It's me (continued)

Then began a new phase: a new life in a new city- a city that made me who I am (not a very good person, but definitely, an independent, strong one). I took up Economics in a decent college and for the first time, discovered a world away from my family, away from the safe havens of a comfortable life in the laid back city of Kolkata. After two years of being relegated at the lower half of the class it felt good to be the topper, it felt good to be not lost in class and it felt good when people came to me for help with studies. Unlike seasoned toppers, I knew how it felt to fail: it taught me to be patient, to be humble and to be empathetic. Also, I needed friends in a new city, so it kind of worked out well for me… while Economics was no pain, being in Mumbai alone certainly was as I struggled my way through crowded local trains, the pigeonholes in the name of rooms (in the hostel), the choice between the terrible mess food and the expensive eateries. Did I miss my family- may be, but by then, I was learning to be tough. And when I did miss them, I went shopping! Yeah, I discovered the beauty of retail therapy… I also discovered what I thought was my dream career, i.e. MBA. So, for the first time I really put my heart and soul into studies- CAT, the mother of all competitive exams. So it was a heartbreak when I failed to convert a couple of calls I managed, and even my graduation results weren’t a consolation for what I missed out. Still, I didn’t give up on the MBA dream, and took up a job to strengthen my application. While working, I redefined the concept of humility, I learnt to respect all professions and to deal with situations: humiliating ones, pressurizing ones, sensitive ones…and then I discovered how it felt to fall in love, or the idea of being in love, that beyond all that jazz, the mush, the fancy dates it was still as annoying as being with your family, that no matter how old you are, you are still a kid, that the grass is always greener on the other side! Only that it isn’t… at least the MBA grass definitely isn’t!

The whole point of all this is that I have changed, for better or for worse! May be I have learnt to let go easily, may be I don’t get hurt so easily, but then again, people no longer make that much of a difference to me… that’s the whole point! And it’s not a good thing…