Short story on theme sweet are the uses of adversity

“Sweet are the uses of adversity”, said wise William
Shakespeare. Gibran’s story is a perfect example of the axiom. He was a
teenager boy, a perfect model of the modern generation whose chief purpose is
to have fun and shirk responsibilities. He was an average student studying in
ninth standard. His grades on the report card did not augur well. The highest
was C2. His parents and teachers always expected more from him. Most of his
time passed playing, frolicking and loafing around.

As time and tide wait for none, SA 1 examinations loomed
large! Gibran felt first time in his life the burden and nervousness of not
being prepared to take the exams. However, he had no option! Only 10 days were
at his disposal. He decided to do his best! The mountain of accumulated work cannot
be climbed easily! He realized it was impossible for him to do all the study
and revision. He just managed to scrape through the SA1 exam with CGPA 5.

He felt so embarrassed and ashamed of his negligent attitude
to study. He had never wanted to score low grades. He had never thought that
not studying would mean low grades and embarrassment. He had thought having fun
most of the time would not affect his studies. He decided to turn a new leaf.

He promised to himself he would work very hard to improve
his grades. He just followed the basics. He did not waste his single moment in
useless distractions. He just studied, studied, and studied. He made a time
table, and conscientiously stuck to it. He burnt not only the midnight oil, but
the early morning oil also. At school he stayed focused all the time. He did
not watch TV at all. Thus working he realized, if a student utilizes his time
optimally, he can do wonders. TV, friends, and loafing around are the greatest
enemies of all the students. He realized studies are not difficult at all;
developing the right attitude to studies, and focusing our mind on studies is
difficult. Hard work really pays off and that too with huge dividends. Not only
he improved his knowledge, he secured A1 in all the subjects in SA2 Exams. His
parents, teachers, and everyone was so happy. He was the happiest of all. This
happiness of hard-earned achievement was thousand times sweeter than the
shallow pleasures of distractions.

Thus  Gibran’s adversity, though self-created proved to be so beneficial to him. Not only he achieved success because of the adversity of scoring low in exams, but he also learnt the valuable lesson of time-management and self-discipline.