Read on how to enrich your life by purpose, i.e. to find depth and, a reason to get out of bed each morning, your own Ikigai.
It is easy to succumb to parental pressure. This law student who originally was pushed towards being a doctor, shares her story.
“Why are you doing this at this point of time? You are already lost and now you are doing this. Are you waiting for a disaster or something?”
“I am waiting for a miracle.” This was my answer to all these sorts of questions.
I completed my intermediate (twelfth class) in 2015. My parents expected me to get a medical seat in the very first attempt as I was known to be one of the well-performing students in academics, though I never wanted to be labelled that way, because I know that those labels are good for nothing. They impose unnecessary stress.
That did not happen. As almost 3/4th of my family members, including my parents are doctors, it became an expectation that I should also become a doctor.
So, I got my admission in a medical long-term prep course, in one of those esteemed junior colleges, in Andhra and Telangana, where I spent 12 hours in college, listening to all the stuff that never interested me. I don’t know why, learning all those differentiations and finding some random vehicle’s velocity or calculating the half-life of the catalyst of some chemical reactions never fascinated me.
I was always interested in knowing more about the world around me in general and reading about social issues. But, it never actually happened after I got into that 12-hour hell and also had to deal with the side effects of that hell when I got home.
I cracked my medical entrance exam. This happened for two consecutive years. I got a seat in those two years, but rejected those seats saying that I did not get my dream college, which I never had in mind. Only I knew that these were all excuses that I was making, just to escape this field of education, in which I was not at all interested.
I told my parents very explicitly that I was interested in studying law. But, they thought that I was just trying to avoid giving those multiple medical entrance exams. So, my parents decided to talk to me. They said that they are ready to pay a hefty amount for my medical seat and I don’t need to study and strain myself. I did not want them to spend their life’s earnings on something, which never interested me. In fact, I could not make them spend their hard-earned money on me and leave them without any financial security.
I strongly told them that I would not join the college even if they paid up and that I wanted to take coaching for law entrance exams. That actually shocked them. They were very confused. It was 2018, I took three consecutive long-terms, did nothing and told them that I am going to change to a new field of education. They were very concerned and worried about me. Obviously, that would be the reaction of any parent.
“You have your medical entrance in 3 months and now you want to go for law. Are you sure?” They asked me many times. They weren’t happy with my decision. I said I was sure and for their happiness I said that I will also continue to study for medical entrances. I had my law and medical entrances in two and half months. In my city, Tirupati, we don’t have adequate coaching centers for law entrances. But I found a course online and joined it. Preparing for CLAT, AILET, SLAT, NEET and AIIMS was not an easy process for me. My parents did not like this and neither did my relatives. Verbal conflicts used to happen on a daily basis.
I concentrated on my law preparation. That was the last and the only chance. I had to prove myself. With one month remaining for CLAT, even my parents started encouraging me as they had never seen me studying so hard and trying so much to crack an exam. They were happy. They told that even if I didn’t crack the exam, it would not affect them because they had seen me work hard and they knew that I really cared about this.
While applying for CLAT, my mother asked me to put NALSAR, Hyderabad as my first preference because she said that it is a familiar place and easily accessible. But I wanted NLSIU, Bangalore to be my first preference. She almost pleaded with me to have NALSAR as my first preference. I couldn’t disappoint her more. So I agreed to it. I thought it would be something I regretted.
It was May 6th, 2018, I had my NEET and AILET on that day. But I chose to write AILET. My parents did not compel me to take NEET. My exam center was NALSAR. I will not lie here, I fell in love with the campus when I first saw it. I thanked my mom for compelling me to choose NALSAR over NLSIU. I did not even want to have a look at NLSIU.
The library was the allotted exam hall. To be honest, I stopped writing the exam and started admiring the library. That is the level of the attraction I felt towards NALSAR. Call it infatuation; I don’t mind (lol). I prayed to God to give me NALSAR. I almost lost my hopes when I lost twenty five minutes due to technical glitches in CLAT.
As they say, if it doesn’t end on a happy note, then it is not the ending, I got AIR 1584 and All India category rank 10. I got NALSAR. Though I got it with the aid of reservation, I still consider myself eligible enough for the university because only I know how much I had worked for that.
Tearing through all the stress, anxiety, insults, sarcasm – I achieved my goal. At last, I did. Now I am studying in my dream university. NALSAR is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I faced a lot of problems related to my language, understanding the subject and many more. But at last, I overcame those. I tried to handle everything as smoothly as possible.
Here I need to thank my parents, my colleagues, my seniors and our faculty at NALSAR for encouraging me and never letting me down. The best thing about NALSAR is that you can be yourself. I am completely in love with NALSAR.
I did not stop when I was asked to. I did not care about the sarcasm of so-called well-wishers. I did not let disappointment stop me in my path. I chose this life and I worked for it. I am happy for who I am. And if I can do that, you can do that too. The only factor that stops you from achieving is not believing in yourself. There is nothing called “being too-late”. There is always an opportunity waiting for you.
There are always doors opened for you to achieve. All you need to do is to discover yourself, start and continue what you started without any hindrances. All the energy of this universe is within you. Just remember—it is NEVER TOO LATE.
Image Source: Pexels
I am a law student, enthusiastic and I read a lot of fiction. Interested to
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