In Conversation With Orchids Super Achievers @OrchidsTheInternationalSchool | Riddhi Deorah

I want to introduce three super pocket achievers of 2022 CBS. They have real crazy numbers. I don't think I can really understand how you did that. It's just beyond me basically. So the first person that I want to introduce is Karan Gupta. He's from Thane branch and he scored 99.6%. I don't know what were you doing? How did you lose? I'm sure a lot of people are going to that but. And the second student that I have with me is Aryan Mehta and he's from the. And he scored 9% also like so. And then I have a third student from BTM branch 8.6 like 10 feel it's crazy. Honestly believe that you know score is not the only indicator which will guide your success but I feel indicates a lot of areas of your personality that you put in. How you plan, how you let go of other and you know, all of those things but you know I've got three of you but to understand how differently, how different the journey was for all three of just to understand that we are all doing the same thing or we are all doing different but we're getting like similar result. So we'll start with question to you how I'm not going to say like after 99.6 but you know, scared or was this like.

Elated? That's it, that's all I remember feeling the moment I received my result and of course accompanimed the pride of me and my parents upon me. I felt like I live up to expectations, maybe even surpass them even though none were ever forced upon me because my parents always told me to just do my best and not worry about results. And I believe that exactly what I did and I'm so, so glad it paid off.

I'm going to highlight all the parents watching this. You don't put pressure on them, just let them be and let them do what they are. Really? So yes. And were you prepared? Like did you know that this is to happen or were you like aiming for it or it was just like a random fluke.

I was definitely aiming for 100% so 99.6% was close. Yeah.

Okay.

Like my parents told me to dream big. Like I'm sure every, every parent does that and I was like yeah, I'm going to aim for that once and I'm going to try this and that's how I prepared for it. I honestly did not know what was going to happen. I just maybe just aimed and again did not worry about results just Gave my best.

You just gave your best effort. Did not worry about any the results. Aimed for it. Gave it your best. Did not worry about and no external pressure. The formula for success. How was your feeling? How did you feel?

So yeah, I was as sure that I'll get a good percentage but I was not that I'll get 99. And I was like my parents are always behind me in the journey and they didn't really want. Want me to score 99 or 98 or something like that. But they always wanted me to be my best so that in my. So that in my future I could perform to my best potential.

And so yeah, that's what you did. Okay. Now Bhartita.

I feel super happy and relieved that I achieved my goal which I set for myself in 10th grade. I didn't expect that I would get 98%. I thought maybe 97% but when I came to know I like surpassed my goal, I was really happy.

Right. I'm just so proud of you guys. Just like, you know, there was no number in my head but I, I'm glad. I think the having that number helps because you know, you guys did pretty well. Okay, so second question is any funny reaction that you receive from your friends, family when they heard your score. So we'll start with Karan again and then, you know, we'll follow the same sequence every time.

Yes, ma'.

Am.

Actually me finding out the result itself was such an incident. I was in school, the class was quietly studying, listening to the teacher and Suddenly someone whispered 10th K results when the whole class came alive and everyone went crazy, took out their phones, started searching for results.

You guys are.

Yeah, and it's because the thing is I'm doing integrated with bitches and it's like yar batch is allowed to go. So. Yeah. So everyone. So cbse site also crashed that time and it was havoc. And I just texted my parents credentials and then I tried to calm myself down and focus on the math problem I guess I was solving and then.

Was just solving problems when your result was out.

Yeah, because the site was also crashing multiple times. And then I was like, I can't.

Take more of this.

I'm going to focus on something else. I get to know the result. I told my parents and then I glanced my phone in between and the message in the family group was 498 on 500. I just froze for a second, like my brain just stopped functioning. And after which I remember I was searching for a calculator, like calculator because I mean I wasn't able to think anything at that moment. And all my friends were surrounding me as I calculated the result and I read the two digits before the decimal 99 and my heart was already beating against the chest. And then I realized no, 99 Kagi BN it's 99.6. So yes, me including everyone started shouting. We happy danced amidst class and Ijar also gave up on teaching.

So yes. And how about you Aryan? How was it for you?

