, and had left them. My parents had allowed me to adopt those two puppies. I had named them Blackie and Brownie, because of their colour. I used to play with them and feed them everyday. I still miss them sometimes. I learned to be kind towards animals, especially stray animals, quite early on.

My parents ensured my all-round development right from my childhood days. Am I happy with the way my parents brought me up? Frankly, I don’t think it could have been done any better.

-Rohan Jain