An unwilling attempt
It was June of 2017 and I was trying to get used to the boring routine of my summer vacation, wasting my precious holidays in my room as if I was intentionally grounded. Life saw nothing fascinating back then, except for meal times and bedtime.
Then one day my elder brother introduced me to a summer camp that he had unearthed on the internet and asked me if I would like to apply for it. ‘Why not?’ I replied, ‘But what would make me eligible for the camp?’ ‘Think of your feats in life and all you have to do is to pen them down’ added my male sibling ‘Okay I will try my best to do that and then you will see my name in the noble list of participants’ I uttered. So my brother nodded in agreement.
After obtaining sufficient details about the camp from my brother, I found it eye-catching and decided to apply for the adventure
I was conveyed about the camp two days prior to the deadline. Successive bad luck came when it was the night time of that day that I had been told about the camp. So that meant that I only had one night and one day to write the application and submit it.
Therefore, I sacrificed my sleep that night, toiling, in order to produce a masterpiece that had no parallel. I evaded working on the next day because I considered the night time as free of interruptions and serene. Including that, the next day was to see the checking and verification of my submission by my brother.
Nevertheless, everything went as per plan except for a nap and at last, I was able to write an application that, I thought, was worth culling. The next day, I asked my brother to check it and after a read, he told me that it was perfect. Therefore, it was time to launch the writing and wait for the upshot
Meanwhile, my twin brother had also written an application and had summited his work. He was probably the main person who made me relish the jaunt.
I wasn’t vexed regarding the aftermath of my submission, as I had no interest in going to the camp. The focal reason why I wrote an application for the camp with such enthusiasm and put forth my maximum potential, was probably because I had a love for writing, or because my brother had compelled me to do so. But finally when the result was out, luckily, I had been shortlisted but the denunciation of my twin did not strike my fancy. I was irked at the latter but delighted at the former. I had a mixed feeling. I was bewildered about whether to be joyous or melancholy. Nevertheless, this probably was a nature’s plan which wasn’t worth an objection and might manifest as subsequent positivity.
A ridiculous test score
Actually the principal reason behind my selection was a hard-hitting test. It was a fragment of our application which we had to take a couple of days after we submitted the application. As per directives, the test was an open-book one but such puzzling were the questions that even the internet gave up. It wasn’t able to provide anything except for slender intimations and perplexing notions about the questions. My twin went first, who was subjected to answering fifteen questions with twenty minutes at his disposal. After a few searches on the internet and several logical guesses, he was able to end the test way before the time ran out. Then before I appeared for the test, my brother decided to take a laptop along with him to assist me in looking for answers on the internet. This cannot be termed as ‘cheating’ because the open book test meant that every legal attempt could be made to pass it. And even the rules and regulations of the test said that everything is legible except for help from the adults. Therefore, we were satisfied with the fact that we were not tricksters.
After I was done with the test, when we inquired about our results, they were surprising. My brother had scored a four out of fifteen and me, a five. Probably, the bijou gulf in the scores was the result of the help my twin did to me during the test. But our hopes for selection had not been completely shattered but had dwindled. And the only thing that we thought gave us an edge, was the toughness of the test, which we thought might have led to distinct and smooth passing criteria. And so our scores seemed satisfactory to us.
But when I witnessed my presence and my twin’s absence on the shortlist, one thing became overt to me that the passing criteria were as usual i.e. thirty-three percent, which are the minimum required marks for passing. And so I just nicked the passing spot which my brother had just dodged.
Whatever took place, what I had to do next was to prepare myself was the next phase of selection, that was, the interview.
A careless Interview
I did not polish any of my skills neither did I prepare myself for the interview. The sole thing that I did was that I remembered the date and time on which my interview was to take place. Probably, the reason for zero training was because the guidelines mentioned the interview as a tranquil one, with general questions to be asked.
The day of the interview drew by and I organized myself for the event. It was to take place around 11:00 a.m. and was a Skype interview. So I opted for the calmest room I could find in my house, as my interview room. My elder brother came along and sat beside me, as to witness how my interview went.
‘When will the interviewer call?’ I interrogated. ‘Don’t worry, just wait!’ responded my companion, in a friendly tone. And there came the call of the interviewer and the interview commenced.
After my interview came to an end, I was not appeased with what I had delivered. My interview went a rather careless one, as I had been direct but formal to the interviewer and had answered what I could and let alone what I couldn’t answer. The major plus-point that I scored, was that I had shunned dilly-dallying and had been upfront. Including that, I had not vacillated neither had I been nervous.
I was puzzled whether I would be selected or not. But the former seemed more probable to me, than the latter, as I thought that my application might give me an edge on the other interviewees.
On the day when the outcome of the interviews was made public, I was pleased to find my name on the list and so was my family. Finally, the selection phase was over and preparations and departure were to follow. But I also underwent some surprise and amazement as I saw my name on the list because one part of my brain was not expecting a triumph. Nevertheless, only the deserving fetches the fruit.