“Success. That’s a big word, I don’t really like to use it but I can say that I did succeed when I decided to take a year off. If you ask me who I am today, I’d say that I was supposed to be an engineer because for 5 years of my life from school till my 12th grade, I was working hard to study for the entrance exams. Every day after school I’d go coaching for these exams which I eventually never wrote.

Just around the end of 12th grade, I realised that this is not what I wanted to do. But, at the same time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do either. As a teenager, all that confusion and doubt can be really frustrating because we are unknowingly under a lot of pressure, not only from our parents, but the school and society as a whole – that, if you are smart and ambitious then either becoming an engineer or a doctor is the only way forward. I still remember this one night before I was supposed to go take the exam, I was restless. I couldn’t sleep. All I could think of is how, if I write these exams and get through, I’ll be sealing my career right then and there. So, I skipped all my exams, went up to my parents and told them that I wanted to take a year off. They first thought it was because I wanted to prepare better, but later realised the actual reason. It took some time and conversation but they have been supportive ever since. They just had one prerequisite, which was, that I don’t consider this as a break but as a year where I need to be most productive. That year was eye opening and dare I say, free. I started the year off by going on a National Geographic Society funded expedition to study the Godavari Valley. As a kid, I was always interested in wildlife conservation. Somehow I lost touch and this expedition seemed like the perfect opportunity to rediscover that which was lost. After I came back, I worked with an international youth organisation called AIESEC for a chunk of the remaining year where I got to lead some great social projects. It was around this time that I realised, I wanted to make a difference, an impact and realised my love for design. I didn’t want to be an engineer but I didn’t want to leave the technical aspect of it behind either. I didn’t want to be an artist but I also loved art. I didn’t want to get into graphic design or advertising but I wanted to design. Somehow the search for this contradictory intersection led to architecture. It all made sense, I was always fascinated by spaces and drew them from my imagination as a child, I had found how to manifest this fascination into a career. I spent the last month of the year visiting architecture schools and soon, I joined one in Bangalore! Today, I am an architect.

I got to experience a whole world of possibilities through my year off. A world where I could make my own choices. There was uncertainty and there was a pinch of excitement and adventure. In hindsight now, taking that year off was one of the best decisions I have ever made. You can’t always make everyone happy with every decision and at the end of the day, everything boils down to who you want to be. I found my calling. It’s time you find yours.”

#Success #Life #Society #NationalGeographic #Wildlife #Architecture #Design #Passion #Adventure #Truecalling #Lifelessons #Journey #Passion #Explore #Hyderabad #HumansofHyderabad