"There is a competition to select four volunteers at the Zoological Gardens," announced my mother. She was almost as excited as I was about this competition. I absolutely love animals and it has always been my dream to work with them

So my mother inquired about the volunteering sessions and was convinced that I would be able to handle myself .We were informed that there would be three rounds to assess my qualification for the role of a volunteer.

The first round included talking to the judges to understand the profession. They would judge the speaker based on their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

The second round included acclimatizing with the animals to familiarize ourselves with them better and build a rapport.

The third and the most difficult round was to execute a routine with the animals.

I was very excited about the competition but the thought of competing with hundreds of similarly driven candidates scared me and I wondered if I would make it. I recollected all the times I failed. I broke down because of all the pressure and expectations I started piling on myself.

I pulled myself together and went in nervously for the first round to meet the judges. Initially I trembled as I looked at all the three senior judges looking at me but then I started to speak about my love for animals and completely lost myself in the conversation.
A couple of days later my sister came running, waving a huge envelope in her hand.
Yes!! I had made it through the first round! I could not believe it. I hadn't expected to get through the round. I jumped about in delight.

As instructed, the next morning I reached the zoo and had to pick up a chit for the second round of competition. The chit contained the picture of the animal that I would take care of. I slowly turned the chit around to see the picture of a baby Bengal tiger cub. My instructor, Kelly, described his diet and the routine that I would have to follow for the next two weeks. I breezed through the challenge.

Three days after the second round I got a call from Kelly. She told me that she had observed me and that I was in for the third round. The next Friday morning, I jumped out of bed, finished my morning jobs and rushed to catch the bus to the zoo.

When I got there, I found Kelly waiting for me with my baby tiger and she asked me to follow her to the practice room. She told me that I would have to teach the tiger cub a few unique ticks by the end of the week and perform the act the next Saturday.

I came up with a couple of tricks and tried to teach them to Happy (I name my baby tiger Happy). As I watched him struggle to get the first part of the routine correct, I started crying. He looked at me curiously and started licking my hand. Did you know tiger tongues are rough? I have first hand experience, literally. Anyway, I started imagining someone trying to teach me something that I just can't grasp, in my case, that's mathematics. I remember crying and bawling on the study table to avoid math and then I imagined my baby cub being forced to learn something that he has no clue about or say in.

Then I decided to change my routine. I decided to be the gymnast and let the tiger be the tiger.

I had to put in a lot of effort because I am not a natural gymnast and was not very flexible at all but I was primarily motivated by the thought of my poor, baby tiger trying to do all those cruel tricks for the happiness of the spectators instead of his own happiness.
By the end of the week I was quite proud of what I had accomplished.
On the day of the performance, I was uneasy because of the change in my routine. I was dressed like a mother tigress and Happy was himself. The stage looked magical. It had pink lights flooding the stage, red velvet curtains and trees all over. Many performers came and went and I felt sad for most of their animals.

When my name was announced, I quickly picked Happy up and walked to the stage. I was handed the mic.
"You know, being a volunteer of this zoo has always been my dream" I started. Kelly was staring at me in horror. I had forgotten to tell her about the change in the routine. I continued.
"I was practicing the dance in my room when I saw Happy trying to perfect his. I watched him for sometime. He was struggling so hard to make everyone proud of him. In the end he came to me for his treat. As I gave it to him I saw what a majestic animal he was. He was being forced to do something he understood nothing about and he had such determination that I couldn't help but admire him. But I believe animals should remain animals and not have to perform stunts that will make inconsiderate people happy."
Then we took over the stage. Happy squeaked happily, while I danced. The audience loved it. At the end of the dance, all the judges stood up, clapping hysterically.
After all the performances were done, the judges started rattling of names of people who had made the cut. My name was not there! I knew I should have stuck to the routine. As I turned around, tears in my eyes, Kelly asked me to wait.
Then I heard a judge say, "we would like to add one more volunteer for she has shown the true meaning of caring for animals" and he called my name! I was so happy. I worked in the zoo for over four years after that.