So the thing with me was that I had my classes and so my phone was switched off and I had no battery so I could not even see my score right then. And the people, so then I and everyone was shouting all around that the results have come and what did you get? And I had literally no idea about that. And then my mom, my mom literally called on my friend's phone and she asked me what result did I get and they could not access me at all. And so I was like my phone is switched off, I cannot see them. And in reality I also did not want to check them because right then I was nervous and everyone was pressuring me and everyone around me was getting so good percentages, like someone was saying 99, 97, someone is saying 96. That's like that. If I get lower than this then all my stuff is gone in the class. So then I was like I don't want to check, I'll see, I'll see later. But then everyone pressured me. So then I had to call, call my mom from my friend's phone and get all the details and then I logged in from my friend's phone and right then as Karan said the site had crashed. So then there was problem with that as well. So then yeah, it's usually that case. And so I tried to get in and after a while I managed and then I saw that and all of them I was getting 9900 or something like that and so I was like, I couldn't even manage to add up the score that time. But then my friend asked me what question did I got. So then right then I added up and I was getting 495. So I was like, oh then that's 99. And then I first, if I could not believe I started there's something wrong with the score. But then I was like yeah, okay, I got 99. And then I called my parents and they like they didn't believe me at first and they thought I was joking and because I usually joke about my marks but then they, I sent them the screenshot and then they believed me and then they like my, my father was really excited and he was like, let's throw a party and stuff. And then we called all my, called other relatives and then we had a party like that.

Great, great. And Pratika, how was it for you?

So on the day the results came out, I was at home, I took a day off for studying. When the results came out it was my dad who checked my marks. He was at his office and he called my mom directly and he started saying like the individual marks and I was so confused. Like what exactly is he saying? Is it the total percentage? Is it the subject wise? And at the end when me and my mom figured out what my percentage is, I was super happy, I got super excited and I started walking around the house to cool down, to calm down and that was.

Wow, that's really nice. Yeah. And I remember my time now that I'm discussing it with you guys and for us, to be honest, my parents had no attachment to the score. So you get 60, they are still the same. You get 80, they're still the same. You get 99 also, they'll still be the same. They, you know, like my parents I think they were and there was absolutely, just like Karan said, there was no pressure on us. So we were things and all of us did very differently for our exams and there was no appreciation for doing good like because they just felt that, you know, scores are like an indicator of that. Hello, you planned it. But no, like you know, they didn't even shame you if you didn't do well. So you know, it was just very neutral. But I'm glad you guys did pretty well and I'm very proud. And the next question is how did you prepare and how much time did you spend time studying? So let's start with Karan and Yes.

Well the main thing I followed was being consistent and working from day one. Of course the intensity increases as you approach the exams but you need to be done with the syllabus one month before the boards. So all the grind in the remaining time before exams will be of previous year. Papers and questions. I think you revise the chapters multiple times because I believe and so I've been advised that if you want to score great in boards, you got to be thorough with ncrt. And to do that revision is the key. Read ncert, solve as many questions and papers as you can. That's just what it said, just that nothing extraordinary just worked out with dedication, right?

No, but the key takeaway I think for Me is consistency. I think, you know, like whatever you said, like, you know, be consistent, you know, set a target, work without being too focused on how the result is going to be just your best and be consistent. So I think, you know, all of these things that you're actually listing out are actually, you know, formulas to do well in other areas of your life also in general, you know, have a plan, be consistent, take action, do not keep worrying about how is it going to be eventually and if you just do. So did you like only study or were you doing other stuff as well? Like playing?

Definitely. I mean I, I don't, I, I really didn't feel this way. You know, I mean I wasn't pressured at all. I mean of course there is pressure before exams, but it wasn't that kind of pressure. You just have to study steady.

It's like I had enough time to.

Do everything in my life, so yeah, I had sufficient time to do everything.

Okay, and I think it happened because you were consistent also throughout the year and you doing it like, like last one and you sit and finish everything. Okay, so ar how was it for you? Like how planning and how much did you do other stuff?

Yeah, so when I was done with ninth and we came in 10 and dragged the ride then I was like hyped up that I'm in 10th. So then I, what I, what I did was I started covering the whole syllabus from 10 before the things even started on my own and I started to do, I tried to do everything on my own and especially I like science and math. So I, and so I tried to do that more and so yeah, so later it was easier for me because I was, even during the exams I was not that stress. I just had to revise my thing and as he said we could do the papers and so that would just make it easy for me. And yeah, it's necessary to be consistent. Like if you like say to you should not really measure by how much hours you're studying. But yeah, if you say like you're doing two hours then it should be. You should do that daily. And yeah, I started time to do a lot of other stuff as well. Like I'm really interested in football and chess so I could do that as well. I could go down and play and yeah, so. And also what I did was. And the thing that I was really interested in, I researched more about them on Google and the Net because. And so it, that has helped me. So I would say that it's really important that you are interested in what you study rather than just root learn it.

Yes, that's true. And yes. On to you now Karthita, how was it for you like the whole journey? Were you like only studying or doing other stuff?

