To figure out your passions and goals, you need to explore new things, make connections, build a network, and stay updated on opportunities.
But, throughout my journey, the sole piece of advice I’ve ever received has been to complete my education with no gaps, take on an internship, sit for the placement, and get settled.
Is the societal definition of success destroying the creativity of youth? A loud yes from me for the answer to this question.
I restricted myself to my course during my bachelor’s degree and never thought to go beyond and discover more. I used to talk with people back then, and I learned a lot from them. The stories I heard from them always motivated me.
I’ve always been fascinated by film and television, and I’ve written series and film drafts that are still in my journal. I wasn’t sure where it started; perhaps it was because my deputy regional head was constantly pressing me to get involved in more initiatives.
From then on, I began preparing for the Film and Television Institute, which I knew would be difficult for me, but I fought. As a middle-class boy from a two-tier city, getting selected from an extensive list of applicants for orientation and the interview was an important milestone for me. Despite the fact that I did not get the opportunity, it taught me a lot and strengthened my confidence.
It bothered me that there is no greater representation of marginalized communities in the creative sector, particularly in leadership positions. With my readings, I realized that the key factors are a lack of information and our socio-cultural capital.
After gathering a variety of viewpoints on the subject, I’ve identified that in order to lead or succeed in your field, you must obtain a quality education, as Babasaheb encouraged us to use our education as a weapon.
Along with Babasaheb’s writing and the work of notable Ambedkarite writers such as Suraj Yengde and Yashica Dutt, the book What Ambedkar Means to Me, in which young people wrote about their experiences, played a vital part in my life. I looked into worldwide opportunities and worked hard for them as a result of this writing material; I received acceptance to prestigious overseas institutions but was rejected from top-level scholarships (the battle is still ongoing).
For me, success is rejecting traditional definitions of success as opposed to accepting the term ‘trying, failing, learning, and then getting to the goal you’ve set for yourself.’
When you spend time and work with people from diverse backgrounds
I was excited as well as anxious when I got selected for the fellowship during my master’s application process. I was literally stuck when I first introduced myself, or even in sessions. I used to feel fear while talking, but when we fellows met in person and spent time together and worked on different projects, I felt overwhelmed as I freely opened up my soul there, and suddenly the fear of speaking and expressing myself began to disappear from my body. This was a huge success, in my opinion.
The organization that had an impact on my path to higher education (Eklavya, Nalanda)
For me, the most familiar organizations that work in higher education are Eklavya and Nalanda. I’ve been following Eklavya’s work and was also a part of their global scholar program, which has had a tremendous impact on my perception of higher education and also helped me apply for renowned scholarship awards that I could never have imagined applying for. The organization also created big local-to-global stories, which inspired me to never settle for the average.
When society disregards your suffering and begins to judge it
For a long time, parents and students have been struck with the customary way of settling in. My relatives always compared my journey to their son’s, who spent a certain amount of money in a random institution, got an internship from college (that is how this system paralyzed his skills of even getting out of his comfort zone), and was placed at an average salary, and they even decided that this is how success looks like, as his son was doing.
Those who challenge this assertion, on the other hand, always suffer from it. At the very least, I am proud of the fact that my body is never paralyzed and that every part of it is hungry for the goal that I have set for myself in my life.
As a youngster, I discovered that the journey of life and getting settled is like a train. If you sit on a direct train to your destination, no matter how much it costs, or if you want to be there before someone else, or if you are afraid to take a different route step by step, you will get there, but you will miss out on a lot of opportunities, information, creativity, exposure, connections, and many more.
However, if you travel by linked trains or explore more, you will be mature enough to plan your finest journey.
Likewise, I am pleased with the fact that I turned down big opportunities to pursue my road to success, and as a young person, you should be aware of what you want and what you want to do, as the entire system is dragging you into a trap of taking whatever you get.
I would like to end with a quote from Ambedkar: “Life should be great rather than long.“