On 13^th Bhadra, 2079 there was an auspicious occasion of the farewell program for the SEE graduates of batch 2079. Every one of us was excited about the day and was also looking forward to it. Days of hard work were finally about to be paid off. Unfortunately, one of our classmates was unable to attempt school because of a health issue on that very day so rearrangements had to be done place for her. It was nerve-wracking at first because I was unknown of the dance steps but I had fun learning in a few hours even though I couldn’t perfect it. Luckily, she had dropped the dance dresses and required ornaments in the school so there was no issue with such props. I was also excited to deliver my welcome speech to the graduates as it would resemble my growth since they last saw me. We took a ride on our school bus to reach the destination place Thapa party palace. All of the teachers joined us except for Aditya sir. It was sad that he couldn’t join because I know pretty well graduates would’ve wanted to see him the most.

We rehearsed and practiced as much as we could before the graduates arrived. At first, I was a little nervous that I had to perform on the stage but soon lucky enough for me there was a rostrum. Practicing while standing on it made me feel at ease. Soon, the graduates began to arrive. Along with the parents were also coming. First, we along with them were requested to take food. After the food was taken, we were called back to the main hall. The parents sat in the front rows behind the graduates and other nonparticipants of our grade sat behind. The program started and the honors were given to distinguished personalities; The chairperson Mr. Mahendra Prasad Maskey (the Executive Director of MVA), Ms. Kiran Maskey (Founder Finance Director), guest Mr. Raj Krishna Gora (Ward Chairperson, Bhaktapur-03), Mr. Samrat Maskey (Chief Operating Officer), Mr. Anil Shrestha (Principal), Mr. Padam Raj Subedi (Teacher’s Representative), myself as the Student’s Representative, and all the other teachers, Ex-MVAimers, parents and the students of Grade 10. After that event, at the beginning of the program, I was called for delivering my speech. It went pretty smoothly, I felt confident and there was a smile on my face. I probably gave a speech for a little long time but it sure felt like 30 seconds for me. I was pretty satisfied too. After my speech, certain guests were called on the stage to give speeches as well.

I could not listen long because I had to rush for the preparation of my next performance which was dance. However, while my makeup was done for me, I silently listened to the speech from the other side of the wall. It was amazing how they delivered their things and not even a little amount of nervousness was shown. I do clearly remember one of the guest’s lines that says “it isn’t important if we get the education most or not, what matters is the sincerity and hardworking personality in us”. Several other guests also gave their speeches. Swastika’s sister sounded cheerful and happy too. Well, I’m glad for her. Finally, the turn of our performance was about to come. We were called to the other hall for showing it as the condition of the stage wasn’t fit for dancing. The boys performed their song first. The words couldn’t be heard that well because of the speaker but the music was really good. After they finished, it was our turn. The boys in our group were nervous it made me chuckle a little seeing them all scared as if we were going on an unknown adventure. The song was played and we started dancing. It was going well until my friend in front started doing the exact opposite steps.

She did give us a little panic but soon we all came at the same pace. I’m glad all of us were enjoying it, I could see the audience also cheering for us. That did give a little more encouragement.  I was impatiently waiting for the last step because it was going to be a real surprise for everyone. Yes, as expected when the boys carried one another with flags, the audience cheered louder than before. It was all worth it. After the dance, we didn’t change our dresses because it was time for enjoying another dance. As soon as we were back in the audience, we along with the guru started dancing to the Teej song while the teachers danced on the stage. After they finished, we too went to the middle and formed a circle. Then, we danced a lot. Soon enough we gathered many teachers. I was surprised to see Anil sir and Samrat sir dance but it was really enjoyable. My view of them was simply seeing them as responsible figures of school but the sight of them enjoying themselves in that way regardless of people thinking anything around them was amazingly rare. We even pulled Santosh sir and Rajendra sir to dance. It was nice that all of us were dancing in typical Nepali dance steps and not something inappropriate or western steps. I was even more surprised to see the boys of our class dance. They always seemed the most hesitating beings on earth but on that day, they seemed like there was not even an ounce of hesitation. It was genuine happiness. It did make me feel proud of my friends for putting up the fight against hesitation.

The program felt like more for us than the graduates. It was a little sad the graduates didn’t show interest and were slowly losing their numbers in the crowd. Soon enough, all of them were gone, and remained were only us with the teachers. Now it was the time to change our dresses and wrap up everything. We let the boys change their dresses first because only a single room was available for it. We soon regretted it because when they opened the door after finishing changing, the smell of their sweats and socks nearly made me throw up. I struggled to even go near the door. No wonder that smell would come because the room was a confined space with no ventilation except for the door. It was already 6:45 in the evening and we were sitting outside of the room trying to decide whether or not to enter the room. Thankfully with the advice of Shourabh sir, after keeping it open for some time the smell somehow vanished in thin air. We changed back into our school uniforms and then counted the ornaments and dresses. We were informed to come to school the following day between the time of 8 – 9 am for collecting our bags. The choreographer of the dance hurried to go home so she dumped the responsibility on us which was a little upsetting but it was all right since she lived a little far. We did lose one earring. We couldn’t find it after searching the entire place so, in the end, we gave up and headed to eat our dinner. They gave dessert with food this time and it was yummy. While we were eating, we also played truth and dare with friends by spinning an empty bottle.

Soon, the fun day came to an end as we all had to head to our own homes. It was 7:45 so, we were escorted in a school van to safely reach our homes. I’m thankful to the school for caring about us. I lived the nearest so, I gave my friends a warm goodbye and walked on my way. I did live a little far from where I was dropped but walking in that night’s light made me realize some things. It made me feel grateful for the days I’ve lived up to now. It ached my heart that this was going to be the last year in M.V.A. If I had known it’d be this way in the end, I surely would’ve lived my days better from the very start. Good grief that 10 exact years in M.V.A taught me all kinds of emotions. I went from a silent nervous kid who didn’t talk to anybody out of nervousness to a confident responsible student whom others can depend on. I sigh as I got closer to my home. I wondered if my friends felt the same way I did too even though we don’t talk about these matters. I hoped for them to reach home safely and headed towards my home. School life is a fun journey as people always say it.