Well, for me I also started preparing from day one and something that helped me focus on my studies was keeping a study planner. I wrote down all my exam dates, all my exam scores, what to improve on, which question banks to complete before an exam. So whenever I started procrastinating, I just took a look at my planner and I knew what to do next. So that saved a lot of my time and well, most of my day was spent studying and I had school in the morning, tuitions in the evening. So by the time I came home I would be super tired to do anything else. So I spent my free time watching Netflix honestly. And from time to time I did draw because I like drawing. That's pretty much it, right?

So football and chess drawing. So all of you pretty much did something else besides studying also. And this, this could do because you were very consistent and I like how you spoke about the planner, you know, so like having a plan, you know, make it easy, you know, checking out what's done and what needs to be done. Yeah, it's like I'm getting success coaching from you guys. So next question is that any incident that happened during studying that you cannot forget, like you know, something funny or maybe something serious or if something happened while you were preparing, it could be either a challenge also or it could be something fun also if it happened. If not you can just pass. But like for me, like when I was studying, I used to study mostly during the night because there was very loud television that was played in my house. And my father used to not compromise at all, you know, every time I asked him to lower the volume he used to be like, you know, we grew up in a one room flat and you know, we were all sitting together and doing everything and you know, we were learning in the same space or learned what. So what to do was I used to sleep at seven in the evening and I used to get up at 2 and that's when the learning started for me to 7 to 2 I used to sleep. So when my dad came home I used to go to bed and I used to get up like pretty much during the night to study. So that is one thing I remember that my timings are very awkward and also I remember how my mother used to make tea for me like one day but not like throughout but you know, before the exam When I was studying and I felt very sleepy during the night so she used to make tea. So that's a good memory that I have offer and a tough memory from my father. So these are two memories. So do you have any such memory?

I do have some from high school, ninth and 10th grade. Because most of my memories have been from online classes. Whether it's the quizzes, the mid class ranting about miscellaneous topics, rebelling for vacations, not being able to see my friends faces for months because didn't want to sit in a place with decent lighting and waking up 30 seconds before school before classes began losing a perfect because I got specs and realizing Internet issues can be used as a reason to bunk classes. The ability to keep a straight face whatever may be going on behind classes because the chats do get weird and I had actually come around the, you know, interior, the furniture, the fans, the ceilings of our friends houses because everything was online. So I knew he's not in his room right now, he's in the kitchen.

So yes, I forgot guys, everything was happening online, all the classes and everything because of the.

Yeah. Yes.

Wow. Okay, so moving on to Arya. Anything, anything funny?

Yeah, so my experience was pretty bad. So after the lockdown we all were excited and to meet each other and stuff. So we all booked it off and we went out and unfortunately I sat, I broke my bone and then I had to have a surgery and stuff because it was really serious. So yeah, just before term when I had my surgery and then before term to my viral demonstrate during that, that stuff. Yeah so but still it was fun and I was, I didn't really learn from that experience because I. Even after that I kept going and playing now and yeah so that. And during the online classes as he said that we even, we used to, I used to have WhatsApp open and all, all us, all of us used to talk about what's going on in the class and stuff and yeah, so.

You guys had a lot of fun but you still did pretty well. That's how it should be. Okay, so moving to Pratida, how was it for you?

So during online classes nothing out of the ordinary happened for me. Sadly I got more self study time at home which helped me out a lot. During offline classes one of my fond memories was walking home with my friend. We would discuss about how we are doing, how we are preparing and we motivated each other every day. Like yes, we can do this, we can score good.

You know it could be me generalizing but this huge difference between the Girl and the boy. The girls are still talking about padhaai even during the walk and you know, feeling good about being home because you still get time to do self study and the boys are like, you know, missing my friends because we've not met each other for so long. I want to go to school. So. Yes. But yeah, I think I was also like you a little pratt. Like I, you know, because I did not study like you, to be honest, consistently throughout the year I was not very consistent. I was more like, you know, doing the mock because I feel that Indian system, you know, it's like more about doing the mock and just going through everything properly. So I did that last minute thing. So I think I could have done better had I been consistent like you guys. But and also less pressurized in the last few weeks. Last few weeks were like crazy for me. Like because, you know, whole year if you don't do anything. But yeah, it was so nice to see how different and I'm getting a lot of energy speaking to you guys. And my last question, actually not last, I have one more question. First question that I have for you is like, if you could give like one advice, your, you know, students, like, you know, class, like your juniors from school, like the ones who will be appearing for their board exams, what would that piece of advice mean?

