A life without challenge is not a life at all. To quote Bernice Johnson Reagon, “Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” The process of growth happens when you face and overcome challenges. My life also had its fair share of challenges and I know these challenges would.
I was a studious child in my high school and there was generally good expectation from everyone about my 12th results. We know that one of the biggest causes of early stress among the teenagers in a country like India is expectations. I couldn’t perform well in the boards and this immediately triggered a lot of questions and judging by people who had high expectations. This was just a social pressure and even bigger challenge I had was that with my marks I wouldn’t be able to secure an engineering seat in any of the top colleges. At that point of time I had to prove myself to everyone and more importantly to myself that this is not the end. I joined a new institute which was just beginning to make its mark in the field of engineering education. This was a big risk I took. But as it turned out, those 4 years shaped out to be the best experience I could’ve asked for from a college.
Probably due to inner urge in me to prove myself I could easily make the best out of those 4 years. My academic performance was fairly good and I was able to secure a good CGPA. This could probably be associated with the fact that I wanted to compensate for my academic performance in my high school. I also had ample opportunity to shape my leadership and people managing skills as I was elected to handle a number of roles and responsibilities including that of the head of the student body. Of course, this posed several challenges for me as I had to get over my inhibitions since I was an introverted person. But taking up these challenges helped me shape my personality along with instilling a confidence in me that I never used to have. When I look back at all the positions I held in various committees and all the responsibilities I carried out, I find a metamorphosis, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. I felt that choosing that college was one of the biggest risks I took which has created a positive outcome for me.
This very memorable and enriching college life was followed by a 1-year job at a startup as a Business Analyst. This was another challenge as I had no prior experience and technical knowledge of the IT industry or Business analysis. My role also included data analysis which was also new to me. But this was a challenge I took up as I had the opportunity of choosing another job in my core field which was mechanical engineering. But I had developed a curiosity towards this field and wanted to get exposure in it, so I took up the job. It is safe to say that after doing the job for year, the challenge wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated. This led me to the understanding that learning is something I should be ready to do in my career irrespective of the age or job role. The human mind can do wonders when we keep it working on a daily basis.
The challenges didn’t stop there. I knew I had just seen the tip of the iceberg and more were coming. But what I learned from those 4 years has given me confidence. I have realized that I don’t have to prove myself to anyone but me. Once you overcome your inhibitions the sky is the limit. But I say why limit yourself to the sky when there is vast possibility lying above it in space.