The journey through CAT and the admission processes that follow are never an easy road to take.
But the excitement a call for an interview can bring you is beyond words. Sure, things are still hanging by a thread, but the moment I got my mail for interview from SPJIMR, my heart started racing. It was always a dream to tuck in those shirts and adorn those blazers, and at least for a day, look like the CEO you have been aspiring to me.
As much as one doesn’t judge a book by merely its covers in an interview, I believe, if you can find the right outfit in the right fitting that suits your personality, you radiate the confidence you have built up within.
This is where Aditya Birla Group made an impact in my life. My hunt for the perfect blazer came to an end at Allen Solly. Now I just wanted a good shirt to go with it, and Pantaloons being a one stop solution was a no-brainer.
To any other person, it might simply be a piece of clothing; an outer luxury garment, some may even say. But to me, it held my dream, it symbolized what I aspired to achieve, it embodied my confidence and its warmth kept me steady during my interviews. The way I see, it held my hands in my baby steps towards an MBA and I saw in the mirror, a well-defined picture of who I want to be in the long run.
ABG has knowingly or unknowingly made an impact on all our lives, be it for our health, our homes, our insurance or even our clothes. Their omnipresence shows us the will of the group to venture into new waters and the determination to make it a success, all the while, keeping the core values intact.
How I walked against the odd currents in life
Blessed are they who had fewer hardships and hurdles to cross in life. I consider myself blessed for the limited lemons life has thrown at me. However, as relative as hardships are, be it big or small, they always make an impact on the life of the bearer. What matters is the impact you create in response and the learning you take away from it.
Every human being comes across a point in life where you’d feel that the entire Universe is conspiring against you. I too have gone through such a moment.
It was towards the end of 2018, amidst CAT preparations and at a point on the learning curve at my first job that was getting steeper by the day. Juggling the two, I was craving for a stress buster. It was a little more than a year since I got out of college. We, a group of 4 friends from college, were spread across different cities and barely got to meet each other anymore. So, we finally planned our first ever Girls Trip to Pondicherry, because as they say, “Why should boys have all the fun?”.
Rounds and rounds of video conferences, browsing every possible travel planning website and all the convincing at home later, we set out on our dream vacation.
We reached Pondicherry towards the evening of Day 0 of our trip, barely enough time for us to have a walk along the beach and a small dinner before we hit the bed, prepping ourselves for the adventure that awaited.
Come Day 1, I woke up to an early morning call from home bearing the unfortunate news of my grandfather's demise. He was the one person who kept track of all the important dates for my MBA applications and motivated me all the way. I was broken and guilt-ridden. He was hospitalized the previous day for respiratory issues, but I was told he’ll get by and that there was nothing to worry about. Yet, he was no more.
As disturbed as I was, there were no practical means for me to get to my town in time for the rituals and my family did not want it to affect my friends either, so we continued on the trip. The Universe sure did not appreciate that!
En route to our first destination in the journey, I met with the very first accident of my life. I fell off a two-wheeler and got some severe wounds and 2 broken teeth. I knew it wasn't the best time to worry my parents with the news, let alone the expenses that come with it. It had to wait at least till the end of the day. At the same time, I did not want to ruin the trip for my friends as well, who were of so much help. I realized I had to rise above all the pain, both mental and physical, that was holding me down. I put on a strong face, put a smile on it (with crooked teeth nevertheless) and vowed myself to walk ahead and make the trip as memorable as it is today.
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