Pranaav Parrth
As a fourteen year old,I was a bit uncomfortable to enroll in classes for exams which were still four years away. Most of my classmates had already enrolled themselves for IIT and PMT coaching classes and since I had kept my grades good so far, I was expected to fall in line as well. I cringed at the first sight of giving up my ‘TV time’ and ‘Play time’ and managed to keep myself away from the race till I reached Class 11 two years later.
I fared well in my Board Exams and secured a ‘perfect’ 10 CGPA. I thought my CGPA had given me more space to maneuver and take up a stream of my choice. It had rather made matters worse.I became susceptible to advice which flowed ubiquitously from all quarters of my family. Relatives whom I had little acquaintance with, jumped at the possibility of giving career defining advice. My grades added to my confusion since I had all options open. I was told to take up the Sciences stream since it was the ‘safest’ to take and one could diversify into any field after schooling. I complied. I silently detested the fact that my favourite subjects Hindi and Geography shall never again be a part of my curriculum.
Three months into Science and I gave up on the prospect of coping up. Daily tuitions and increased workload had already thrown my life out of balance. I had already started compromising on my interests and cut down on my hours of hobbies and sport. Everyday, I was bombarded the words ‘placements’ and ‘cut-offs’ and it seemed that my fate was sealed in these two words for years to come. I was trying to run a race whose end I hadn’t figured until yet.
Frustrated,I orchestrated a low-key rebellion at home; Astrologers were consulted for tackling unfavourable planetary positions and, elders who had made a career in this professions came to our service again and ‘counselled’ me to help me get back on track. All this went down the drain as the rebellion persisted. Finally,after months of of infighting,truce was reached and Science was given up, my demands to switch over to Humanities were put down as unrealistic and the ‘middle path’ of Commerce was agreed upon. In the process, I had already lost more than half my year in indecision. While the rebellion had pursued, I had utilised my hobbies of Debate and Model UN as a means to assess my own self-worth which had reaped me a lot of trophies. Keeping the past behind, I started my journey into Commerce from scratch. The planets had certainly improved and I was much more sorted in Class 12. I managed to stay consistent with my academics and balanced my co-curriculars along. By the time, I finished Class 12, I had managed to save my skin by touching the safe 95 % mark.
Once again, the past resurrected itself and people rushed in to guide me for the career ahead. I was already a veteran in being counselled. I realised that I was again rushing into a similar system with no clue of how things would turn out to be. Moreso, I wasn’t sure if a future in Commerce was what I was looking at. I had (on the advice of someone wise) taken the Law Exams and had done reasonably well. I knew that I didn’t have a lack of options but I wondered if all of them were good enough. I weighed all my options and finally decided to take a year off.A gap year wasn’t something new and I had most of my friends taking it for improving their rankings in entrance exams. However, I had no such intentions. I wanted to explore my interests first and then finally decide what I wanted to do. People were angry and confused when I told them that months after finishing school, I was still exploring choices.
I sat down and made a list of all that had fascinated me Thereafter, I started mailing organisations and calling up old friends. The first break came through in a week and I was off to the hills to a boarding school where I was to coach their debate team. I was teaching kids two months after I finished my own schooling. Thereafter, things started clicking. I did two projects with edu-startups. At a party, I interacted with a friend’s father who had been active in politics. He was impressed to see my interest in politics and my knowledge of the regional languages. He then connected me with his senior, who was a serving Member of Parliament who was glad to offer me an internship with him. I started shadowed him to the parliament daily, researched on upcoming debates for him and briefed him about issues to be discussed in the house. The assembly elections were round the corner and I was lucky to be a part of the run-up to the elections. I witnessed the making of our country’s laws first-hand and contributed my smallest share in it.
Utilising my experience in teaching and public-policy,I decided to apply for a few scholarships abroad. I realised that a Liberal Arts curriculum abroad suited my sensibilities and varied interests. Providence had a plan in place and by the end of the year, I got a full scholarship offer from the New York University in Abu Dhabi on the basis of my experiences over the past one year.
A year after I had finished school, I was much more content than all my contemporaries who had accepted their fate blindly. I braved into the uncertain to find what I wanted with my own life, life in turn pleasantly surprised me with the outcomes. I still wonder, what might have happened if I had pursued Science till 12th ? What would’ve happened if I had heeded to the advice by some relative on how to plan my career or what entrances to take ? Would it have been better or worse? The answer is, I don’t really know.I knew that a 16 year old who had spend a third of his life in a boarding school and hardly knew how the world works couldn’t afford to be advised by everyone on what choices to make. I couldn’t bear the fact that presumed sacrifice and persistence today will account for a merrier future. The ebbs and flows of destiny are different for all of us. One can never really say what the future beholds. I did not know what I was venturing into when I decided to take a year off from college. I just knew that I would be happier and much more productive since I would be following a scheme of things of my own choosing. Even if the outcomes I had hoped for didn’t turn up eventually, I would be happy since I enjoyed the process. To all of those who are faced with a similar question- listen to your innermost instincts and find a profession which allows you to explore them. More importantly, enjoy the process. The rewards will come when they have to, even if they don’t , you wouldn’t have been dragging your feet throughout the journey.Take control of your own life, explore the options available to you and plan meticulously. Stop undermining your self-worth by someone else’s conception of your future.
( The author studies History and Political Science at the New York University, Abu Dhabi)
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