Of Falling Down & Getting Up…

So yesterday, I wrote this article about certain hardships I faced in college. And all hell broke loose. Coz certain people who read my article, didn't quite get it and just worked out a meaning that suited them. And kept on sharing my blog post and criticising it all day. I say “free publicity”. Anyway, this article is NOT about them.

Among a bunch of people of who commented on my FB page, there were several sweet souls, who showed concern about my well-being, by advising me to move on. They got the impression that I am still beaten down by the struggles of college days. I’d like to set the records straight.

I am not sad or depressed about college. I took it in my stride. I just wrote about it yesterday coz I was reminiscing. And I love to write. This was something I had always wanted to write about. And a lot has happened since college.

It was 3 years ago. And the things I wrote about yesterday happened in the first 2 years of college. Things had started looking up by the third year itself. Campus placements came as a blessing for me. I bagged a job in the very first interview. And then, people started noticing me when I kept getting short-listed for the final rounds of most interviews.

The guys who used to think that I was a dud, a “dehaati”, sat up and took notice when I started speaking in Group Discussions. In the past couple of years that they spent mocking me, they had failed to notice who I actually was. And when they finally did, it astonished them. And it was hilarious, the expression on their faces when they realised that I spoke well. Coz I had always been good at English.

Quite frankly, it was the only thing I was actually good at. And man, did it take me places! I bagged several jobs in those 3 months of campus placement, all thanks to my verbal prowess (Ha Ha).

When college ended, I joined Taj Lands End, Mumbai along with several other people who had spent the last 3 years under-estimating me. It was a good feeling, but fate had something else in store.

I had to leave Taj, when one of my legs started showing symptoms of paralysis. I was diagnosed with a severe case of PVD (Prolapsed Vertebral Disc). Five months of bed rest and more than a hundred hours of physiotherapy later, I could walk properly, but some of the pain persisted and it still does. Apparently, the only cure for the pain would be surgery but its spinal surgery and my family didn’t have the funds to afford that.

I decided to live with the pain. The doctor said that if I were to take some precautions and avoid lifting heavy weights, I could live without surgery forever. But the pain will always be there. In time, you get used to it.

I then joined ITC. But not the Hotel Division. I joined LRBD, the retail division. People kept advising me against it, saying I should go back to working at hotels, but I didn't have the heart to. I decided to make lemonade with the lemons I had. And the plan paid out.

Three years later, here I am. I had joined as a Customer Service Associate. I got promoted. Twice. Now I am handling Sales & Distribution for a whole territory all by myself. Its a sweet gig, flexible hours, handsome pay & I get to travel a lot. Right now, I am at Temi, South Sikkim, 7000ft above sea level. Its really cold here and I can't type for long.

The point I am trying to make is this: I am doing well. The experiences in college were traumatic, no doubt but I bounced right back after it. So, guys, don't worry so much about me. I am a fighter. I’ll live.