Write your garbage
Because it’s therapeutic.
I was a lost cause at school. My grades were low and going to school was distressing to say the least. I could not make sense of most of the subjects.
The biggest struggle, though, was with English language and literature. Grammar was never my beloved friend and Shakespeare was a complete nightmare.
Seeing me struggle with grades and in particular with English, my mother gave me a piece of valuable advice. She said: “Son, Write your garbage”.
“Write your garbage” — What does that even mean?
I asked her — “What does it mean, Ma?”
She responded — “Write as if no one is looking. There is no one to judge or evaluate your content. You don’t have to be grammatically correct. Just write and don't worry if it makes sense or not.”
In short, she wanted me to do what we do with garbage in our house. We just throw it away in the bin to keep our house clean.
I was born in India, at a time (1984) when academic progress was the topmost priority for parents. Thankfully, my mom was well ahead of her time. She was quick to figure out that the school’s grading system was putting a lot of pressure on me.
I hated going to school. It seemed as if the teachers were paid to torture me…
