Keep your dreams alive and let ABG help you achieve them (IIM Ranchi)

As an Indian, trust plays an important role when one invests in a brand. I have seen my parents buy products only from a few particular companies or brands because they trust that brand. They know their values match with the brand's value. One such brand is the Aditya Birla Group.

My introduction to this brand was through my parents. Even today, I am very dependent on the products and services this brand offers and will be in future too. I am a regular customer of Pantaloons as I get so many options under one roof. What I like most about Pantaloons is their customer-centric staff. They'll go the extra mile to make sure you get everything you came looking for. Moreover, they provide a feedback pad right at the billing counter which makes it more accessible for us as a customer as we don't have to go around looking for a separate section to give our suggestions which saves us time.

The other venture of ABG that has left an impact on me is their schools. Having known a teacher and a few of the students from Birla schools, I see the kind of values and culture they imbibe on students. It reflects from afar. When it comes to their pedagogy it is not only limited to studies but also they give equal importance to extracurricular as well. And you can see this when students of their school go abroad to win competitions like “Korea-India Friendship Quiz”. Having participated in a lot of extracurricular activities, I know the importance of them and how it can help an individual and one’s learning.  And when a brand like Aditya Birla Group is behind promoting such pedagogy, it makes a much more meaningful impact on the society as a whole.

"Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient." 

When you're little all you aim for is the moon and stars; But as you grow up, your dreams start to get closer to the ground. As kids, most of us have changed our dreams on a day to day basis. I was no different than this. One day, I wanted to be a choreographer, other days a doctor. I never fixated on one dream. By the time I was in high school, people around me had one goal to achieve or a path they wanted to follow. And there I was, not knowing what I liked more.

Scoring more marks is always seen as a sign of intelligence. I was an average performer in school and hence was always looked down upon by my teachers. This made it more difficult for me to believe that I could have one big dream, ever. There was a place that I liked more than the classroom. The dance room, the place where I could shine. The place that instilled confidence in me. Practising dance did not only improve my flexibility but also imbibed many qualities in me; teamwork, determination, precision in form and much more. 

What's more special about this art is, it not only gave me a medium to express myself but also helped me understand the power of hard work. It also gave me a lot of courage to face other challenges in life, one of the challenges being my performance in school. My hard work and consistency eventually paid off and my scores rocketed high.  I did not go from being an average performer to the topper of the school, but my achievement was nothing less than that. From barely passing in examinations to making it into the top quartile of the class, a new journey began for me. This made me realize that I never lacked the intelligence quotient what I lacked was courage and the will to try.

My lesson from this is, nothing is impossible. If you set a target and you work hard towards it, you can achieve it. The only barrier that stops us from reaching our goals is in our mind. We need to train it to be more resilient and trust our instincts. It is about constantly striving to achieve your set goals. And my goal was to get into one of the best B-schools of India, and I did!