"Keep your dreams alive. Understand, to achieve anything, requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe."
I really wish to meet the gentleman who quoted this. (Not that I am against him, but I have several questions in my mind, which I guess, he would be able to answer! ha ha).
The inspiration for writing about my dreams comes from a dear friend, who committed the mistake of asking me about my education and career related ambitions!! Yeah! given the ambitious person I am, I have had a plethora of dreams!! When I say "dreams", I am talking about the various career options I had in mind since my childhood. My elders, friends and for that fact, my parents always used to regret asking me " Beta, what do you want to become when you grow up? " ha ha ! Its actually like a roller coaster ride :D:D:D !
The day I was born, both my grandparents (well, that includes my dearest nanu and dadu) and my dad, decided that I am going to be an IAS officer!! ha ha just like that !! As if God had come in their dreams and told them that I am the perfect candidate to be a civil servant!!! (Yeah, I remember the scene from 3 idiots, when by birth R.Madhvan is succumbed to becoming an engineer by his family!! ha ha ) Only I didnt want to be a wild life photographer instead ! Wait a minute! I think I did want to be a wild life photographer too, when I was in 9th standard!! Anyways, Coming back to my dreams...Hmmm.. I was, rather, I am a creative person. So at one point in time, I wanted to be a fashion designer, then at another, I wanted to an interior designer, both under the influence of my elder cousins !! Then yea, I did have an intelligent side to me as well, which made me want to become an astronaut (yea, you guessed it right, under the influence of the Great Kalpana Chawla), then I wanted to be a Forensic expert (Maybe I was watching too much of X files) ha ha! I remember learning tennis too! Yea, I wanted to become a sports person too and hey, I was good at it ok :):):)
All this while I had been improving my dancing skills (Those who know me, do know how crazy I am about dance!!) and it was slowly turning into a passion for me!! So suddenly, during my class 9th, I broke this news to my parents that I wanted to be a choreographer !!( KAHANI ME TWIST ;);) ) But alas! the idea didnt go well with them!!
They claimed that I was an intelligent gal and could use my brains somewhere else, but they supported me in pursuing it as a hobby :):)
I was heartbreaken, but as you may have guessed, not for long. Other options started housing my mind :):)
I scored nice in my 10th standard exams and took up science with both biology and mathematics ! phuh! Mathematics because my father was secretly nurturing a dream of my becoming an engineer like him, and biology, because I myself was nurturing a dream of becoming a doctor !! yea you read it right and please, not just any other doctor, but a reputed cardio or neuro surgeon :D:D:D
I started preparing hard!! I was actually good academically and in extra curricular activities ! but the rebel in me never let me take up mathematics seriously! Finally the time came for the competitive examinations, I had worked hard for my medical examinations; engineering examinations weren't taken up that seriously, and I also prepared for architecture examinations :D:D yea right ARCHITECTURE !! why? Because it offered a nice balance between academics and creativity :):) I took 22 competitive examinations in all !! yea no kidding :):):)
Results came out: MBBS = Negative
BDS = Positive
BHMS = Positive
B.Arch. = Positive
BTech = Positive
I never paid heed to any of the positive results, because of that one negative result!! You would wonder, why not BDS or BHMS (for those who don't know, BDS is dentistry and BHMS is for homeopathy). It was because I wanted the best and not be happy with any of the other categories that could add "Dr." before my name (with due respect to all the professions). And why not Architecture?? Because, there were no government jobs or salaries greater than 15k !! Ultimately, BTech was left! I was sure, I wouldn't get the branch I wanted in a college near by my home and my parents wouldn't want me to shift to a new city and stay in a hostel :):) (yea, I was their kid, whom they want to always protect and keep close to them :) ).
But guess what ?? I got admission in a nice engineering college, 20 mins from my home, and with the branch I wanted!!! It was like some kinda joke being played on me!! If you read back the text, not even once in life, I wanted to be an engineer !! It was never on the list !! But I consider myself a fighter! I worked hard, faired nicely, got placed in a great IT company as well as immediately got admission in one of the country's best recognized B-School :):)
But you know what?? I still haven't stopped dreaming.. They sure have changed with time and maturity, but at my heart, I am still a dreamer, who love to set a goal, work hard and leave rest on destiny:):)
What I didnt mention is that my dream of becoming a choreographer still lingers on.. It has been there, and will always be there :):) Hope to achieve it a few years down the line .. :):)
Thanks ..
(Feel free to share your dreams)
