By Tanaka, St. Cyprian’s School, South Africa
Tino often felt like a pip in a massive fruit tree, especially compared to the gleaming heroes around him. He was not incredibly brave like Collette or as good at communicating with others as Cara was, he was always doubting himself and thinking he was not great enough.
But Bora, his best friend and biggest cheerleader, saw something special in Tino that others did not. She would often tell him, “Tino, it is your hard work that sets you apart. You’re stronger than you think!!”
On the very first day at Round Square School, the halls filled with buzz and chatter as friends caught up and talked about their holidays and Christmas gifts, the bell rang, and it was time for a fun math challenge. Tino’s teacher, Mr. Sphere doubted anyone could solve it. While everyone else laughed and said it was impossible to do, Tino quietly kept working on it, even when he heard others laughing at him.” OHH LOOK at Tino, he really thinks he COULD DO that”, the words stung, he even overheard someone in his class say, “I HEARD he got like 52% in math what does he think he’s doing”.
He turned to look outside to the transparent glass window shocked and realized it was break time. He was tempted to give up as he watched his classmates outside enjoying games like tag, tic-tac-toe, and laughing in the sizzling sun. But Bora’s words echoed fiercely in his mind, reminding him of his inner strength.
Tino went back to his questions and focused hard as if he were dissecting a nuclear bomb. Tino began to piece everything together and found the solution! His classmates stared in amazement, their eyes widening in disbelief as if they had seen a ghost!!
From then on, Tino understood that he did not need to be like Collette or Cara. His hard work gave him his kind of uniqueness. Bora had been right all along—his tenacity truly was his extraordinary gift.
As the school terms rolled past, Tino really focused and blossomed into a consistent and determined student, even though he was a bit shy. During a group project about chocolate, he felt a little overshadowed by the talents of his teammates, Cara, and Dani, and doubts crept back in. But then his friend Bora lifted his wings by saying, “Being tenacious is a gift. A few people have it. It’s a powerful strength that can round you into the best version of yourself, embrace it.”
Motivated by Bora’s kind words, Tino began to see himself in a new gleaming light. He started speaking up in class, made friends during lunch, and worked on improving his grades. Slowly but surely, his grades began to climb, and he tackled subjects like Math and Social Studies by learning from his mistakes and even helping his classmates.
Word spread like wildfire about Tino’s amazing progress, and soon people were starting to think he might even land in the Top 3 of his class after they all doubted him. As the final IAs for Term 2 were on the horizon, he studied like never before, working hard while others were slacking off.
When the IA test day came, he felt confident tackling the questions. In Math, he faced a tricky problem, he nearly panicked and was about to explode like a balloon overflowing with helium, but remembering Bora’s encouraging words helped him take a deep breath, break it down, and figure it out. Tino’s journey was an outstanding exhibit of how a little encouragement and hard work can improve us for the best.
Students rushed through the hallways some jumping with joy, others ashamed and trying to hide, and others afraid to even look at the IA results. Tino stood back, afraid, but Bora took his hand and pulled him forward.
Top 3! Tino was stunned as he saw the results, second place!!!
1. Cara
2. Tino
3. Collette
Tino’s heart raced with utter disbelief from the results, and pleasure. His eyes tearing up. He had done it. Filled with overwhelmed joy he had tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks one by one all his hard work was worth it. The day he was dreaming about came true.
The applause started small, then grew. Even Cara clapped. Collette gave him a high five. Ms. Square called him “the heart of the class.”
That night, Tino sat by his window amazed, stars above in the dark glistening sky, IA paper in hand. Bora sat beside him.
“You did it,” Bora said.
“No,” Tino whispered, smiling. “We did it.”