Why do I have a passion for the English language?

As a child brought up in suburban areas, I didn't have access to an English-speaking environment. I started going to Primary School-IV, more commonly called Pu Kawla Sikul. It was a state government-run school. After that school, I attended Indira Memorial School, which was also a government-run school. Until class 8, I attended a vernacular medium (Mizo medium) school, and we had little to no exposure to the English language. I still remember having a hard time writing notes correctly when our teacher was dictating notes in English. I struggled with writing the spelling of English words correctly, and that was my proficiency level in English at that time.

Time went by, and my father was transferred to Lunglei due to his work, so our family moved to Lunglei district. I enrolled in the then-best school in Lunglei district, Sacred Heart School. That was where I developed my passion for English.

Initially, it was pretty challenging for me since my new school was an English-medium school. Rarely did our teacher use the Mizo language inside the classroom, except for a Mizo class. I can still vividly recall our English teacher, Sister Nancy, who frequently assigned us writing exercises, such as essay writing. Most of my classmates could write and express their thoughts in English well with no difficulty as they had been exposed to an English environment throughout their schooling. However, it was a nightmare for me because I was from a Mizo-medium school, born and raised in Hnahthial village. Sister Nancy always checked our written work. Upon receiving mine, she once commented, "Your handwriting is ugly", which made me feel a little concious. This was part of the learning process in every area. One day, while we were working on a writing task in English as a classwork, I couldn't write anything because I had no knowledge of English. I asked my seatmate, who was sitting just beside me, if I could copy some of his work, he flatly refused and said, "Go back to Kg 1, and learn again." Those few words hit me like a ton of bricks. Internally, I was in agony; I felt so humiliated. That moment was the turning point for me, as I developed a strong desire to learn and master English. 

To this day, that experience serves as my guiding principle, keeping me motivated to continue learning. Although my friend's words hurt me deeply, I don't hold any grudges against him. I forgave him. As a matter of fact, I'm grateful for the embarrassment that fueled my desire to keep learning.

So, in this life, there will be times when we face difficult situations, it is our mentality that is important in the face of hardships and obstacles. With the right mindset and attitude, we can always overcome any obstacles that come our way.