Yes, of course, the main things, the same thing which I mentioned previously about being, you know, thorough and revising multiple times, being consistent. And one more thing, set a target for yourself. Because you have to aim before you shoot an arrow. Correct. So set a target not just in your mind, write it down somewhere and you know, paste it on a wall maybe or on your cupboard or on your door where it is visible to you. And that target is going to be your motivation to put in your hard work and dedication. And don't stress too much. Remember to take breaks to refresh and recharge yourself. It's important to recreate, have aims and dreams, work hard, be consistent, take breaks and recreate and enjoy this, enjoy life. It's awesome.

That's it, right? Yeah, yeah, that's a great tip. Like recreate and be. And I love that goal. And Pinny and in fact he helps feel that you've actually you're getting closer to it. So. Yes, that's a very nice tip. Okay, one tip.

After what he said, I don't know what to say because. Yeah, but the main thing that I follow is like always have some interest in whatever you study, as I said, because if you do not have any interest in what you're studying then you won't be able to understand it. And then you would just be, you'll finally get bored of studying and then all the targets and whatever would be useless because you are not just. You're not even willing to study what you're not interested in. Yeah, so it's better to get more interested.

Oh yes.

So yeah, that's.

Right. But yeah, I think interest, I would agree with what you said that you know, if you are interested but sometimes you like our choice but we just have to do it even without being very interested. Like, you know, that was something that I feel I experienced when I was appearing for a few papers. Like some papers I absolutely love some topics but some topics I absolutely did not like. You know, biology was one thing I just couldn't not. I loved reading about it. But you know, the whole idea of, you know, memorizing those names was like very.

Yeah, the same thing is. Yes, the same thing happened with me for sst. And it's like. So the thing that I did that I said I just tried to push myself and that if I, I was like, if I, if this is the only subject that I get less marked and then it would be terrible for me. So then that's why I try to push myself up, that I have to do this. Whatever happens.

Like I'll do it. So yes, that's great. And now Prachita.

I think starting from day one and setting a goal for yourself is the most important part. And working on the subjects which are your weak points is the main because for me it was maths in Hindi. And so I practice maths every day. And before the exams I wrote many sample papers for Hindi. That's the reason maybe why I scored much better this year in 10th grade. And whenever like you feel stressed out, you should always talk to your friends because no one would understand your struggle that you're going through other than your friends. They are in the same situation as you. So that always helps, right?

No, that's a very different approach from what I had. I only focused on my strengths. So you know, I used to focus on topics because you know, there was this best of whole of five. So I was only focused on those that, you know, I'll just make sure that you know, nothing happens to these at least and but you know, that's a good thing. Like you know that if you're already good at the other stuff, do not put too much energy there. If you already know that you will be able so stuff that you're not good at. You can still practice and get better at it. You know, that's the advice. We can always get better at something we are not going to good at by just practicing it every day or practicing it more consistently. So actually all of you can like have like a book on success or you know, your journey towards success. It's actually, you know, very good because I've been reading a lot lately and what you guys have, I don't know, maybe you guys are also reading but what you have shared is actually, you know, something which thumbs the top leaders talk about that, you know, be consistent, set a goal, move towards it and you know, practice and you know, pretty much everything. What don't take stress, take breaks, recreate, recharge, have a target. So it's pretty much, you know, you guys are, you know, you've got it. Not by fluke. You've actually done the right things to get what you've got. So I think if. And you know, even though I said that score is marks are not like the most most important thing but the journey really matters and what, what you do really matters and what you've done has been very properly done. So I think that's probably one reason why you got what you got. So that's a great, great thing that I'm. I got to learn a lot from you. And the last question that of course there are so many people who support us on this journey. So I want you to name that one person who's been the most invaluable support for you during this journey. So for me, it's obviously my mother who kept making chai for me. But let's hear who was it for you?

Well, I wouldn't dedicate this to like one person because there are many well.

Wishes, correct, one top and everybody else after that person. Try to find one top person. Put a little pressure towards my last question.

I can't. I can't choose any one person.

It's okay, go with whatever it's.

