“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional”- Roger Crawford. I chose to win.
Born and brought up in a small town, Asansol, in West Bengal, life was simple yet beautiful. Lush greenery, archaic British buildings and traffic less roads embrace this industrial city. People are pretty simple too, most of them rooted so deeply to the place that they attend school, find employment and build homes within the city itself. There is little of the stiff competition between individuals, rushing to work, endless pandemonium of big metros that you’ll find in Asansol. The people are so content with the simplicity that it almost seems as if they refuse to expose themselves to the bigger, challenging world that lies beyond the walls of the city. My parents are the people.
I was always a star performer in school. Academics, drama, sports, arts- you’d always find me involved in everything. I graduated from school with big dreams of moving to Delhi or Bangalore for pursuing Economics, because I had realized I’d find my true potential in my dream colleges. However, my big dreams had clouded the reality that my family was not ready for me moving out of the state yet. I know they were just being protective, too scared that I was not prepared to face the world alone. I fought for my dreams. Hard. I enrolled in one of the best colleges in Kolkata. Delhi/Bangalore shattered.
College was tough. The huge academic pressure, coupled with the cultural shock rocked my footing. The challenge of adjusting in a place I wasn’t willing to be took toll on my mind, body and grades. But I fought on, got decent scores at the end of the year and found great friends. The next year, for the first time in my life, I lost people I loved to death- three of them, within a span of 6 months. All the mental stability I had found after all the struggle, crumbled around me again. Thank God for the distance between Kolkata and Asansol is short, I resorted to my family this time- I couldn’t do it alone. They stood by me as I battled depression, being the ultimate rocks of hope and strength.
As I write this article, sitting far away from my cozy small town in a B School of my choice, I realize how far I’ve come I life. How enriching those challenging days were, shaping me into the strong being I am today, helping me realize that strength does not always arise from fighting against the odds, but growing through them. Stepping out of our comfort zone is only the beginning of the game, how we play the moves next is always in our own hands.
T A Pai Management Institute, Manipal