ABG and the advent of fashion at my home! - Aastha Sharma, SIBM Pune

As a child and even late into my adolescent years when I was a lanky, spindly teen girl with arms and legs like twigs, I would have second thoughts before appearing for my maths examination every year. I would sweat, panic and worst of all run away. I barely scraped through the maths exam in every class. It was growing into a demon I couldn’t vanquish. My fear for numbers loomed, grew bigger and it never stopped, until I started my cat preparation last year. I started with a simple ratio problem and struggled with it for ten minutes. I looked at the problem and it looked right back at me. It gave me a snigger, but I kept trying unabashed of all the last laughs that the sum would throw in my face if I wouldn’t be able to solve it in time. But unlike always, this time the demon was losing its powers. Belief was the most important keyword here. I started believing I could, and day after day, I sharpened the edge of my faith by using practice and consistence as a whetstone. By practice I not only channelized my fear into faith but also developed a liking towards something I loathed. Few months later, I landed into Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, because of the late night sessions with the demon that was. That’s when I realized, only by facing your fears can you become the best version of yourself. Comfort zones are to be broken.