What Would You Do, If You Were 21 Today?

I woke up this morning wanting to be born again! Quite literally, I was curled if in the foetal position (this is a pretty common position to sleep in) and I remember waking up to the thought of restarting – but restarting afresh.

What if I was just born again? I suddenly realized that at this point, I knew exactly what I would do and what I wouldn’t do, if I could live these years again.

However, why think of being born again? Maybe, If I were 21 today, that’s where I could begin again! It’s a decent age to begin or even begin again.

What would you do if you were 21 today?

Mumbai based corporate lawyer, Tina Gooptu says that she wouldn’t want to do anything differently. "I was studying law when I was 21 at Symbiosis, Pune. I always wanted to study law so I wouldn’t change that plan. But if I were 21 today, I’d have probably just wanted to spend more time with my family. At that age, I didn’t realize the importance of spending time with family and now years later when you literally have no time to do so, you realize you should have…."

Tarot card reader Nandita Sharma who has spent a lifetime being a 'Stay at Home Mom' adds, "I would have probably chosen not to get married so young! I got married at 20 and had my first child at 21. But if I were 21 today, I’d have probably signed up for a post-graduation degree so that if I wanted to work at a later stage, I wouldn’t need to think twice about it."

An artist from Mumbai who began her career as a copywriter and then decided that full-time employment was not her cup of tea, quit her job to pursue her interests. She conducts art workshops, makes paintings, hosts exhibitions and is the founder of Project Shekhawati – a venture through which she ties up with clients in Fatehpur, Rajasthan to restore fresco paintings on old houses around the area.

What would she do if she were 21 today?

"I would paint more and spend less time socializing with friends! That’s where a lot of us go wrong, when we were younger, we had more energy. But instead of channelizing that energy to create something great, a lot of us got tempted to do other things. It would have made more sense to be working round the clock at 21 and getting settled professionally by the time I was 30! So yes, I would have cancelled my Saturday night plan and chosen to paint today, if I were 21!"

An ex IIT Mumbai alumni who eventually started his own Mechanical Engineering consultancy started off at a very young age. "I’ve spent my youth raising the children and being a responsible father. However, I do feel that if I hadn’t started off so young, maybe the responsibilities would be fewer and I could have focused more on work. So, if I were 21 today, I’d have opted to go abroad, to get that high paying job and then returned with a hefty savings to take over the family business and settle down in my home country comfortably."

Delnaaz Irani who has been working as a freelance post production supervisor for close to a decade says that she would have learnt a sport or musical instrument starting today, if she were 21! Why? So that by the time she was 30, she’d have been the master of it!

Ami Shroff, a name synonymous with bartending has been known to lead a life on her terms. She is never in one place for more than a few days. She always travels for work, participates in competitions and prefers to take off on trips by herself for some much needed peace of mind. Ami started working as a bartender at the young age of 17.

If she were 21, what would she do today? "I would have explored the serenity of the mountains sooner, she says. It is so peaceful to get away from city life for a few days and just be with your thoughts. It helps you rethink your strategy for life and come back with more power!"

Now, what would YOU do, if you were 21 today?

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