The fact that neither of her parents made it past the 8th grade provides strong motivation for Padma to get the most out of her education. She is the polar opposite to many of my peers while growing up. She also has a different kind of mindset towards school than that many of my friends. There are a lot of people in my life that take their education for granted. They will skip school to go hang out or won’t do their homework if they don’t feel like it. But for Padmavathi Mohan, (Padma) she would not waste time that could be spent for school.
Padma is 15 years old, and currently in her 11th year of school. She was the first child in her entire extended family to pass the exam that’s required to complete the 10th grade. At St. Ebba’s Secondary School for Girls, many students that fail the exam will drop out of school, and find a way to help their parents financially by getting jobs. But because Padma passed, she has been presented a chance to make a better life for herself. She spends all of her time on schoolwork to make sure she will be able to go to University.
When I asked what she would do in her free time, she looked at me and said she had no free time. I was amazed. Personally, I could not imagine going through life without having free time. I would probably end up having a mental breakdown because without taking some time to play guitar or read a book, it would be too much for me to handle. To me, this is truly inspiring because a lot of times I will only think of myself and of the present. I feel badly sitting inside on beautiful, sunny days and let my homework go in order to enjoy the weather; Padma would not feel the same. Working on the 100 People Project has made me realize that “free time” is somewhat a Western concept.
Padma currently lives with her mother, father and twin brother in the small, three-room maid’s quarters behind the house where her mother works as a housecleaner. Her parents are both very proud of her and urge her to keep up her studies and pursue the job in Computer Science she desires. She hopes to be able to move to Delhi, and to get a good job with her well-deserved degree.