Atika Zainab

I am Atika Zainab Siddiqui a proud student of the prestigious St. Paul’s English School. I journeyed into tenth grade with a chronic skin disease that has attacked my scalp and has made an abounding empire there due to which I have excessive hair loss and scalp irritation. There hasn’t been any diagnosis of my condition because my doctors tell me they haven’t seen anything like it before. I had become a subject of experimentation at the hands of my doctors. They gave me steroids and whatnot. Throughout the year I was suffering from nausea and vomiting due to the heavy drugs my doctors prescribed for me. Hadn’t it been for the support I received from my teachers and parents I wouldn’t have been able to prepare for my examinations.

With the beginning of board, exams began the untimely rise of the second empire of skin disease which I call the CREEPY-CRAWLY-SHEEDY monster. I woke up on the morning of the English language paper and found a red spot on my forehead.it made me look like I had just come out of a zombie movie, nonetheless I went to school and gave the paper.

The five days gap for mathematics examinations were spent with utter confusion and stress. Every day I would wake up to find that the Creepy-Cawly-Sheedy monsters had invaded a large territory for my scalp and shaved off all my hair from that region Nice and clean!! The night before the exam I made the decision to chop off my remaining hair to make me look less scary.

I arrived at my school a little late and expected that probably everyone would make fun of me. Little did I know that I would receive hugs, kisses, and blessings from almost every teacher. Facing this skin condition as a girl isn’t easy, its difficult to walk into a crowd with a bald head but I was blessed to have such caring classmates who helped me through thick and thin.

When you have the love of a thousand people and support as strong as a wall then no matter how many difficulties you face you will always be able to win any battles you fight. I have always feared diseases a great deal and more than that I have feared the risk of not recovering. With the constant moral support of my teachers, I had the courage to fight my battles. I will be eternally grateful for all my teachers, my beloved parents, and all-mighty God.

Atika Zainab Siddiqui,

Grade XI,

St. Paul's English School.