A few years back, a nightmare woke me up at 3 am in the morning. That thought was “What am I doing with my life?”. I was in my early twenties following the herd mentality, doing what everybody else around me was doing, without creating any impact. What happened? Growing up, I always dreamt of creating an impact on this world and making it a better place. But at that moment I felt like I was changing nothing; just surviving.
A few days later, as I was passing the streets of my hometown, I saw a litter of abandoned kittens. I looked around for quite some time, but their mother was nowhere to be found. I took them to the vet and after the checkup gave them shelter at my place (hiding them from my parents) while figuring out my next plan of action. I was unable to find a loving home for the kittens and eventually decided on adopting them.
Convincing my parents to adopt them was a battle in its own. After hours of convincing and literal begging they agreed, but with a condition. The condition was that for the next few months I was solely responsible for taking care of them. I was up for the task and the next few days changed my life for good. I realized how a pet can make your life more beautiful and add more meaning to it. I would have a stressful day at college, but when I came back home to those glittering eyes, I forgot everything. I felt like I had found a purpose.
For the next few months, I rescued a bunch of kittens around my area and provided them with a foster home until they were finally adopted into their permanent homes. The feelings associated with rescuing those adorable creatures, providing them shelter and seeing them eventually settle into their homes were so fulfilling. It also made me realize that not everyone can change this world.
But what we can do is try to make our surroundings better and if everyone strives for this, we all can together make this world better.
Why Aditya Birla Group Is Big In My Life
If you were to look into my closet, you would find a myriad of branded stuff. As I was observing all these brands in my closet, I wondered how did it all start? How did I go from a timid teenager who wore whatever his parents told him to a fashion savvy guy?
I was born and raised in a middle-class family in a small town where brands were a luxury we could never afford. The only ‘branded clothes’ I had were the first copies bought from a flea market. All my friends’ birthday parties were an occasion to wear the same worn out shirt time and again and feel that inferiority complex seep through me. The concept of a mall was introduced to me in my mid-teens. For the first few years, as a confused and broke teenager, I went in there gazing at all the branded clothes, trying them out but never buying them. But as things got better, that day had finally come.
It was Diwali and the festive season bought along with it a wide range of offers and discounts. I still remember buying my very first Bare Denim jeans and UMM t-shirt, something that was high on the style and extremely reasonable in price. Call it vanity, but it gave me immense pride in putting those clothes on. Brands like Grasim became a huge part of our family functions and weddings. As years passed by, and I started packing on pounds, ALL was the only brand that catered to the needs of a plus sized individual. I eventually lost those extra pounds, but what I did not lose was my heavy inclination towards ABG retail brands like Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen etc. The clothes from these brands were high on quality and style, not to mention that they came at a reasonable price tag. With ABG acquiring exclusive rights to Forever21, I was elated. These brands became a huge part of shaping my fashion sense and making me believe in the saying ‘You are what you wear’.