At the core of the ABGLP programme are people who drive to make an impact, irrespective of what challenges they face. Tell us, in at least 250 words, how you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life so far.
As far as I can remember, my life involved moving from one city to another because of my father’s job and later because of my own. Every few years, I was forced to move out of my comfort zone and try and rebuild it again right from scratch in a completely new environment.
As a kid, I detested this change every few years because this meant leaving my friends, school teachers, and safe spaces behind. Being a bit of an introvert during my early years, adapting and acclimatizing myself to an alien surrounding became one of the biggest challenges and a major cause of my anxiety. Swapping schools and friend circles made it very hard for me to cope with both my personal as well as academic life. So, each time I transferred into a new school in a different city, I would have to work harder than the rest of my classmates and put in double the amount of work in order to understand what was going on and keep up with the classes.
I remember when I moved to Kolkata, I managed to secure a seat in of the finest schools in the city. Even though this was the fifth school I had moved to, I was still quite young and trying my best to keep up with the changes taking place in and around my life. This school being one of the elite institutions of the country had students that came from extremely affluent families and backgrounds. Coming from a middle-income family and being slightly naïve at that point of time, I felt extremely overwhelmed and struggled to fit right in. This struggle took a big toll on me and my self-confidence along with my grades took a big hit. I found it extremely arduous to find my own individuality and achieve a sense of belonging. And things took a turn for the worse when I did not score well in my 10th board examinations.
Post this my father got transferred to Chennai and it was time for me to move again. As usual I was a little hesitant, but I realized that with every move, I was beginning to get more accustomed to it. I decided to finally face my fears and struggles. I decided to take control of my situation and of my life and promised myself that no matter the place or the situation, I would always try and adapt to the changes that life throws my way and make the best of it. I stopped letting circumstances or the people around me affect me to an extent where I start to lose myself. I began to stay more focused and prioritized my ambitions. My determination to turn things around for myself came to fruition when I excelled in my 12th grade examinations.
This entire experience was a bitter sweet one because what began as my biggest struggle and challenge, had now turned into my strength. Moving from one place to another, I developed a fondness to experiencing diverse cultures, interacting with different people, listening to their stories and steadily creating my own. I can now confidently say that whenever I’m placed in a situation that is outside of my comfort zone, I tend to thrive and contribute my best.
Someone has rightly said that humans, by nature are always hesitant and skeptical of change but change is inevitable and the only way forward. I couldn’t agree more to it since I am who I am today because of my past experiences and, have managed to achieve my ambitions up until this point in my life because of the same.