Stress as we know, is an unavoidable part of our lives. The way people deal with it is what makes it different from person to person. Some find solace in alcohol, some in meditation, workouts and the list goes on. Personally, I have a different approach when the stress button goes red. When thing don’t go right, I go shopping. It clears my mind, makes me feel good about myself, and probably that would be the only time I would be happy to have an empty wallet heading home. We even have a name for this treatment called the Retail Therapy. But, everything has a flip side to it and nothing lasts forever. A couple of years back I had to attend the alumni meet organized by my school. I was really excited to go back to my school and was really looking forward to attend the function. But as always I did not know what to wear. The greatest irony in the life of a shopaholic is that he/ she will not have anything ‘nice’ to wear. So, as always, I went shopping. But this time my lucky stars were nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t find a dress all day and I strolled through the city like a mad person. But again silver linings do exist. As I walked along the streets with almost no hope, a billboard caught my attention. Forever 21!!! I went in and came out after about half an hour later with the widest smile on my face. I got the dress of my dreams and guess what? The life of a shopaholic continues.
Part- B
‘Introvert’ ‘Bookworm’ –These were some of the adjectives that I used to be associated with. I used to be an extremely shy person who would drop down dead rather than talk in front of a group. Stage fear was one of my greatest fears and my teachers back in school always came up with the same comment- ‘lack of initiative’. My school life came to an end and then Engineering happened. People talk about turning points in life all the time and this was my turning point. My first year in college was more or less similar to my school days and in the second year every student was to be mentored by a professor. My professor was quick enough to spot my greatest weakness and played a huge role in changing my life. He made me realize that shying away was a way of showcasing our weaker side and to lead in life one has to be strong. But the transition did not happen overnight. It was scary to begin with, excitement the next time and just pure fun later on. Towards the end of my engineering course I decided I wanted do an MBA. My CAT preparations went well and somewhere behind my head the fear of speaking up started crawling up. As my interview date drew closer, nervousness started kicking in and I had to find a way out. On my interview day which would be the first interview of my life, I made it a point that it was time to be strong and give it all I have got. The group discussion and the interview went great and I waved goodbye to my greatest fear for good.