An incredible group of five creative A-Level students from BMC recently bagged the ‘National Winner’ title in the British Council’s ‘Your World Video Competition 2022-23’, making us all extremely proud. So Ariel Moreira, Senior Counsellor at TBC (Former A-Levels ECA Coordinator) sat with project leader Srowyesha Deshar to ask her a few questions about her experience.

You’ve just achieved something really wonderful that I don’t think you were expecting. So, what was the competition about?

No, I was not at all expecting to become Nepal’s National Winners of Your World video competition! The theme of this year's competition was our health and how it has been impacted by community issues since the pandemic.

You touched on the delicate topic of depression in teenagers. So, what happens in the video? What’s the story about?

The story starts in a hospital, where a boy and a girl are born. The girl’s father expects her to become a doctor one day, while the boy’s father wants him to be an engineer - which is very common in our country. As they grow up, the boy is able to choose his own path, but the girl can’t manage to express to her father what she’d really like to do. She finally becomes very depressed from all the pressure and expectations on her: from her parents, from her school… and this leads her to attempt suicide. In the end, the boy manages to save her just in time.

Can I ask what inspired this story? Was it a group decision to work on this, or was it your proposal to the team?

It was my idea …there were five of us in the group, Ponita, Shramana, Praful, Yunish, and me. We were all going through different kinds of problems. Some of us had pressure from our relatives to become doctors, another one of us was depressed because they didn't know what to do after school. And I also had my own issues … my parents really wanted me to become a doctor, and I didn’t want that… But guess what! After watching my video, they changed their mind!

What! Really? So, now they’ll let you choose your desired university course and career?

Yes! I made them watch my video, and I guess after that something changed.

Wow! That’s actually shocking to hear. I’ve got tears in my eyes! And the fact that you actually won a national-level prize gave the message even more strength, didn’t it? So, how did you feel when you got the news that you had won?

I was like, are you kidding me?! My family congratulated me. They said, “It’s your achievement - you and the group did this all by yourselves. You deserve it.”

And what is your message to the people who will be reading? To both parents and students.

To parents, please, try to understand your children. And to students: We should not be scared to express our feelings to our parents. We’re always concerned that they might get angry when we share our problems with them. Don’t think about that, just believe in what you wish to do!

Well, thank you so much, and congratulations! You’ve made us all very proud.

And thank you! You supported us in every step and this great achievement was thanks to your help.

To watch our winners’ nationally acclaimed video message, click HERE. We hope this is a great reminder to support new generations in their interests, ambitions, and dreams because finding your own purpose in life is finding the path of happiness.