When I was in eighth (or was it ninth?) class, one of our teachers asked in the
class, what do you want to become in your life? People said a lot of things.
When my turn came up, I stood up and said, "Mein software engineer banana
chahta hu" (I want to become a software engineer). It was not that I was
genuinely interested in Computers. When I look back now, I realize that it was
my cousins who affected my choice (in an indirect way), and their achievements
fascinated me to aim at this particular career choice.
My whole life for the last seven years was revolving around this one dream(!) of
getting a job in an MNC. I got my chance when I got placed in Cisco last
Monsoon. I was super excited about joining Cisco since then. Perhaps because of
the MacBook on which I am typing this article right now 😄 and partly because of
the monotonicity of the NIT-C environment. I wanted to break out of the comfort
zone that I had built there around myself in NIT-C. Changing place seemed the
only viable option.
I have been doing a self-introspection for the last four to five months. My blog
posts from the previous few months reflect some hints about my introspections. I
have mentioned my observations here and there in a few of my blog posts. I
discovered some unique aspects of my personality. On the other hand, I found out
some traits which are pretty weird (in my opinion :) ). I am not going to
publish all of my findings, but one thing became apparent, my social anxiety
requires my immediate attention.
It is quite difficult to change some aspects of our personality; usually those
we are born with. But most of the qualities that define someone keeps changing.
Life experiences play an essential role in determining a person's character.
Success and failure define a person. I firmly believe that no person ever
remains the same. People continuously go through phases of realizations and the
ups and downs in the career, academics, broken trusts, dampening creativity,
growing age, success, glory, hatred, and betrayals. People become what they are
because of the world around them. These realizations come from experiences and
experiences that come from bad experiences.
I learned this the hard way!
So, I decided, I will not commit those similar set of mistakes again. I will
make new mistakes 😜. I realized that there exists a world outside computers and
tech. I need to go and talk to people. If not random strangers, I should talk to
my friends, take part in various activities, play some sport, focus on my
fitness and mental health, and go on trips. And of course, perform well in work
and maintain a good work-life balance if it is not a
myth.
I cannot change the past now. It is only the future that is yet in my power. I
am eager to see how my current actions are going to affect my future.
At last, let me finish this article by quoting Winston Churchill (Although I am
not a big fan of him, this quote is worth sharing).
If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost
the future.
Cheers. 😄