Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
It has been really a significant period of four years, class 9th onwards till I finalised to pursue the under graduation course in America and now in-process of applying to various universities. The time has been throughout dotted with little achievements and dilemmas. In class IX when I was on threshold of deciding what I had to become, which course to take and inching towards all sorts of academic pressures. Though by then I had already journeyed as an air pilot, astronaut, media, entrepreneur, finance executive and finally to none. But somewhere inside me seeds of commerce were being sown, I was growing-up in the financial capital of India, Mumbai.
Here deep impressions were also being formed about American education system through seniors, class mates, friends & family, and in-general. I gathered that the education system there allows you to explore, judge your strengths and weaknesses and use ones potential to maximum. With whatever assessment I had about self, natural alignment to it was very natural.
I am still terrified of sheer numbers of candidates for all competitive exams in India; here the ratio of college seat to students, is in thousands. Two years of ninth/tenth standards of junior school passed. There was lot of internal thought process going-on, dumping and then again re-evaluating. It became clear to me that I had to take commerce stream in my senior school and further go for college studies to USA after completion of schooling.
As I had decided for four years graduation course from America against the conventional Indian choice of post graduation courses, my parents though very pragmatic were not sure about this decision. I could understand that I shall be only eighteen plus when I actually leave home but migrating to another country was not a child's play. It was a tough call. However I was convinced though went through many sleepless nights and dilemmas, evaluating the decision and preparing self for the un-chartered waters.
With this confidence, in summer vacations after class X, I broached the subject with my parents. As expected, there were emotional outbursts, sheer no-no and so on. But I was not to give-in so easily, as I know I had supportive parents, as seen in my elder sister's turn. Finally I did prevail and what a tremendous feeling of achievement it gave. I found self more confident and wise and really wonder from where all that conviction and assuring talk came at that time from me.
There may be a school of thought propagating inherent risks involved in this decisions but I call them challenges and shall tackle them, if any, as they come along. Thus the last four years of mine have been a great experience, self evolving and worth sharing it with all.
