Dear 18-year-old Pranjali,
You have freshly graduated from high school and now are on your way to adulthood. Soon, you will be joining a specialised course – one that will prepare you for your career.
Are you scared? Are you anxious? Whether you’ve made the right choice? You wanted to get into an IIT but couldn't. Is that pulling you down? I know you are confused if engineering is for you – or whether you should have opted for medicine instead and become a doctor like your mom. You worry too much over the ‘what ifs’.
To add to your woes, mom and dad expect you to be more responsible. You are supposed to be an ideal elder daughter and a role model for your younger siblings.
Amidst this pandemonium of thoughts, do you still have stray thoughts of becoming a writer? Because that’s the passion you secretly harbour. You really want to be known as a writer and get your book published someday.
There have been some moments when you have found yourself staring blankly into the mirror and wondering if you made the right choice!
You might also be torn because the guy in your class – the one you liked said you weren’t his TYPE! He dumped you for a girl who seemed a perfect 10. You cried buckets behind closed doors. You even gave up eating for days in a bid to become size 0.
To that girl I’d like to say, it’s perfectly OK to get your heart broken. Aren’t you glad that the boy dumped you because when you bumped into him at a mall, he was a total disaster. Even his status messages on Facebook suggest that he’s a self-satisfied snob.
Don’t you agree that the guys you met and all the heartbreaks you had made you a stronger individual? Made you love yourself more? And you eventually found THE guy – the kind you had dreamt of – the one who loves you for who you are.
To that shattered, confused, nervous wreck, who stepped into college, I would like to tell you that IIT is not for everyone and going to an IIT does not make you a good engineer. It should not be the Be-All-And-End-All of your life! You are lucky to have made it to one of the best engineering colleges in the country. You did great. You not only sailed through the four years of engineering smoothly, but also passed with a distinction.
You surprised yourself when you not only became an engineer but also a banker and now a writer. Kudos to you girl!
Be strong!
Pranjali Bhonde Pethe