On The Vine
“The essence of independent mind lies not in what it thinks,but how it thinks.”
To embark with this journey, we have to begin with my 10th grade. I have often heard that it is a turning point in one's life. But, is it? I suppose, it is the phase in each one’s life where there is no turning back. I was in a dilemma with what my future could hold.
I knew,somewhere deep down, that I was intrigued by travelling around the world, learning the etiquette of a culture and their norms, knowing more about history... To be a Travel Journalist! But, I never knew what subjects I was supposed to pick and was not sure if my family would agree to it or not.
Following my 10th grade final exams, I have been asked to give an aptitude test. I have realized that the aptitude test is more of an ability to test our knowledge and less in determining the interests and skills of an individual. Undoubtedly, I wanted to latch onto something that would lead me to all of these.
I had two years to consider my options for the future. I had come up with a few that appeared interesting but did not have much scope. A couple of people have asked me to “chill and wait”, saying that things happen to us spontaneously. But my question to you, Is chilling all the time good? I feel like we need to have a stable balance between both.
On completing my 12th grade, considering my score, I was persuaded by my parents to do Chartered Accountancy [CA]. I have always desired to achieve something tremendous and make my parents proud... I pictured myself one day to be financially independent and have a lavish lifestyle. But sometimes, reality is now what you dream of.
I was determined to pursue CA. Couple of weeks later after my coaching classes had begun, things got out of hand, I was losing interest, the passion and the dedication to study something like this was draining out of me .However, I did not give up yet. Subsequently, after my secondary level of CA, I had made up my mind to give up. My hopes were on a plunge the closer I was to reality.
I had realized the hard work I have been forcibly putting in did not fetch me the right amount of results, which would have instead been possible had I done my Masters.I always believed in the need to hustle to earn.
For some time of my life, I was baffled as to what my future could hold. I was indecisive to take any kind of decision that would help me chase my goal. Brainstorming with all the options that I have left with, I wanted a profession that entangled me for good and, most importantly, I would be happy doing in the grind. I did come up with a few ideal professions that fascinated me but my parents could not agree to them and some of them even lacked the opportunity to do so at an earlier age.
So I have settled to do a Masters in Business Administration [MBA] and I have started to prepare for my entrance exam i.e Common Admission Test [CAT].
To my fortune, the college I have opted for has the most prominent campus placement in the city of Hyderabad. After the very first interview I was hired. The way the interview had gone I was not quite sure that I would get a job… But I did.
Nevertheless, this time I have decided to seek people’s opinion, learn from their experiences and their fields of knowledge and then narrow down to what would be good for me. I could not make any more blunders. So I had even researched on the internet on whether an MBA or a job would be a better first up.
Having joined the company, I am still not sure as to where I would end up or whether I would be happy. But, no matter what I decide to go for next. I will look for insights in the respective fields, exploring the activities that I do, until then I would never know what I am good at.
To my epiphany the choices I have made earlier that I am not proud of just got me regrets. Also, my education never gave me enough exposure to various fields of knowledge that I could plausibly pursue and to the outside world, that is the practical and implicit side which is other than books.
I believe, Life is too short too for regrets and mistake.I did then what I knew, how to do, now that I know better, I do better. Learning and being curious is good. This would make us ask the right set of questions.
Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why?
There has also been a time where my mom has disagreed with a certain profession just because it had less importance in the point of view of society. And I believe that one should always do what fascinates you and make a profession out of it, let that be any line of work where you are financially capable as well, we do have to advance our career, right? Just do what enlightens you to learn more about it. I believe if a person is financially independent and capable enough to earn money for themselves, they can also make the right life decisions.
