Anupam said, 'I would arrive at school on my hand-me-down full-size gents cycle. It would get me the stares, I did not want.
I was in 10th. School was 10 Km away. The cycle was my commute. It was my constraint too.
My father is a central government employee and we transfer often. This time we had arrived at Kanpur from Lucknow.
I kept to myself as making new friends, with the board exams around the corner, would have been doubly stressful.
Others thought, maybe I was arrogant.
Around the same time, I spoke to my parents about my aspiration to become a doctor.
I was good at studies. I knew I could do it.
My constraints took me to BBA instead.
Teachers and classmates saw I was bright. So slowly but surely, I made new friends.
I began to connect the dots.I gave my 12th boards and was looking to attend our farewell party the next day. I had borrowed a Sari from my mother.
Instead, I found myself sitting outside an operation theatre. My father had had a heart attack.
We tended to him.
Between my 3 brothers, house-wife mom and now unwell father - we could see expenses looming large.
I made my Resume and took up a job.
Just then, my father had a 2nd heart attack. I felt, I should stay on in Delhi and continue my job. Be nearby.
Over the next few years, I continued working. At the same time I did my bachelor's - in Management - and then my master's - in HR and Ops.
Simultaneously building up work experience, I also kept studying.
I then obtained my EDP from XLRI and now I am pursuing SHRM certification.
I never let circumstances mess with my studies.
At work, I have also learnt to learn with Action Learning, Cohorts working on real-life situations and experience sharing from experts.
I now help my colleagues learn this way, as part of my job.
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Well written Anupam, 👏, glad to know you and learn your story here. Keep doing your best and keep going and things will follow. I am sure this will inspire many around .