The teacher who teaches unknowingly: Rafael Nadal

A teacher is not just a person who teaches us in school or colleges, but someone who teaches us about anything in our lives. And not just teach, but also motivate and inspire us, to even beat our own potential. Anybody who does that is, in my opinion, a teacher.

On this Teachers’ Day, I pay my respect to the person who not only taught me big or little things about life but also inspired me and motivated me everyday for the past 9 years. Rafael Nadal, the man who taught me never to give up, who motivated me to get up every time I fell and inspired me to bounce back even stronger than before.

He showed me it’s possible to be at the top one moment and the very next moment suffer a great fall. But while you do hurt yourself and affect people around you, you have to get up and start climbing back.

For seven months, he was nowhere to be seen; critics started to question his comeback. Will he able to dominate the tennis world as he used to? And seven months later, in his widely talked about comeback, he’s on this crazy 53-3 match record, reaching 11 finals of the 12 he has played, winning 9 out of them.

But what does it mean? For some, it just may be a source of amazement, and for others, a collection of impressive stats. But for me, it’s more than that; it’s an example of how sheer hard work and self belief can conquer everything. Nadal taught me that nothing is permanent. He taught me that no matter what, you can always come out of your dark phase of life and be at the top again!

And Nadal has not only taught me things like hard work, dedication, self belief or faith but also little things which are equally important in life. He has taught me not to take your success to your head, and to stay grounded and stay humble. There can and will be a time when you’ll lose, so always remember you could be in that situation any time.

Nadal has taught me that the sportsman spirit matters in every sphere of life; to congratulate the person when he wins simply because he deserves it as he played better than you did. He has taught me that you are allowed to feel bad when you lose but you are not allowed to lose your temper even in the worst situations; he has taught me to make sure you come back even stronger and to keep working hard because you can always improve. There’s always something more to achieve.

When he stepped back from going to the Olympics where he was asked to be the flag bearer of his country, he taught me to think about others rather than to be selfish. Even though it’s not easy to miss such a big opportunity, sometimes it’s better to let things go. He taught me to respect your family, your friends and even your co-workers. They have the power to affect your career in a good or bad way. He has taught me to say a little “thank you very much” after almost every line, as it doesn’t hurt anyone but gets a sweet smile on their face.

He has taught me so many things; he inspires me to be more than what I am today and he motivates me every day. I never realised how all these little things have been inculcated in me until now, and that’s all by just being his fan.

He might not have taught me my course subjects but he taught me some very valuable subjects of life. He gave me tips which made not just me happy but even the people around me. I owe this man more than just being a fan. I need to thank him; unknowingly he’s changing lives of many people like me, motivating us and teaching us to never give up!

So today, I wish my favourite teacher Rafael Nadal a very happy Teachers’ Day!

And thank you for being such an important part of my life! I shall always look up to you.