Third one. It's of course my family. The direct support of my family and my teachers at Orkins who are always available for me to solve my doubts. 24x7. I am eternally grateful to my principal ma' am and Dear Principal Mom, Dr. Marjorie and my teachers who have given me numerous opportunities and throughout my time here have always encouraged and motivated me to do better, passed on their values, their knowledge, been strict, been cool, been so damn welcoming and been like a companion to me. My gratitude to all the teachers for all they've done Which I will never forget. I truly appreciate the time they've put in to prepare me for life. I'm grateful to all my friends as well, who've just been there for this time with me. All the times we cracked jokes, we laughed, we cried, sadly danced and went through it all together. And my family, of course, who has seen it all, supported me through everything. That emotional support was extremely important, especially the time before Bones. Because that's a story. Because that's a story. Like I. We had shifted three days before exam, so we had to travel like every morning, one hour to the both centers. And one month before exams I had, you know, that developed severe prawn allergy. So I was on medication throughout, you know, anti allergy medicines and all that. I have to be on a non protein diet for about a month. So I mean, I literally felt like life was testing me at this time in every possible way. So yes, the emotional support which my family gave me throughout all this time. So I'm truly grateful to everyone in these two years who have seriously given me the best years of high school I could ever ask for.

Wow, that's amazing. And you know, one other takeaway is that, you know, no matter what challenges or obstacles you have, like, you know, also him getting injured and you going through those allergies and stuff. And in fact, very recently in the month of May, I did something, I learned something and I, it was almost like, yeah, God was testing. So everything that could happen, like hell broke loose and everything that could possibly happen, happened. But it's. The idea is to not stop and to just keep going. I think you're just being tested and you know, it usually you, it ends up with good results when you actually don't give up. That's great. Get Aryan. Who was that one person? Okay, you don't have to generalize and name friends, families, teachers and principals and everybody try to give us one person if you can.

I don't think it's possible to name one person for anyone because like everyone would have many people who are behind them. So then that's the collective effort of all those people who worked behind me. So I don't think I can name, but like, if I had to stay, then I'd probably say my mom because she was always there to me somehow and she always kept checking up on me and she was like, always like, are you studying? What are you doing? Like, she constantly kept checking up on me. So like, yeah, that was there. And apart from that, the teachers were also always there and they, they Made studying interesting for me and they also were like you could always message them at WhatsApp and you could ask them anything that you wanted study related or even if I had some other doubt. So yeah they were there and and also my friend group was amazing and so we kept pushing each other and so there is always this friendly competition between each of us that like to and we would teach each other and we would talk to each other about what we're doing and then we also had this group study thing. So yeah that has helped. And so my friend also got 98 first in one of my friends. So that's like all our group got very good maps. I think it's because all of us were helping each other constantly.

I wish I could get more people but I think in four only Instagram is acting up so it's. Yeah but I would love to meet like more, more students. It's so much fun talking to you guys. So yes.

I would like to dedicate my achievement to of course my parents and my teachers especially my dad. He whenever if by chance I got low marks he always told me that it's not a big deal, aim for boards because he believed in me that I will get much more than what I was getting in unit tests and pre board and among my teachers I would dedicate it to my Hindi teacher Ms. Chansi and my math teacher Mr. Nabdeep sir. They are the reason I scored so good. That's all.

That's amazing and I love that how as a parent you should not be focused on the result but more focused on the effort. And that's what your father did like he was very focused not just on you scoring, you know, whatever best. It's very focused that you know just do give it your best and I'm sure you'll do better. So I think that really helps you know that push that you know I trust you and with a little bit of extra effort you'll do a lot better of you know making you feel low about already low scores. I think that never has that you know you're already low at the parent is also trying to make you feel low. So yes it was so nice chatting with all of you and I just feel like going on and on and you guys are not just brilliant on paper and scores. It was actually brilliant speaking to each one of I'm sure all kids international is really proud to have like such great score scorers from their school and it's been an absolute pleasure. I wish I could go on but I'll probably end because this Instagram and I don't want you to keep here for too long and that. And I would also like to thank all the viewers for actually staying, participating, watching, learning. And I just feel like this is something that I really, truly believe that there is so much that we can learn from our own children. Like now I'm a parent and I have a five and a half year old son. And even though he's five, I think like, you know, just asking him, talking to him, I get to learn a lot. Just the other day, and I'm going to put that up on Instagram. I have that video on my phone. So I asked him this very simple question that, you know, what is the most important thing we do? And gave me a very beautiful answer. So he said that the most important thing we do is we think. Which, you know, I don't think as an adult, I myself could have come up with that response and then asked him what is the next best thing that we do? And he said that the next best thing that we do is we help. So, you know, children can really think, like in creative ways. And I got so many ideas. You guys really mapped out the whole success thing that thought leaders are talking about. It was absolutely fantastic to have this conversation with you. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for showing up on and also waiting for my Internet to get fixed and wish you good luck. And I hope that these, whatever success formulas that you've shared will actually take you ahead and, you know, make you do more. So thank you so much. And I also want to congratulate your pair.