Recently as I was scrolling through Instagram I came across this quote-
“You cannot be a hero without being a coward.”
It made me pause and this quote resonated within me . This one simple quote made me think how e I transformed myself into an ambitious MBA graduate from the simple, unassuming young girl that used to dream of being a princess. It all began when my grandparents used to visit our house in Bhilai during my summer holidays. My grandfather used to tell me a story of this young girl who sacrificed herself to the village witch so she could save her family. I grew up wanting to be that heroic , brave little girl.
Then came the year 2004, when my father was transferred to Bangalore. I was uprooted from the place where I was born and brought up for the formative years of my life, made my friends .Bangalore was a whole new experience for me ,meeting new people who were fluent in English, who had different upbringing from me. I started getting a complex which made me feel like an outsider in my new school. I became quite, withdrawn . My parents tried reaching out to me but I had trouble expressing myself. Then my father gifted me my first book by Enid Blyton. As I started reading , I realized that I enjoyed reading, it helped me be calm . Slowly I made reading my habit and in the process I learnt how to speak and articulate myself in English. I took part in spelling bees and the day I won my first inter school spelling me, I finally realized that I am my own hero. I will never forget the day when I heard my schoolmates , classmates and teachers alike cheering for me.
Sometimes, the scared little girl afraid of speaking out still makes an appearance but then I remember the day when I realized I am my own hero and no one can take that feeling away.