Go to School

Amma pressed the old Tamil verses into my palm, her weathered fingers trembling slightly. Avvaiyar's wisdom had sustained our family through generations, whispered in kitchens and courtyards. "Education is your greatest inheritance," she said, echoing those ancient words. I almost abandoned school that year, ready to work. But Amma's faith was unshakeable. She'd memorized those poems as a girl, just like I was learning. Years later, I taught them to my daughter, and she smiled—understanding finally that going to school meant preserving something precious. Our ancestors' voices live through us, connected across time.