Describe something you learned in high school.

After coming to high school, I started feeling a little more burden of studies.  Sometimes I used to get irritated with my studies.  Gradually, due to the burden of studies, my nature started changing.  Meanwhile one day my uncle came.  He told me that apart from studies, you can concentrate on something else for a few hours.  I liked his idea.  Since childhood, I was very fond of gardening.

There is so much to learn and know about plants that you could never learn just by reading or watching.  For this you have to experiment yourself. Most of my childhood was spent in the village.  Since my maternal uncle and maternal grandfather were farmers, I used to visit there often.  I enjoyed playing in the fields there, planting trees and taking care of them.  Since my mother is a farmer’s daughter, she has good knowledge of gardening.  However, due to lack of space, she too was not able to grow much.  For this reason, I thought of doing gardening on the terrace. I started with plants like roses and money plants.  Later started growing vegetables.  Often, I started planting the seeds of whatever vegetables came to the house, be it bitter gourd or lady’s finger, in the pot.  I used to feel very happy when plants would grow from them. After asking around and getting seeds, I started planting vegetables and fruits.  Due to growing in pots, the quantity of fruits was less, but the taste was very good.  There were many vegetables which I never used to eat, but when the same vegetables grew at home, I started eating them with great enthusiasm.  You don’t truly learn until you try out all the things you’ve learned yourself.  I got the knowledge about the nature of each plant only through my own experience.

Even today I love my plants very much.  When there is too much sunlight, I feel that my plants are also feeling very hot.  Whenever it gets very cold, I take measures to protect my plants from the cold just like me.  My plants feel like my children to me.  Whenever I go and sit in my small garden, I forget the sorrows of the world. Everyone loves the plants planted in the garden and their children very much.  Seeing children laughing, talking, stammering and being stubborn, we forget all our sorrows and pains.  Unafraid of every sorrow in the world, their ear-pleasing sounds take you away from stress and immerse you in the ocean of joy.  Similarly, when plants grow slowly, tender buds burst, delicate buds are eager to bloom, unaware of the difficulties to come, then one feels immense happiness while looking at them.