As a student of the University of Delhi, I always felt that life is what we see around us in the city, where you can party till midnight with no holds bar.
Leaving a carefree lifestyle where you can do what you want with no justification to give was a rush. Moving back to home after finishing my studies was a kind of an emotional setback as adjusting to the home routine was not easy to adapt.
If I talk about my studies, after graduation I got selected in TERI University for an M.Sc. in Climate Sciences as I always had this dream of working in climate change sector. But having a family background where you have government officers, it’s always expected that you will also opt for the public sector (the so-called high profile secured career), and you think what’s best for you is what people around you who loves you think is the best for you.
But what about your personal preferences and your own decisions? I always believe that one should be responsible for their actions, and for that, it’s very important to take your own decisions. Failing many times and getting back up always is more satisfying than following someone else’s path. I have always tried to make my own path, and have failed many times, but haven’t quit trying. I have this belief that, if you keep moving forward, then one day you will achieve what you were destined to.
After graduation, I prepared for the UPSC exams for a year. Then, I went on to pursue masters in social work as a backup degree. You can call it my evolution, because breaking a legacy where your family has this mindset of becoming an officer is a point of pride is not easy. But, when this backup turned into a front-in lead for me, the process is what made me stronger.
I developed dreaming of starting an organization of my own, and I have read somewhere that, “it’s not bad to have a dream because having a dream is a step towards achieving that dream.”
I had a feeling that I could explore this sector, as it interested me. I always wanted to start something of my own as I can’t stand subordination, and this is where you can exploit your limits with no one to pull you down.
When I started exploring on the internet and joined an organization in Bhopal as an intern, I discovered that it’s not important when you start, but the most important thing is how you start. Every creation has a very strong backbone. Similarly, planning, knowledge, and experience are necessary for every idea to nurture and establish.
Joining the Samarthan – Centre for Development Support and moving to the Bundelkhand region was 360-degree turn and I being a spoiled brat, joining a profession where one can explore himself was a task. Because here, getting better is not a hack, it’s a campaign. It’s a campaign where you fight with yourself because nothing is more important than yourself and you have to believe that you can do it, instead of you must do it.
Understanding an all-together different society teaches you how to deal with yourself, because having a dream is not enough to achieve something. You have to believe in the idea that how you need to change yourself; you need to change how you think and how you perceive things.
Moving to a city like Panna was not easy for me, living and working with people who have a totally different lifestyle and perspective was again a big challenge. I tried to adopt this change in my stride, and change is a process which makes you stronger. Because I always believe that instead of doing a job for next 10 years, do the thing because you have plenty and plenty of time.
A vision is what it takes. You create an idea and you start working towards it. Goals change, strategies change, priorities change, but the vision remains. Small decisions make you strong enough to take a big decision, so take that decision and move forward. I have a vision, but I didn’t know where to start, so I started taking small steps because I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. When you start working on yourself instead of showing it to the world, that’s when you start progressing.
So here I am, working in an organization and giving my 100%, expecting nothing but one thing and that is personal progress.