The Weight Of A Degree Poem by AAHAN VARMA

As a child they told him,

'Study hard,

And life will change.'

So he listened.

His mother believed.

His father paid every fee.

And he spent his youth

Chasing a future he couldn't yet see.

School passed.

College passed.

Degree after degree came along.

Each year he whispered—

'Surely, I won't wait this long.'

Then one morning,

Certificate in hand,

He stepped into the real world—

And found another line to stand.

Thousands of faces.

Thousands of forms.

One vacancy waiting

Behind a million storms.

Some topped their classes.

Some won medals of gold.

Yet after every interview,

The same story was told.

'Wait a little longer.'

'Try again next year.'

And slowly confidence faded,

Replaced by doubt and fear.

The question isn't

Whether students are studying enough.

The question is—

Why success feels so tough.

The question isn't

Whether degrees still matter.

The question is—

Why opportunities seem to scatter.

One side has qualifications.

One side has unemployment.

And standing in the middle

Is an entire generation.

They said—

'Education is the key.'

So we're asking today—

Why are there still so many locked doors to see?

We don't run from hard work.

We don't fear competition.

We just want to know—

Why does effort still need permission?

Because a degree becomes heavy

When it carries years of hope.

And every closed door

Makes it harder to cope.

If youth are the strength of a nation,

Then answer honestly—

When does their turn finally come?