During the month of May 2000, there was this phase where I did not know where I was going in life! No college admission, no part time job and no idea in life generally what, when, where and how!!
Then came along a small workshop I attended, and little did I realize it would lead me to where I am. Literally, as a professional and as an individual being. The workshop led to joining what was then a youth forum called "The Activity", which later on over the years developed into a full fledged company that did a lot of good work in the completely unorganized education sector to create a phenomenon called "Education beyond Curriculum".
5 years ago, when all my college mates were running helter-skelter getting their resumes ready and brushing up on their presentation skills, I was sitting outside at the 'adda' taking in a dose of nicotine and thinking to myself "bah, why should I bother, I already have a job. I was absorbed for a whole lot of reasons (one of them being the part time work and travel that I had done).
The job was fun, there was plenty of travel, plenty of learning and meeting new people. 3 years later the growth on the inside was phenomenal and soon I left behind a lot of people I thought I shared brainwaves with. The hunt for more meaningful conversations and people became important to me. Professionally I grew quite a bit as well, taking on responsibility, making sure I did my job (even if I did not like it or did not giving it 100%)
The year 2007 saw a downfall, I quit in the search for something more meaningful to do according to me. It was the year I made a lot of mistakes. From quitting with no plan in mind to loosing my individuality to something that was totally irrelevant at that point of time. But then a lot of us really think with our hearts more then our heads at times like that. 2007 - 08 led to the downfall of the individual, the professional. In a dire need of something meaningful to do, I started my own little unregistered company called "M I Concepts", the concept of bringing out simple products that would make everyday tasks a lot more fun and exciting. But when something as fragile as the heart breaks, it is a task to try and focus and pick up the pieces and quickly move on.
The possible thing to do was to find a job quick, any job that led to distraction and let life roll back onto its tracks. A meaningless job at a larger event management company. 8 months of forcing myself to work from the basic need of funds led to a lot of serious thinking. Finally on a warpath to want to do something in life, I set out to want to study. Wrong selection of course and wrong ideas in mind I almost gave away 3 years of my life to a college. Thankfully my uncle got me thinking, my mentor got me digging for information and conversations with people in the field led to me give up the idea and get back to doing what I loved doing the most, get back to working for the company that gave me my first jump in the professional world.
A few conversations over coffee with my mentor, friend and first employer I went back to what had transformed from "The Activity" to "EduMedia India Pvt. Ltd." into new role, with new responsibilities, economic requirements as per what I wanted and a team to work with that I had come to know a lot better over the years. There started a new journey again. This journey was marked onto me permanently with a tribute tattoo that took 2 months to design and quite some saving up on my part to put together.
A year later, a good appraisal, some great words and fantastic learnings, I come to realize I have grown as a person in the last 5.5 years with everything that happened - Good, Bad and Ugly. From a jumpy kid straight out of college to a decently composed, mature and responsible being, it has been a journey that I have taken and learnt a lot from. And my journey still continues to bring me more learning and a lot more reflections...
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