Dear Madam,
I am 18 years old. In my tenth exams, I scored 93%. I have written my twelfth Board exam this year. I am sure of not getting as much as I had scored in my tenth. My problem is that when I sit to study, my mind gets diverted. I really want to achieve great heights but due to diversion of mind, I am not able to concentrate. When my parents consulted an astrologer, he said that I would not perform better than my tenth.  I feel that whatever he said is proving true. Due to this I feel really depressed. Please help.
A worried student

Dear Worried Student,
By the time this answer is published, your results of your twelfth Board Exam will be in your hands. One part of your worry is over – you know whether you did better or worse than the tenth.
I believe your lack of concentration is because, having got a high percentage in the tenth, there was pressure on you from yourself and others that you should achieve a higher percentage. Hence, instead of enjoying your subjects and the learning process, you have been thinking of crossing 93%. This possibly became a mountain too difficult to cross, which led to procrastination and diversion of mind from the job.
As regards the astrologer, I would have taken what he said in a positive sense. He said you would not perform better that your tenth, but he did not say that it would not be as good as the tenth. You made your mind think negatively in a kind of wish fulfillment, as you were distracted.
One cannot reach great heights by worrying about it. Let me share with you one of my favourite stories: A boatman used to ferry people across the river. He used two oars, on one was inscribed the word ‘FAITH’ and on the other, ‘TOIL’. One day a passenger observed these words on the oars and asked the boatman why he had chosen those two words. The boatman demonstrated; he used only the ‘Faith’ oar, instead of moving forward, the boat moved in a circle. Then he used only the ‘TOIL’ oar, - once again the boat moved in a circle in the opposite direction. Thus, you see that if we are to move forward, we need to have faith in God and in ourselves. But faith alone is not enough, toil and hard work are also necessary.
So, stop worrying, be proactive.

Dear Madam,
For the last six years, I am trying to complete my graduation but am unsuccessful. I work and find it very difficult to cope with my timings and emotions. I have very limited time to study. What should I do? Also, I am very interested to become a newsreader. Can you help me out to improve my English? Is there any institute that teaches English at a later stage? Lastly, I am very interested to continue my graduation through Distance Education in one of the following subjects: Advertising, Public Relations, Journalism, and Mass Communication. Please help.
Manikantan

Dear Manikantan,
You have asked a number of questions without giving much data.I presume you have to work for financial reasons. It is commendable that you want to study too. However, you are not able to balance between work, studies, and your emotions. You have some options: Shift from a full time job to one part time, to give you more time to study. Instead of considering Distance Education, you could explore the possibility of attending ‘evening college’. This will provide the discipline of a regular schedule as well as a peer group to discuss content and questions.Your second question is to do with becoming a newsreader, improving your English and also the names of institutes teaching English.The best way to improve your English is to:Listen to at least one news bulletin in English every day.
Speak in English – it does not matter if you make mistakes.
Read anything and everything that you can in English.
As regards the names of institutes that teach English, they are all around you. We are in the era of ‘Call centres and BPOs’. You need to take a bit of trouble to look around.As for Newsreading, may be you could also consider your regional language.Lastly, the choices of subjects that you are considering for your graduation are all to do with Mass Communication.
If you feel that your English is poor, then you must first work very seriously on improving your English. Thereafter you can think of a choice of subject.