U Got This !!

Students & teachers whom I have taught, coached or mentored have often told me – “You are so calm and patient—you let us keep trying without allowing us to panic or stepping in to take over. You build our confidence.” Reflecting on that made me realize where that trait came from.

When I think about my Dad the first word that comes to mind is quiet. Not the kind of quiet that fades into the background (he can be very loud when he chooses to be mind you😀) - but the kind of quiet that steadies you, anchors you, and gives you strength.

One memory that comes flashing back is: I was learning to drive in my Dad's car, the white Fiat TN 2552, the number plate etched forever in my mind. There I was, stalled right in the middle of a four-way junction, with a huge public transport bus thundering down behind me. My heart was racing, sweat dripping, my hands fumbling with the ignition, foot slipping off the clutch. The chaos of blaring horns and impatient drivers swirled around me. And my Dad? He sat right there in the front passenger seat, calm as ever. No panicked instructions thrown at me. No raised anxious voice. No frustrated sighs. Just his steady presence making me feel: You got this and his words in his calm quiet relaxed tone: Yenna dhan aarudhu pakalame (Tamil language) – translated as: Let’s just see what happens!

It took me four or five tries, and two full rounds of the traffic signal, before the car finally lurched forward. But what stayed with me wasn’t the driving, it was his quiet calm. In that moment, he did not just get me through a busy junction, he built my confidence. He blocked out the noise, the chaos, and gave me the quiet assurance that I could figure this out.

Today I see myself doing the same with my students and the teachers I support.  Whether it’s tackling a tricky math strategy or trying a new approach to teaching a concept, I find myself offering them the same gift my Dad gave me: patience, empowerment, and the confidence to keep going. That quiet support - the calm in the middle of chaos or doubt - is his legacy in me.

So, today, I celebrate my Dad, the quiet man, who taught me that a form of strength is also being beside someone, steady and sure, making them feel: You got this -‘Yenna dhan aarudhu pakalame’ translated as:

Let’s just see what happens!

So over to you then: Who in your life has been that quiet strength telling you ‘You got this'?