The Girl Who Treats Life Like an Entrance Exam - By Shreya Panwar

Written By: Shreya Panwar

Category: Poetry

Competition: Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In her evocative poem, "The Girl Who Treats Life Like an Entrance Exam," Shreya Panwar offers readers a profound exploration of the relentless pressures of life. As a participant in Hashtag Kalakar's Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, Shreya masterfully delves into the theme of life as an unending series of tests, where rest is a luxury, and happiness is conditional. Through her work, she captures the essence of modern struggles with ambition and self-worth.

About the Work

Shreya Panwar's poem paints a vivid picture of a life overshadowed by the pursuit of achievement. The mood is both introspective and poignant, highlighting the internal conflict between ambition and the fear of inadequacy. Through striking imagery and rhythmic prose, the poem reveals the cost of living in perpetual preparation, where the present is overshadowed by the anxiety of the future. It challenges perceptions of success and invites reflection on what it means to truly live.

The Girl Who Treats Life Like an Entrance Exam

Original Submission by Shreya Panwar

“The Girl Who Treats Life Like an Entrance Exam”

The girl who treats life like an entrance exam

does not know how to rest without guilt.

Even on quiet afternoons,

her mind behaves like a countdown timer.

Always calculating.

Always behind.

Always convinced that somewhere,

someone else is working harder than she is.

She turns ordinary days into competitions.

Friendships become distractions.

Sleep becomes laziness.

Hobbies become wasted potential.

Even happiness feels suspicious

unless it has been earned properly.

She mistakes exhaustion for ambition.

That is the first tragedy.

The second is that people praise her for it.

They admire her discipline.

Her productivity.

How much pressure she can survive without falling apart publicly.

No one notices

how frightened she actually is.

Because fear is easier to romanticize

when it looks like hard work.

She prepares for conversations like interviews.

Rehearses sentences in her head beforehand.

Analyzes her tone afterward.

Treats small mistakes like permanent records.

A delayed reply can ruin her entire evening.

One moment of embarrassment

can replay inside her head for years.

She lives as if every version of herself

is constantly being evaluated.

Even alone,

she feels observed.

There is always something to improve.

A better routine.

A better body.

Better grades.

Better habits.

A better personality.

A more successful future waiting somewhere in the distance,

demanding she sacrifice more of herself to deserve it.

So she keeps postponing her life.

She will rest after this week.

She will be happy after this achievement.

She will relax after things finally settle down.

But things never settle down.

The finish line keeps moving.

And slowly,

without realizing it,

she stops experiencing life

and starts preparing for it instead.

Sunsets become background scenery for productivity guilt.

Meals are eaten quickly between tasks.

Music becomes something playing quietly while she worries about tomorrow.

Even joy feels temporary,

because part of her is always mentally standing in the future,

trying to survive problems that have not happened yet.

She cannot sit still without feeling guilty.

Cannot enjoy rest without feeling undeserving.

Sometimes she opens her laptop for no reason at all,

just to avoid the anxiety of doing nothing.

Because doing nothing makes her feel worthless.

And after a while,

she no longer knows who she is outside of achievement.

Without goals,

without pressure,

without exhaustion,

there is only silence.

And silence terrifies her.

So she keeps moving.

Keeps striving.

Keeps proving.

Keeps surviving herself.

People think she is ambitious.

But ambition usually contains excitement.

What she feels is fear.

Fear of falling behind.

Fear of disappointing people.

Fear that if she stops performing for long enough,

she will discover there is nothing lovable underneath all her usefulness.

The saddest part is that she does not even remember when life stopped feeling alive.

Somewhere along the way,

days became checklists.

Months became deadlines.

Years became preparation for futures that arrived too quickly to actually live inside.

And now,

sometimes she looks back at old photographs

and realizes something devastating.

In every picture,

she was so busy worrying about the next stage of life

that she never fully existed in the one she was already in.

She spent so long preparing for the future

that she never noticed

the present had already started without her.

About the Competition

The Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a distinguished event celebrating the diverse voices of writers and poets worldwide. It provides a platform for participants to showcase their talent and share compelling narratives with a global audience. The competition encourages creativity and originality, offering writers the opportunity to express their unique perspectives and stories.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Shreya Panwar for sharing her insightful poem, "The Girl Who Treats Life Like an Entrance Exam," with us. Her participation in the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 brings a valuable perspective to the conversation on ambition and life’s pressures. We look forward to seeing more of her thought-provoking work in the future.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.