I Would Say That “Sacrificing”.......

I would say that “sacrificing” your early 20s for your career is worth it.

My father always says we have two choices - Enjoy early life at your parents’ expense and suffer the rest of it, or, work like a horse all day throughout your early life and live like a king for the rest.

Every individual has dreams in life that she/he wants to achieve. And, nobody likes waiting. We all want things to happen fast. Sadly, that never does.

Nothing good ever comes easy.

When I was in final year, most of my friends who were in engineering had passed out and taken up jobs in IT sector. When I was doing my internship, a few got married. My friends who were in medical/dental from school joined PG in private colleges right after UG got over - it was an smooth transition.

For me (and majority of my batchmates from college), it has been a roller coster journey, emotionally and physically.

Days of tears, worries and anxiety! Endless cravings to just drop out and put an end to the whole rat race.

But we held on. Through fire and ice. Each of us wanted to get into a central government institution for PG.

Each of us have achieved that, finally.

There's still a long way to go, but the whole thing so far has been worth it. I'm (almost) financially independent now (salary comes after work starts), have a gorgeous room all to myself and am close to home.

Financial independence is something to die for in today's world. It gives you security and the power to design your life the way you want it (irrespective of what others around you feel!).

  

  -Aheli Bal,MD AIIMS,MBBS JIPMER