Heart And Soul: The teacher whose belief in me shaped my destiny

The writer believes that every child – every human being – needs at least one person to look them in the eye and say, 'I believe in you.' For her, it was her former teacher, to whom she has immense gratitude. — Freepik

I recently reactivated my Facebook account after a long hiatus. While scrolling, I noticed an unread message in my Messenger inbox from a former teacher, dated Oct 18, 2017.

The message was simple: a Deepavali greeting, addressed to me as “Dr” – I had just graduated from medical school – and signed off with the affectionate nickname he had always used for me: budak (child).