Ever since I can remember comprehending actions & consequences, I remember being told by my parents that giving up is for the weak. The strong only know how to persist and go on no matter how murky the waters get. They just keep wading on.
Although I have always been of the opinion that we all get confronted with sticky situations in life, no matter what. Especially when we’re at the last straw and almost feel like giving up. However the sweetest and the most satisfactory of all rewards possible is the feeling that one gets when they overcome a situation like this and emerge victorious out of it. Doesn’t matter whether we have an audience to applaud us or not; the taste of victory never really leaves us. Most of my adult life has been filled with experiences as such. Whether victorious or not, I’ve successfully managed to manoeuvre myself through each scenario to the best of my capability.
The toughest one that I can recollect is also the one that I faced quite early on in life - the challenge of convincing my doctor parents that I wanted to pursue my undergraduate studies in the field of media and communication instead of science. I’d always had a knack for advertising from high school and was very passionate about reading everything that I could lay my hands on about it. After I passed my 12th boards, I came to the realization that science is not my cup of tea and all I’ve ever wanted was to dabble in media, understand the world of marketing & advertising, delve into how brands have become what they are, etc. This resulted in me secretly applying to India’s #1 media college, appearing for the entrances, securing an All-India-Rank of #2 and pushing and fighting my way through it till my family had to agree to let me go to Pune to pursue my dreams in the field of my choice. The hardships were many - parents telling me that I would regret my choice forever, relatives rebuking me for throwing it all away for nothing and friends not really understanding what I wanted to do with my life. The distress that this caused me was not any lesser
The struggle didn’t end there. As if pursuing the course and graduating with flying colours wasn’t enough, there came the challenge of convincing my family that I wanted to work in the field of digital advertising - one that I was the most passionate about - before I finally embark on the journey of doing what I’d planned next i.e. pursue a career in management so I could take the learnings from my graduation to a whole new level.
But if there’s anything that I learnt during those testing years, it is that I am no longer dependent on others when it comes to times of predicament and hardship. I’ve realized that a situation is only as hard as you decide to make it. The moment you choose to simplify things and let go of the burden of the what ifs and the could haves, is when things really start favouring you and the rewards get sweeter.