Is this even real?

I got my decision letter from The University of Warwick earlier this week. It may not be THAT big a deal for 90% of my cohort, but it was a beautiful moment for me.

I grew up in a family that values education a lot. My parents worked hard to achieve their goals and support a family, and gave my sister and me a good education, which was a privilege because not everyone has the opportunity to study what they want, from whichever university they want to.?

This isn’t another “I changed my life” story about how I was always so bad at academics but somehow my life turned around and how I’m extremely successful and happy now. Having said that…. I was never really good at certain subjects in school. It’s not that I didn’t want to be, but more because I had other interests. I was obsessed with Music and football, I loved learning about new technology, and science, I used to watch an absurd amount of animal planet for some reason, and I absolutely loved learning new things. I loved challenging myself, meeting new people, learning about their lives, understanding things from their perspective,??learning new languages, exploring new places, and playing unhealthy amounts of FIFA. All in all, I enjoyed being where I am, always. As you can imagine, with my varied interests (which did not include achieving 90% in all my subjects), I didn’t do too well in my 10th or 12th. It was my dream to go abroad to do my bachelor's, but that obviously did not work out because the good universities wouldn’t accept me with my grades and there was no point in going to an average university.

So I took that pill which was quite hard to swallow and luckily got into Ruia College, Mumbai University, where I did my Bachelor's in Mass Media. Little did I know, this was a blessing in disguise. My undergrad was amazing. I got to meet so many different kinds of people, such a talented bunch, all so ambitious and positive with an infectious amount of energy. The 11th or 12th standard Anuj would’ve probably said “why am I here” but towards the end of my bachelor's, I was so glad that I came to this place because it’s what made me see no matter how different people are, they can always get along well together.?

I did well in my undergrad because by this point I had understood that I need to do well if I want to go abroad to a well-reputed university for my master's. I couldn’t risk the opportunity this time around. I did manage to get myself a respectable grade which, contrary to my prior beliefs, was quite easy to do. After I graduated, I worked in two marketing agencies and made A LOT of music. By A lot, I mean, toured India with my band performing an original 14-track album, released multiple songs on apple music, Spotify, and every possible streaming application you can think of, collaborated with different artists, got featured on the Rolling Stones HITLIST?and created a portfolio of 30+ unreleased tracks. Wow, that sounded braggy, but it was the most fun few months of my life. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Fast forward to 2020, the pandemic hits, and life shuts down. Everything sucks. So what now? Let’s apply for Masters! So I figure out a few unis and apply. I don’t think I’m going to get in any of them tbh, but I did, somehow. And it wasn’t just any university, It was a top university for my course. I thought to myself "is this email even real?" I know to some of the people reading this it wouldn’t be THAT big a deal getting into WBS. But for me? A guy who was never really good at academics, put in the bare minimum every chance he got, getting into a top 10 B school? There has to be a catch right? No catch. Arguably the single greatest year of my life. Met the most amazing people I could’ve met, learned so much, gained so many new experiences, and grew so much.

I’ve heard a lot of people tell me that everyone’s doing things at their own pace, some people get what they want a little earlier because they put in the work and some people get it later. However, it doesn’t make me feel any better and when I see people my age doing better than me now, I see them achieve their goals and feel demotivated and think “What am I doing wrong?” It makes me feel like I haven’t worked as hard as them so now they’re reaping the rewards of their hard work through the years and I’m still out here, struggling.?

I think about how they would have also had their “is this even real” moment, where they wouldn’t have believed that what’s happening to them, is in fact happening. So I choose to believe that everyone has their “is this even real” moments at different points of time in their life. No, I haven’t got a job yet, but If I told the “11th 12th Anuj” that he’d get into Warwick Business school, he probably wouldn’t have believed it either. My next “is this even real” moment would be getting a good job, that I love doing, where I can grow, and most importantly where I can learn.?

So it’s okay if you realized your calling, later on, it’s okay if you weren’t the best in your class at studies, it’s okay if you had other interests, and it’s okay if you didn’t end up doing what you were “supposed” to do. Maybe one day you’d look back and think, l would’ve never thought I’d be where I am today, Because to be honest, I truly don’t believe where I am today. I've learned to stop and smell the flowers. Wow, I sound like someone who has watched “eat pray love” 1 too many times. In any case, the opportunities are endless, and I can’t wait to seize them. So here’s to the “is this even real”s of life and I hope you get yours very soon.