Well, I was born Madurai, a tier 2 city in Tamil Nadu. A small town girl is how I would call myself. I am sharing my journey so far , so that there is an informal introduction.
I grew up in a traditional family , but luckily not one of those families where everything is hierarchical or that curbs your dreams . So, I learnt to dream as a child from the silliest to the most crucial things. I was a single child for quite some time and needless to say that I was the apple of everyone’s eyes. Every syllable out of my mouth was celebrated; every shabby painting was treated like a masterpiece. So, I was the princess of a world where everything seemed perfect.
But my naughtiness was getting way out of bounds and unable to handle it my parents pushed me into a school. I joined school when I was two and half. Every day was a new day; I enjoyed going to school and meeting other kids. With every passing day the invisible tiara that I was wearing started disappearing. I was introduced to the world of sharing, criticism, listening. Yes, education truly started. Although I enjoyed most parts of school, writing was a pain! Accepting “A “as “A” did not suit the creative genius that I was ;). But who cares, I had my own reasons to go to school, and that was my headmistress’s stories.
Soon, I was traumatized by two line note books and four line notebooks. I was so overloaded with information that I thought the sedentary life of my grandma was so blessed, and wanted to be her!
The birth of version 2 – The dedicated one!!
We had moved to a nuclear family and because of some locational constraints I had to move from the main school to a branch. I was puzzled and scared of all the changes and somehow ended up finding my books a good company. One fine day, I topped in my English exam when I was in second standard. The feeling of being the best was very soothing and more importantly, it excited my parents. This led to the new version of me and from then on I did anything that made my parents proud. Arts, literary competitions, plays, dancing, I tried it all.
Each new day came with a new ambition. Biology turned as the beacon of my life. I was so in love with it that I wanted to be a doctor. Next few years of my life, I was busy juggling with books and participating in competitions so that my ideal self could be happy. But somehow I felt lost in the never ending maze of exams, competitions, deadlines, and expectations. Deep inside me there was this lingering feeling to have fun and this led to the birth of phase 3.
Phase 3 – Free spirit
The girl who sat in the first row and who was busy taking notes disappeared. Not that I stopped studying, but I stopped letting studies define me …. basically took a chill pill!
Got my board marks, did decently but did not get through the entrance for medicine. Crushed, I decided to go ahead and do my Engineering from SRM. College gave me independence. The responsibilities redefined me and added the much needed color to my life. I was now a confident young adult.
I passed out of college and worked in one of the best IT Companies. Bored of the monotonous schedule, I wanted a change, and more importantly my college life back. So I decided to do my masters. I worked hard and got admission in one of the prestigious institutes of the country. Currently, I am pursuing my MBA.
The crux of the story is if I were to make a 1 minute small talk or one page introduction, the perception about me would have been way different. I would have probably come across as a very serious and a studious person. But in reality, I have my own share of mistakes, failures, doubts, and fears.
We struggle hard to make an appealing profile because that is necessary. But in that strive we are bound to remember that we all are unique and our stories are different.
Hope that my story has made you realize that being naughty or a rebellious teenager is not as destructive as it is perceived to be. In MBA terms, you are just digressing through a product life cycle!!
kindleeffervescence 