A Note by Chief Advisor Rajiv Khandelwal
The following essays were submitted directly by the author with the written consent of her parents,
under the individual submission route which Afflatus Creations is developing as a secondary
channel alongside its school-submission policy. They are published here as part of Young Voices’
inaugural volume.
Nivritee Khandelwal
Grade 9 Student, Age 14. Dehradun
The Conditions We Give Our Mind
You have your own mind, and to some extent, you can control what you constantly tell it. Let’s take
my own example. If I keep saying, “No, I’m not good at studies. I will not get the timing I want in
my race. I will never be able to go on a stage in front of a hundred people and speak in English,” I
am already making a condition in my mind before I have even tried.
Nivritee Khandelwal
Grade 9 Student, Age 14. Dehradun
Why I Want to Become a Counselling Psychologist
Since childhood, I have been a very sensitive person. Simple comments used to affect me a lot.
Something that another person might forget in a few minutes could stay in my mind for days. I have
also gone through some mental and emotional difficulties while growing up, and there was a time
when I needed therapy and regularly went to my school counsellor. It has taken me years to reach
where I am today, and I would not say that I am completely out of everything even now. There are
still things from my past that affect me and things that I am learning to deal with. But when I look at
the person I was a few years ago and the person I am today, I can see how much has changed.
