When I was a kid, I wanted to be an architect because the buildings I saw on the roads impressed me and I wished I could design them. Through the years, my passion extended to not only what was outside a building, but what was inside too. I became attentive towards the aesthetics of my environment. So, I wanted to be an architect AND an interior designer!

From 8th to 9th grade - I spent 2 whole years convinced that I would end up becoming an architect because I used to enjoy reading about architecture. In 10th grade, my parents sat me down and explained to me that it’s great that I want to follow my passion, but for that, I need to be really sure what my passion truly is. Towards the second half of 10th grade, we had to choose a combination of subjects for 11th and 12th. I consulted a lot of seniors and I knew a senior with a story exactly like mine. Architecture would require students to take up Science and Mathematics and that is what my senior did. By the end of 11th grade, she did not feel comfortable with that combination and hence, changed her stream. But there was a catch – this option of changing the stream after 11th wasn’t available for me. It had been scrapped for my batch. Science was not my calling at all, but I did give Mathematics a try... for a month and then left it!

I took up pure humanities then and I will be really honest – I did not enjoy even a single subject that I was learning. I used to sleep in history class, bunk political science class and daydream in Psychology, except when they taught us about interesting things like.. well. daydreaming! But now a huge question lay in front of me – what did I want to do?

I considered becoming a Graphic Designer because I am inclined towards art. I considered becoming a Writer because I really enjoy writing. I even considered starting my own Event Management Company because I loved doing backstage work in school and organizing events. However, I realized that all this was easy to say, but one can hardly decide on a career unless they have had practical experience.

During 11th grade, my batch used to have Career Counselling sessions and people from different backgrounds used to come and speak about their work. I clearly remember the day a speaker from the Advertising industry came and spoke to us about the company he worked for – J Walter Thompson. I took back a lot from that seminar. Knowledge and a new idea that I wanted to experiment with. 

That day, I considered working in the Advertising industry! Advertising was a seed that was already planted in my head. My parents often told me that I should take up a course in Mass Communication since I liked to speak up about things.

But when you give someone a lot of choices, they respond with no clarity whatsoever. Today they will want to do one thing and tomorrow another, and that’s what happened to me throughout 11th grade. During the end of 11th grade, I visited my grandparents in Bangalore. My mother was concerned that my time to decide on a course for under graduation was coming to a close and so, one day, she took me to colleges around Bangalore to interact with people. I will always be grateful to her for this. Because that day I ended up in a college where I would come back to pursue mine under graduation one day – Christ University.

I interacted with everyone who I found approachable. That makes 3 people in total! But jokes apart, I was very impressed with the layout of the campus. It was so green and serene. One of the girls I interacted with was pursuing a “Triple Major”. I won’t lie – that seriously caught my attention. One day I wanted to be able to tell people that I was studying a Triple Major. I went back home and did my research, went through the courses and one of them really caught my eye. CEP - A triple major in Communication & Media, English and Psychology! I got in touch with a few people I knew who were pursuing Mass Communication in other colleges and they all told me this was a great option. I spoke to the girl I met and she told me she had a few friends studying CEP and their seniors got into Advertising. At that moment, it felt very reassuring that I might finally be on the right path.

Fast forward 2 years. I was sitting in front of my laptop and reading out my acceptance to the course! I am a really content CEP student today. My course has given me a lot of exposure in the field. I took up extra courses in Creative Advertising and Marketing and am building my foundation by freelancing and interning as a content writer. I want to try out various fields within media before making the huge decision of what is the right fit for me. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. Every day, I learn something new. Before this year, I would never have imagined that I will have it in me to design a digital newsletter all by myself. That is the effect of a course you like – you break certain barriers every single day.