I felt the cool metal of the gun pressed against the flesh of my three-year-old

forehead. I looked at my mother. Maoists were beating her ruthlessly. I still remember her

eyes were different than usual. She was crying and pleading for help. When the Maoists

broke my mother’s arm, they broke my heart too. These circumstances forced me to feel the

fear residing inside me.

With fear comes wisdom to understand the gravity of a situation. I came to know, my

acute senses, they were evaluating my surroundings. I did not know if the gun had bullets, but

I knew that it possessed the potential to kill me and my entire family. Fortunately, the gunner

did not pull the trigger. Fear, happiness and hatred aimed towards me at the very same

moment. Life resonated like never before. I was filled with a passion to make the most out of

it.

The 2000s Maoist Insurgency was fierce. The whole country was in flames as certain

people believed it was the right way to overthrow the Monarch. I wondered why my parents

did not show any pain while others were crying out loud. When I turned back to see my

mother’s broken arm and my father’s rush to bring a smile on my face, I understood the

situations my parents had to go through. My parents’ struggle always inspires and motivates

me to work harder.

An incident during my school initiated the incentive that I pursued forever. Though I

was only 8 years old, I was elected as the vice-captain of a club called "Green House" by a

majority. The unforeseen happened because I was upright of my will. It was that one

opportunity which connected me with the world where I belonged to. As I worked with

members from different backgrounds, I gathered knowledge about different cultures which

helped me come solve various problems. My growth was visible. I was nurturing and

mastering my oratory skills. I learned the right composition and concentration of different

things to make a wonderful recipe of leadership.

 Events will become clear only after I present my personal anecdotes and confirm

them, justify how the sun rises in the morning or the stars twinkle at night. After I passed my

SLC examinations, I looked for a place which could provide me enough space to expand. It is

never an easy task to find your best fit in a city like Kathmandu, where a multitude of

distractions can be appealing in many ways. Consequently, I was admitted into St. Xavier’s

College.

Now, think of an elastic collision within physics. Similarly, my ideas collided with

those of St. Xavier’s. Since I loved mathematics, I entered the club “Sodalitus de’

Mathematica” and conceptualized the idea of “Math Fair” where people could link maths

with daily life. I forwarded the idea and received a tremendous response. The club even

conducted “Math Hunt” on my lead, the first of its kind in the entire country. Excelling my

leadership skills along with social apprenticeship and proper communication, brick-on-brick,

I was able to build a fortress where Mathematics could feel safe. St. Xavier's provided a

much needed breakthrough.

With time, I have figured out that leadership is the culture which always transforms

me. Leadership broadened my horizons as a creative thinker, critical analyzer and informative

communicator. Leadership is my identity with which I feel the foremost comfort to stretch

myself. Currently I am teaching Physics to A-Levels, a program that teaches quantum

mechanics, thermodynamics, and applied mathematics.

Finally, time has come to add another experience and blend them all to allow myself

to transform into a real leader. Leadership contains the dreams and will of time, and will

always bring the best out of me. Before we finish, I need to thank the man who did not fire

the gun on April 1, 2002. Otherwise, this story would never have come true.