Life so far has been full of opportunities, failures, learning and a fair share of wins. I have had the opportunity to live in five different cities in the last 7 years. My first transition from a convent school in Chandigarh to my college in Dehradun was the biggest culture shock of my life. However, good opportunities and the best bunch of friends helped me sail through the 4 years of my engineering as if they were just a few seconds! Fast forward from my college years, and I landed in the city of dreams, Mumbai – I have always loved to call it “Bombae” for obvious reasons. The one year I spent in Mumbai was full of so many firsts – my first job, the first salary, first time of managing my own expenses, and the first time I got myself a birthday gift from Forever 21. That birthday dress is still the number one in the list of favorites.
Another exciting thing about the first job was to be able to buy gifts for family – especially for my mother. I will remember all the times she took me to the nearest Pantaloons store in my teenage years, helping me be ready for any and all kinds of get-togethers and parties with school friends. ‘Pantaloons’ was an evolution for a simple family like ours and has been our trusted go-to shopping place for years now.
One year at Bombay was a flash. Next up – Hyderabad, followed by Delhi. This was my second job and the first time I rented my own apartment and managed every single detail from paying bills to buying groceries and cooking my own meals. All these years have been full of new challenges and I am happy to look back and say I did well. I learnt a lot, made new friends, and built lifelong relationships. I come from a huge joint family and it’s been tough to keep up with everyone in the last 7 years. But one way in which I made a point to make my experiences of use was to guide and mentor my siblings and cousins whenever they were/are in need. Not just them, I have found multiple opportunities to help many a junior from college and other acquaintances in their hunt for work opportunities in the best way possible. Some years down the line, I want to mentor budding startups and HR professionals. I hope my mentoring experiences from home come in handy.
A lot has changed for me in the last seven years. I have become more independent, and have learnt a lot from my peers in college and at work. I have had the beautiful opportunity to live with people from all over the country and that has opened me to new perspectives. In the years to come, there will be some things about my lifestyle that will remain constant – my value system, my fondness for reading, cooking to bust stress after work, cleaning my place every weekend, and using my Vodafone connection, no matter which city I go to for work or otherwise!