The "black sheep" who won a gold medal.

"I was born & brought up in Siliguri, in a middle-class family. In our family, almost every member, including my parents & my elder sister was extremely talented, academically. "

I was referred to as the ' black sheep' of our family.

Ever since childhood, I could never reach up to my parent's expectations of me. On the contrary, my elder sister was incredibly good in both academics & extracurricular activities. My mother would mostly taunt me, " When both of you are getting equal facilities, and opportunities, then how come you're nothing but a failure to us ".

In class 9, I didn't receive a report card because of my extremely poor academic performance. My father was disappointed enough to warn me that he wouldn't continue to pay for my education expenses.

My relatives would also taunt me, "The problem isn't your mental health, it's YOU".

As per some of my relatives' advice, my mother took me to several psychiatrists & astrologers, but in vain. After my class 10 board results, at least my family was satisfied as I could pass the exams.

At every stage, my parents & relatives would lecture me, taunt me, and compare me with others; however, I could never find out what I wanted to do and who I want to become.

I could never have known about my academic strength stayed until my bachelor's.

After my 12th board, I took a gap year, to which my parents were quite satisfied as my father didn't have to take the burden of my educational expenses.

During that gap year, I completely shut myself down, took up a challenge to change my stream, choose Fine Arts, and prepared for the entrance exam of my dream college, Presidency University.

I put every bit of my effort, dedication & devotion into my preparation. Well, to my family's surprise, I cleared the entrance exam and got admission to the Fine Arts department of Presidency University, Kolkata.

During my college years, I completely transformed, both as an individual & a student. I fell in love with my studies; for me, there was no better fun than being in the library & staying consistent with my study schedule.

During my final year of graduation, my hard work paid off! I was the ' gold medalist' recognized as the topper of my department. My family was overwhelmed by the amazing news.

At present, I am working on my next goal to pursue my Masters from a renowned university.

My journey from a failure to a topper has been quite a memorable one.

Here's an Xtraordinary message from Prapti :

"In the era where most people talk about stepping outside of your comfort zone to succeed in life; all you need to do is find your strengths, commit to hard work, set your own goals, and go for it."

When every person around you goes against your choices, you must be there for yourself, with yourself. That's all that matters.