At my school in Chennai, the Year 12 students are given a farewell by the Year 11 students just before the final board exams. Mine was held in the school auditorium on a Friday afternoon in February, and all the leaving students, our teachers and the principal attended, along with the juniors who organised it.
The juniors had clearly worked hard. There was a slideshow of photos from our twelve years at school, some funny awards like 'most likely to be late' and 'best excuse for missing homework', and a few dance performances. Then each of us was given a small card with a message written by a junior who'd chosen us. Mine said that I'd helped her in the library once when she was new and scared, which I'd completely forgotten. At the end the principal gave a short speech, and we all signed each other's white uniform shirts with marker pens, which is a tradition at our school.
I felt strangely emotional that day, because until then I'd thought I was simply waiting to leave. School had felt like a routine I wanted to escape. But sitting there, I realised I'd spent most of my childhood in that building, and I'd never walk through the gate as a student again. I also felt a bit anxious because the exams were weeks away. That card from the junior affected me most. It made me see that small kindnesses leave a mark even when you don't notice. I still have the signed shirt folded in a cupboard at my parents' house.