One quiet evening, after another long day of classes and bus rides, Abhiram sat at his desk with his phone in his hand. The screen glowed with familiar icons, the most tempting of them all—Instagram.
That little square of colors had once been his escape. Scrolling endlessly through reels, liking posts, comparing lives, and drowning in memes had consumed countless hours of his school years. It had been a silent thief, stealing not only his study time but also his confidence. Late-night browsing had turned into late submissions, unfinished chapters, and ultimately, the disappointing board marks that still stung when he thought about them.
He remembered the countless times he had promised himself, "Just five minutes." But five minutes would stretch into an hour. One video led to another, one post to another. And in the end, he was left staring at the clock, guilty, tired, and unprepared.
Now, in college, things were different. He had already chosen his path—to practice, to write notes, to face Physics and Mathematics, to change himself from within. There was no room for distraction anymore.
With a deep breath, he opened the settings, scrolled down, and tapped "Deactivate Account."
For a moment, his finger hovered over the confirmation button. Memories flickered—friends he had lost touch with, conversations that had once seemed important, even the mockery he had faced in school that had partly spread through social media. But instead of hesitation, he felt something new—freedom.
Click.
The screen went blank. Instagram was gone.
In that silence, Abhiram smiled to himself. It wasn't just about deactivating an app—it was about cutting ties with a past mistake, one that had once chained him. He realized this was more than discipline. This was a life lesson—distractions will always exist, but it is up to him whether he allows them to control his future.
From that night, his focus became sharper. His evenings, once wasted in scrolling, were now filled with practice—derivations in Physics, coding in Python, essays in English, poetry in Tamil. Each subject became a brick in the foundation he was building.
And deep inside, Abhiram knew one thing for certain:
"This time, I will not repeat the mistakes of my past. This time, I will win."
The journey ahead was still long, uncertain, and full of tests—not just academic, but emotional. Yet with every choice like this, he was shaping a new version of himself.