My Career Journey from Junior High to College

As a little girl, I was very naughty at home but a silent girl in school. Strange, right? During my childhood, I wanted everything I saw, whether it was chocolate, toys, dresses, etc. I was always eager to go to school daily so that I could get laddoos in Anganwadis (school before LKG) and play with friends.

During my school days, I only studied before exams, but I always did my homework at home. I was following the Karnataka state board syllabus, so I didn’t face the same burden of studies that some kids face with the CBSE and ICSE syllabi. My hobbies were singing, drawing, etc. I participated in cultural competitions, speech and essay writing competitions, and many more activities. I scored around 95%.

One thing I would like to mention is that I was a good listener in class. Whatever the teacher said, I would follow. In 7th standard, I was elected as the discipline secretary in school, and that was memorable. Frankly, if you had asked me about my dream at that time, I would have said I wanted to become a doctor, as usual.

My suggestions:

• Enjoy your childhood; play as much as possible ?
• Children should spend time with nature; in this modern world, try to reduce the use of gadgets.
• Cultivate hobbies like singing, dancing, writing, painting, swimming, sports, or whatever interests you.
• Have discipline and respect elders.

When I stepped into 8th standard, my high school environment was a bit strict, and paid serious attention to my studies. I also adapted to that environment, and yes, I was now among the top 3 in my class. The way I transformed involved starting to study daily, but I didn’t abandon my hobbies. We worked on building some projects and were involved in many high school functions, prayer songs, organizing events, etc. In 10th grade, our senior batch of students got the state 1st rank, which inspired all of us to do well in the 10th exam.

After the 10th exam, I decided to opt for PCMB as I was interested in science and the environment. It was my passion. When we were in 11th, COVID introduced us to online classes. After some time, our classes started offline, and it was great to get back to a real learning environment. My dream was to do my best in JEE and NEET. You might think both. Yes! I was much into NEET but couldn’t leave JEE as I love Maths. So, I started preparing for both from the second half of 11th standard. It was a great experience.

Truly, I would say that preparing for these competitive exams taught me that:

• We need to have patience and practice a lot.
• No matter what the result, our job is to try and do our best.
• Whatever happens, happens for good.
• You should not stop working until you are satisfied with your work.
• Learn to gain knowledge, not just to gain marks or ranks.
• Respect your teachers and focus on their words; you will automatically love the subject and learn a lot.
• Our failures teach us that we are actively learning, not static.

After that, I decided to take Engineering due to my excitement for technology and with a lot of questions. So far, it’s all going great. I started loving various domains like web development, coding, doing POTD in GFG, open-source contributions, participating in hackathons…and these things became a day-to-day part of me. I started getting happiness when I got involved in these activities.

My suggestions/quotes for you:

• Don’t wait for anything or anybody; start now.
• If you want to try or learn anything, start getting your hands dirty.
• Learning keeps you young.
• No one is perfect — that’s why pencils have erasers.
• Come out of your comfort zone.

Lastly, I wish you all great success in your life; come out with flying colors.

Thank you all ?