It was a typical Tuesday morning in a house in Ahmedabad, my house. Everyone was going about their business as usual without second thoughts. It was 9 AM and I had just woken up. My thoughts were filled with excitement and apprehension at the same time as the day I so eagerly awaited had already arrived, the day of my interview for IIFT, my dream b-school. I had butterflies in my stomach just as MS Dhoni has them before any important cricket match. As I entered the living room, I saw my mother in the kitchen packing lunch for my father. She had neatly packed the Parathas in the Freshwrapp Aluminum foil to keep them hot and fresh until lunch time. She had just served tea and breakfast to my grandpa, whom I heard talking on the phone, instructing our farmhand to use Birla Balwan phosphatic fertilizers for our farm back in Junagadh, Gujarat. I had my breakfast and started brushing up on my general knowledge topics for the interview. As time passed, the adrenaline in my blood started rising. I was feeling confident one moment and nervous the other. The roller coaster of emotions was speeding along. Finally, the time had come. I suited up. The Louise Philippe formals topped by Van Heusen power suit gave me a surge of confidence. I looked at myself in the mirror and felt confident in my ability to perform. I finished my interview and came back home with high hopes as my interview had gone well. I donned my casuals from the skult collection and went out with my friends to celebrate.
Ever since I was in class 7, I wanted to become a doctor. At that time, I did not know what it meant to be one or the amount of effort it took. As I entered medical college, I had a good sense of it now. Going through a plethora of subjects in 5.5 years of medicine, I developed special liking towards Surgery especially Cardio-thoracic & Vascular Surgery (Heart Surgery). I had found the field I wanted to specialize in. I wanted to open a multi-specialty hospital of my own down the road. After my graduation, I started taking National Eligibility Entrance Tests (NEET) for my post-graduation studies. Unfortunately, I could not secure the admission in the field of my choice. I tried again next year, I failed again. This went on for three consecutive years. I had an important decision to make. Should I continue on this path and keep trying or find something other than medicine that interests me? One thing I was sure of was that I could not carry on with this forever. I consulted my friends and family, my peers and finally decided to make a career switch to MBA. This was an alternate path I decided to take to reach the same goal I had aspired to achieve, my multi-specialty hospital. Coming from a family with a business background, I had natural affinity towards business management. If making the all-important decision to switch was not challenging enough, preparing for the multiple B-school exams certainly was. Preparing for subjects that I had last studied over 10 years ago was a gargantuan task. Initially I felt overwhelmed, doubting my decision to change tracks and doubting myself, if I will be able to live up to the expectations. Sometimes it even gave me sleepless nights when I pondered over the decisions I was taking. But, if there was something that medicine had taught me, it was to never give up. And I did not. I kept pushing through, took help from my batch mates and followed through the entire preparation phase. In the end, I got into the one of the most prestigious B-schools of the country, IIFT. My efforts finally payed off.