THE BADGE CAN NEVER DEFINE YOU

                                             To Every Child Waiting for the Council List

The student council of a school or college has always fascinated me.
Perhaps because I never made it to one.

In college, we had a regular assembly, and the council stood on stage throughout the year. When I joined Loreto, I had only one dream — to be on that stage. I tried too hard. I attended every workshop, took up a minuscule role in the college play, stayed active during the fests, and most importantly — wished and bowed to every professor, hoping it would all count. In my head, I had played all my cards right. I thought I had cracked the code.

They changed the nomination rules that year. Unlike previous years, the nomination was now to be made by the members of the existing student council — not the professors — after reviewing records.

And when the announcements came, I knew I would not be nominated. I had barely interacted with the senior council. My entire “strategy” had a blind spot.

For an entire year, that wound hurt.

I hated attending assemblies. Watching my classmates — and closest friends — stand on stage every day while I sat below, feeling like a lesser mortal listening to instructions from people I believed were “no better” than me.

So today, when the most competitive time of the school year arrives — the student council announcements — I understand.

In staffrooms, we teachers may dismiss it with a casual, “Council hi toh hai…” but I know the elation and heartbreak behind those words. I know what a school badge means. Not getting what you want does erode your self-esteem. I’ve seen children:

• Refuse the badge — “I don’t want the Cultural Secretary badge; I deserve to be the Head Boy.”
• Demand explanations — “Why did A........ become the President of the Student Council? She hardly participated in extracurriculars!”
• Move to the highest authorities — “I need an appointment with the Principal. How can she do this to me?”
• Bring in parents — “But ma’am, look at my son/daughter’s achievements!”

Sometimes, I chuckle.

Because I remember my younger self — who believed the council defined her. I wanted to be somebody in college. “Jaya… President of…” — I had rehearsed it in my mind. Without it, I felt like a nobody.

But life has flowed on — far beyond councils, badges, and assemblies. Today, when I look back, I realise how much importance I had placed on external approval. The truth is, council badges are external approvals. They depend on your visibility, your relationships with teachers, your grades, your timing — so many variables.

All I can say is this:

Feel the pain. It is real.
But trust that one day, you will outgrow it.
And you will realise that the badge never defined you.
It never could.