I come from a defence background. My grandfather served in the Indian Air Force and my father served in the Indian Army. And that is why since childhood I had a strong inclination toward joining forces. Post my schooling, I tried for NDA (Air Force) twice but could not convert the opportunity as I was conference out and medical out in my first and second attempt respectively. I joined an Engineering college but joining forces was always at the back of my head. In my second attempt of NDA, I was medical out on account of underweight and elbow angle. I realized that to get though the SSB (Service Selection Board) process not only I need to work on my interpersonal skills but also I need to attain high standards of physical fitness to match the coveted Officer Like Qualities. In service to this aim, I started running in my first year of college and joined the college gym. There were many other defence aspirants in the college, my roommate being one of them. I contacted them and we decided to dedicate our focus towards the preparation for the SSB process apart from the regular engineering. We used to conduct mock interviews and Group discussions among the group and took feedback among the group and from other friends. We used to have the situation reaction test (SRT), word association test (WAT), picture perception and description test (PPDT) practice using a timer. We used to analyse each answer and discuss the same in the group seeking improvement. Finally, the day had arrived - Indian Army and the Indian Navy visited the college for the GD-PI rounds in the final year. I performed well in the GD-PI rounds and was called for SSB in Bengaluru. I cleared the UES Navy-Pilot entry SSB. I was also able to successfully clear my aviation medicals. All the hard work and dedication eventually paid off. I joined the Indian Naval Academy for my physical training and Air force Academy for my flying training and donned that white uniform I always dreamt of.