During my early days at college (in 2013), I was ignorant and unaware of the concept of being professionally dressed. The term “professional” seemed foreign to me. That’s when my father introduced me to the world of elegant and professional clothing. The first and foremost thing brand that appealed to me was Peter England. On wearing the same, I felt a sense of comfort and ownership, making me opt for it. Thus, I ended up trusting Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), fashion sector of Aditya Birla Group and is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse. In the following months, I had gone out to purchase business casuals clothing. Renown for premium casual shirts, I chose to buy from ABFRL’s brands: Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Louis Philippe. Even when I had issues with the shirt or pant sizes, the store staff had always ensured that the issue is rectified soon enough. This sense of loyalty to the customers initiated my ever-lasting association with the group. Ever since I started wearing these, I had felt confident on important occasions and interviews. I have always felt a sense of oneself while wearing these branded shirts. My association with ABG continued beyond my college days as well. During my stint in the automobile sector for almost 2 years, I wore these branded shirts every day, eliciting praise from others for my dressing sense. My association with ABG for the past 8 years will prolong for a long time, given the quick connection I had with their products. The interesting part about the group is that they have always known the target audience, gauging the future trends of youngsters like me.
Why me? Thank god, it was me.
During my last year of schooling, I was asked to deliver the welcome speech for an event. Owing to stage fear, I panicked and delivered a half-baked speech. After the speech, I was upset thinking about it. Adding to that, adverse comments by my teachers gave me nightmares. I was pondering over it for a while. One fine day, I came across a post saying “Work on your weakness until they are strengths and work on your strengths until they are second nature.” On reading it, I felt motivated and decided to apply it in my life. Taking the criticisms in a constructive manner, I signed up for dramatics workshops during my college days. During my initial days, past fears returned, making me panic again. Eventually, I gained in confidence during the last few days, enacting in various plays. Besides this, I went in search of opportunities at college to get rid of my fright. My stint with dramatics for 3 years made me transform myself into a confident and positive person. Three years hence, I feel confident talking to huge crowds. At my workplace, I capitalised by hosting events for my team of 200. I overcame my challenge successfully over the last few years. Today, I think I would claim public speaking as my foremost strength. Like ABG, I have also started taking challenges in my stride and working on them till they become my strengths. This trait of mine has brought me so far and I am sure that it will carry me far into the future after my MBA at IIFT as well.