180-Degree Ride

Now follows the inspiring story of a corporate cog turned dreamweaver:

I was what you would call a corporate cog. I went to work every day at 9:00 am, and sat in my chair till the clock struck 6:00. Ten minutes later, I would be on the train home. A couple of hours later, my wife and I would be done with dinner and back on our laptops to finish more work. And repeat.

Life was different when I was young. Back in my graduation days, I was a very active student and was perennially fighting for some cause or the other. I dreamt of being a journalist, of bringing the perpetrators of crime to justice and helping the wronged. In fact, I met my wife at one of those college rallies! We were so brave, yet so naive back then. We thought we could change the system.  But the very things we never thought mattered stopped me from becoming what I wanted to. Our families revolted fiercely to the idea of me becoming a “reporter”. While my family was worried about journalism being an ‘unsafe’ profession, her family was sure that a journalist cannot run a household even for a month on what he gets, let alone support his own family. If I had to be a journalist, it would have to be without her.

I gave on journalism and took up a managerial job. I worked hard. Earned enough to support another person and got married. After that, life barely changed. I was married and had a job then. I was married and had a job now. An year ago, I evaluated my life, and I realized I had accomplished nothing significant other than making money. I was bewildered. When did I become this?, I thought. This is not something I can keep on doing. I need to work towards a meaning, not a number. That was when I decided, I will become a journalist. It was not easy. I was settled. I had a regular income. I had my wife to support, and soon there will be kids. But I just couldn’t have lived that life any longer. 

It was a life-changing decision, and a challenge that I faced in form of so many things every day. I enrolled myself in a media college for part-time diploma. I had to attend classes every day after work for an year. There were times when the sheer physical fatigue would take its toll and I would spend my entire Sunday in bed. But now, I woke up every morning knowing, that I had a long day ahead and I loved it! I was getting closer to my dream one day at a time. Life was as hard as it could get, and it was also as good as it could get! I persevered for an entire year, working and studying. I was running all the time, and studying when not doing the latter. It took all my physical and mental strength; it drained me of all my energy. But it was the happiest that I had been in years! It was as if I had come back to life, and however tough it was, being alive is awesome!

The course finished in its due time. I quit my job at the corporate. That day was a symbolic victory which represented the end of my life’s greatest, and longest, struggle. I had done it. I had put an end to a charade. It was daunting at first, but the goal kept me going. It took an year and endless sleepless nights, and today, I am a reporter with a national newspaper.  This is the life that I wanted. And I worked to get this. My career switch has given me tremendous confidence in myself. If I can go from being a manager to a reporter, there is nothing that I cannot do! I am in control of my destiny, and it’s a terrific feeling.

(Courtesy: Ms SS)