The way I lost two years of growth (pt. 2)
Hey, everyone! I hope you guys are doing fine and that you are here to find out the rest of the story behind the title, “The way I lost two years of growth.” If yes, then it is okay. Otherwise, I would like you to run through the first part of the narrative. It would make your overall understanding of the situation much better. Click here to read the first part!
As I told you in the first half of my assertion, I was heartbroken after being a failure as a student of science. I was more heartbroken by the thought of my parents losing faith in me. It was the worst of all. They advised me to pursue Science, and I did. They advised me to pursue Medical Science, and I tried to do it once. But I failed.
After knowing the outcome of my two wasted years, they, once again, advised me to give it another shot, another year to prepare myself for the Medical Science entrance exam. But this time, I could not handle it. I realised that Medical Science was not my cup of tea. That thing is just beyond me. Yes, I might have been a studious chap, but that suggests nothing, I came to the realisation pretty soon. And I told them about it too. My mother would make a frowning face, showing her disapproval of my conviction.
On the other hand, my father was cool with everything from the beginning. He has always supported me, but silently. And I truly appreciate that. My father is one of the calmest people I have come in contact with to date. Thanks to him being my father, I also have also got the quality of not losing my temper during the hours of need.
Despite not doing yoga or meditation ever in my life, I have an odd tendency to keep my cool. I prefer peace over everything. I tend to keep my head cool even during the most torrid days, which eventually helped me bypass the results of my failures. I am very much thankful to my placid demeanour for that. You won’t believe how much a calm mind can help people overcome misery. I was a beneficiary of that.
A calm mind surely helped me reflect on the past occurrences and come to a conclusion: I will do whatever is best for me; I am not listening to anyone anymore. In the first part, I told you guys how much I love English as a subject, whereas I was never good at English during my childhood days, I would hate and ignore it.
At the age of 18, I was on the brink of making the most important decision of my career. When I think it through nowadays, I acknowledge that I did the right thing by listening to my heart.
I apprised my mother of my intention to pursue English Honours for my further studies in college. Her reaction was appalling; the frown on her face got much more serious. A strike of fear hit my spine as I thought that she would not allow me to do so. But she said, “Look, do whatever you have in your mind, you have already let your family down, and I have no expectations from you at all.” And subsequently, she broke into tears.
With a black shadow over my face, I came back to my room, but I did not shed tears. I never cried actually throughout all these turbulent times because I knew I was right and also because I am a jolly person, who cannot let an hour pass without laughing at things that might not seem laughable to others. It is what it is. This is who I am.
But I was not laughing that day, but others were, at me. “Look, that guy was trying to be a doctor, now he wants to pursue English, a foreign language, hahaha!” What I could do was just ignore that brouhaha, and I did that. Anything else was not under my control.
I enrolled my name for admission in four colleges, two of which were in Kolkata. Those were prestigious colleges and needed me to crack the entrance tests. The rest were near my town and did need such tests for admission. So, I was preparing for the entrance tests. And one day, I suddenly found out that you could earn money by writing sports features.
I have been a huge fan of sports since childhood. My mother taught me the ABC of cricket, and then, I went to learn them one by one. I watch football a lot, tennis, moto racing, NBA, hockey, Olympics (oh yes!), and even golf sometimes! So, returning to the story, I saw an organisation, called Sportskeeda, had an advert saying, “Write for us!” I clicked on that, and my journey as a professional sports writer began. Despite difficulties in the early stages (which I would with you someday in another story), I managed to earn around $15 in my first month. I was so happy, but I did not tell my mother, thinking that she would assume I was not doing my preparation for the said exams correctly.
So the exam dates arrived. I went to Kolkata, surviving around a seven-hour journey from my home. I attended both exams — one went well; the other did not. My father had gone with me. My father was always beside me. One week later, results followed. As expected, I got selected for an interview where my exam had gone well. The one that had not gone well never called me back. So I got rejected there. Rejection did not leave my shadow as I got rejected after the interview in the one that had me. So, it was a flurry of rejections that took me by surprise but never depression.
I went to the interview, wishing for my rejection ultimately because I did not want to miss out on the joy I was receiving from writing sports pieces. So, unlike my family members, I was glad that I had been rejected by both Kolkata-based institutions. In both circumstances, I would have to spend the next three years in a hostel without any stable internet connection or a mode of writing. I could not afford to go there and spend my time in what surely could have been a misery. So, for me, the rejections were blessings in disguise.
Then, I decided to stay at home for the next three years, confirming my admission to the nearest college, which generally is not reputed in terms of studying and learning, but it granted me the space and time I needed to make a better version of myself. I was so happy inside. Although my mother said to me, “You have taken the worst decision of your life”, the admission to the nearest college, despite it not being one of the best ones, provided me with everything that I had expected: a light syllabus, free time, much-needed space, enjoyable friends, more knowledge of English language and so on.
Over the next three years, I went on to learn many things, so many things that I cannot even put up right here. I could share some of them in future, for sure.
I believe it is for those two wasted years that I have grown so much. They say it right — harsh experiences do learn you something. With me, the $15 has grown as well. It has grown so much over the years that I can now pay my bills, take care of my costly desires, enjoy financial freedom, and even save for my family. It is a different subject that my parents don’t let me buy them anything. But knowing that they know I can makes me happier.
That day, when recalling those memories, I was having a chat with my mother. And she said, “I was afraid that you had made a wrong decision.”
“But you were wrong, no?” I replied with a notable grin on my face.
From the opposite end, she smiled back without saying anything. In her shiny eyes, I could see how much she was proud of me.
What could you learn from my experience?
- Seek guidance but take your own decision yourselves. It certainly pays off.
- Be ambitious, but don’t lose your head around being ambitious.
- Be patient; good things happen to those who wait. You may have heard this.
- Keep your mouth shut, head down, and work hard. Results will do the talking for you.
- Be consistent; if you are not consistently trying to improve, you may not see the expected results ever.
- Don’t run after money, focus on learning. It enables money to run after you.
- Try to be as optimistic as possible. Being optimistic always helps me.
- Follow your passion, you would not have to bear the burden of the job. Instead, you will enjoy doing it.
- Listen to criticism, not mockery. Mockers are those who have their unfulfilled cravings.
- Always respect your parents, if no one else. They always want you to be successful in life. Be a better son or daughter, and everything else would be so easy!
