"I was 15 when I entered TYC. I had been homeschooled until tenth grade, and I was unsure of how regular school worked. My whole family was excited about me joining high school—except for me. I had no friends my own age until then. The only thing I cared about was passing high school with good grades so I could pursue a music career at a prestigious university in the USA. While my family was thrilled, fear equally loomed because I had never been allowed to go anywhere without them—even just to the store.
I was old enough to understand nebulizers and constant medication, but not quite old enough to grasp how teenage life worked. I had been introduced to death before I had truly experienced life. My doctors and nurses were on my list of "friends," and the hospital had become my second home. My parents wanted me to have a normal high school life, and I did too. In fact, it was me who insisted they let me join TYC, the best high school in the country. But there were rules:
• I had to share everything about school every day.
• I would be dropped off and picked up by our own driver.
• Any friends I made had to meet my family.
• I had to meet the principal of TYC—my dad's friend—every morning to ensure I was okay.
Back then, I was anything but OK.
It wasn't that I lived a completely unsocial life. I had friends—maybe not very close ones, but yes, I had friends. I talked too much, had my own likes and dislikes,my types.The problem was, I never got to share those things with anyone my age, or anyone who reciprocated my feelings.
The night before my first day of school, we had a family talk, and everyone seemed excited for this new era in my life.
I was reminded of the rules one last time, and my cousin added, "Sakshi, are you gonna date?"
I fumbled because I wanted to, but hadn't really thought about it. She asked again, this time in front of everyone.
"Who's gonna date me, DiCaprio?" I replied, and everyone laughed—except my brother, who cringed.
He warned me, "DO EVERYTHING BUT DATE!!!"
I went silent.
Then he added, "Titanic isn't real, and don't try to make it real."
After my brother had gone through a tough breakup, he had become completely against any form of relationship. We all laughed, but he was serious.
I went to bed that night, dreaming of the magical life that awaited me the next day."
