Challenges, I feel are subjective in life. There is no clear definition of what elements constitute a challenge and that is what makes everyone’s story unique. We all have a story irrespective of the walk of life that we come from, mine is one that transformed me in many ways to be the person that I am today. At the heart of my story is not an incident but rather an emotion that changed my entire perspective about life and the way I look at things today.
They say that a person is the sum total of all their life experiences but I believe that a person is really a sum total of all the challenges that they face in their life. As someone who had spent 21 years of his life in the Middle East, I had it all going for me in terms of studying in the best of international schools, living in one of the busiest cities of the world and experiencing all the good that life had to offer. I was living my life one Instagram post at a time, constantly validating myself through people’s likes and experiencing life as being all good, all the time. It took me just one day in the year 2016 to realize that life is much more than the good times, it can push you to a corner and completely devastate you in a second. It was that one day when suddenly I had to start living alone, look after myself and also take care of my studies all at the same time with no one to back me up if I fail, because it was on that day when my mother was diagnosed with terminal 4th stage lung cancer and the doctor told her that he was not sure how long she was going to be around. Something within me shifted that day, in that very moment. I suddenly felt intrinsically driven to go to my parents and tell them that I am here, and I will take care of everything no matter what. For someone, who never had to ask for something twice, to say that was a big deal.
Coupled with the news of my mom’s health came the challenge of my dad having to quit his job to stay with her for her treatment back home in India. My dad at that point being the sole bread earner of the family, started belittling himself and feeling like he could’ve done more, he could’ve tried harder but we all knew that this was beyond anyone’s control. To see my father in that position also taught me a very important lesson that day that no matter how hard you try to have it all figured out, life is going to challenge you and will require you to constantly rediscover yourself.
I have faced days during that time when I had just Rs. 50 in my pocket and I had to go to university the next day with no electricity in my apartment that I was staying in because of non-payment of rent and I went with a strong face, told nobody anything and spent five sleepless nights and two nights without any food. This experience impacted me a lot. It impacted me not in a way where I started questioning everything that was happening to me, but rather it made me understand the value of every single thing in my life, be it money, be it time and most importantly it made me understand the value of being strong and keeping your head high despite all odds.
Today I may not have a complete picture perfect family but I believe this phase of my life to be one of the biggest challenges that I have overcome, to be where I am today because this experience not only mentally and emotionally grounded me as an adult but it also taught me the most important trait to imbibe in one’s personality, gratitude. I have gratitude for the smallest of things in life, even the fact that today I am sitting in one of the top 20 B-schools of the country and writing this article. Had I not transformed myself during this phase of life then given my familial situation, I probably wouldn’t have been able to shift base from the middle east to India and re-plan my entire career (both financially and professionally) and enter successfully into the Indian MBA journey.
#ABGLP #TAPMI
