My light bulb moment
~Journey
from being a Biotechnologist to being a Writer~
College Life! Aah! One really
gets to live the life of Riley when it comes to going to the college. It is
more like getting one’s share of weal and woes. But doesn’t everyone want to
have some or the other extraordinary experience during the college life that
can be relived and cherished? Well, I had one and probably that will be
remembered by me forever, if not cherished.
Post Class XII, it was the
right time to jump on the bandwagon and start toiling for my career. I chose Biotechnology
as my field of interest and readily decided to spend the five most precious
years of my youth in the college. Unaware of what I would become, I started my
journey in an entirely new direction. Like a bright- eyed and bushy- tailed student,
I put in a lot of hard work and time to ace the test. And I had my share of
joyous moments, adventures with friends and silly fights with the not-so-good
people. Life was not at all bitter. And it was then when I had the bee in my
bonnet about becoming a biotechnologist and working for the Research and
Development Department of any blue chip company. But as the placements came I
realized that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Research was not my cup
of tea. But then what? I was clueless like never before. Things were falling
out of place because I was about finish my post graduation. With such a weighty
degree, I just had two options- either to opt for corporate sector or apply for
PhD. But indecision failed my attempts to think logically.
I applied in one of the
leading companies that offered Academic content to offshore students. It was
like I became a content writer more by accident than design and that is how my
light bulb moment arrived. Content writing had a bounded trajectory. Something
was amiss. Amidst the detailed Biology and Nursing assignments, my interest for
writing and playing with words was fading away. I wanted something that gave me
freedom to express myself. And that is when I heard about a Publication that
invited short stories and aimed at helping budding writers. I left no stone
unturned and submitted my first story. Luckily, it got selected and I was
published. The book was received with love and appreciation by my family and
friends. Probably that was what I had been wanting- a break. Thereafter,
blogging was in full swing. I wrote day and night. This was followed by more
stories getting selected and getting published. To cope with the upgraded
reading and writing skills, I indulged in reviewing books. And my education
helped. I had never parted ways with English- be it School or College. The love
for the language kept me motivated. But opting to be a full time writer would
throw me on the breadline. Then I applied for the post of a teacher in a school
and I got a second bite at the cherry; I was given English as the subject. My
happiness knew no bounds. It was suddenly like the things had fitted perfectly
in the jigsaw of my life.
But my memory is not like
a sieve. The thought of literally wasting five precious years of mine in doing
something that has not come in handy yet, makes me cheesed off. The odds,
however, did turn in my favour and I am enjoying my life now. For everything
else I just say- different folks have different strokes!
