PART A
I had always been an introvert, and had dreaded talking to new people. School used to consist of talking incessantly to the only friend I had, and outside school, I would only spend time with my family only. But everything was good.
Time flew, and I soon found myself in the 9th grade. Pantaloons opened its first store and it was the first time a store of that kind had opened in the city. To mark the beginning of new era, our school organized a fancy-dress competition, which my friend enrolled me in without even my permission.
Needless to say, I felt devastated. This competition required me to regularly show up to practices and be surrounded by new people; not to mention, the embarrassment I felt when everyone talked about their clothing preferences and I realized that I didn’t even have any.
This went on for a couple of days, before I finally decided that I had had enough of feeling inadequate and awkward. So, I asked my parents to take me to the Pantaloons store and let me choose clothes to buy. As I skimmed through the store, I found myself loosening up, and figuring out my choices.
The next day, when I went to the practice at school, I forced myself to talk to the others there. I started discussing the store, and the clothes I had seen there, and soon found myself having a conversation with these people whom I had never talked to before. This was new for me, and the fact that I could do it, boosted my confidence. I was a runner-up in that competition, but I had won in that I had finally come out of my shell and started socializing.
And even today, in whatever I do, I find the brands of Aditya Birla Group playing a big role in my life. From the Vodafone Idea network connection, I use first thing in the morning to call up my mother, to the glue that is Ultratech Cement that binds my house to the Van Heusen suit I wore to the IIFT interview, it is hard for me to imagine myself without the brands of Aditya Birla Group completing my life.
PART B
Let me start writing about overcoming my challenges with reiterating what Michelle Obama said about failuresꟷ “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”
Until I had left home for college, I had always been kept away from the hardships of the world by my parents. So, when I finally got out of home, which I was eager about because I wanted to explore the world, having never had imagined that there could be problems bigger than power-cuts during board exams, I was in for a big surprise.
I was fairly used to having my separate room at home, but in hostel, not only did I not have the freedom to do anything I wanted to, but I also couldn’t choose when the lights stayed on and when they were turned off because everyone had different studying schedules. Although I found it most annoying at first, eventually I taught myself to cooperate because I realized that others, too, were cooperating with me.
The next challenge I faced was fighting depression. I had, ever since middle school, realized that being sad and feeling worthless for no reason at all was not normal, but I had always tried to ignore it. Towards the end of the second year in college though, it became very bad, and I finally told my parents about it. What ensued was a year of weekly visits to the psychiatrist and almost daily visits to the counselor. It was a very hectic time for me since it became very difficult for me to keep up with college and therapy sessions at the same time. I would cry towards the beginning, but in a couple of weeks, I strengthened my resolve that to push myself beyond what I thought was my limit, and towards the middle of the third year, I finally gained control, in as much as can actually be gained, of my life.
The biggest challenge I ever faced, however, was changing stream. I did my graduation in Physics, but I didn’t want to purse it anymore. I wanted to learn how economy works, and I wanted to participate in the process. It was a very uncommon choice to pursue an MBA after Physics Honors, and my parents were extremely apprehensive about itꟷ not that I wasn’t. But I kept my patience. I told them about my plans and started working hard in order to convince them that I had grown up and could take care of myself and choose my own path, and today, I am here at IIFT.
These are some of the biggest challenges I have faced and overcome. Of course, there are smaller ones too, and a few other ones I could not overcome. But I have always taken up challenges with a pinch of faith, and the conviction that even after hard work, patience and determination, if I were to fail, I would at least have learnt something out of it which would help me in future.