Mystory@Anoop Kumar: How I chose my course and career path – a roller coaster ride

Most of you who would venture into reading my story would actually wonder what in the world do I really want in life. Trust me, I still am trying to figure that out myself. Before I get into my story, I would like to highlight a simple incident that happened back when I was way too young to take any life decisions. Back when I was barely in double digits in terms of age I used to be a gaming enthusiast and I wanted to make my own video games. During that frenzy, I used to mumble around that I want to be a software engineer. Little did I know that this childish fantasy would have a huge impact later on my life.

Unfortunately, I was good at studies, which led me to opt for science stream after my class Xth boards. I use the word unfortunate because my love for football and my achievements in the sport were completely overlooked. I was asked to turn my attention to education. I won’t dare blame my parents for that as they always had my best interest in mind and like most typical middle-class families in India they also believed that sports are fine till a point, but success only comes from education and completing a top professional course.

But me being me, I devoted my time solely to football, ending up with just enough marks in my XIIth boards to not get completely rejected by all the engineering colleges in the country (I barely scrapped up 50% in PCM). Considering my exceptional performance in board examination and the subsequent engineering entrance exam fiasco, I ended up nowhere close to any of the premier institutions in the country. In a way I was happy as I realised that calculating the recoil of a gun is not my cup of tea. But my parents were unhappy as they believed that their only son was not able to fulfill his dream of becoming a software engineer. I tried conveying that it is not my dream any more but was not convincing enough. So before the admission season was over, I found myself in one of the good engineering colleges in Chennai, affiliated with Anna University (of course, I gave the entrance and somehow cleared it).

Then came the struggling year with me attending classes for BTech in Computer Science and calculating the velocity of a moving train not knowing what else to do. With every passing day I knew that my idea of choosing football as a career was fading away. It was during these days that I took refuge in movies and thereby understanding the power of visual media, especially films and the impact it can have on society and individuals. While being lost in movies, somehow I managed to survive the first year of my college.

Now it was time to enter into hardcore engineering and that’s when I was really sure that it’s not for me. It took a while to convince my parents but eventually they also came to terms with it. But the fact of the matter was that I still didn’t know what I would do once I drop out of engineering. To add to that, the timing of my grand return from Chennai and engineering was so horrendous that admissions for the new batches were over in almost all private and government colleges. Judgements from the society were inevitable considering that it was a taboo to drop out of a course, especially something as sacred as engineering. Also, fact of the matter was that I was about to miss out on another year because of the late call and I was already being portrayed as the fallen hero who had so much potential (being among the toppers in school) but ended up destroying everything. Eventually I had to drop that year as well. During this period I spent a little time with myself and started exploring. I realised my eye for creativity and my love for visual medium. This led to the decision of me ending up in a mass communication course. After exploring my options in the prestigious Delhi University where the options for male candidates from general category are limited, I decided to stick with either GGSIPU or Amity University. Considering the infrastructure and few positive reviews from current students (from different departments though) I ended up in Amity.

How I chose my PG course?

Mass Communication suited me perfectly as it gave me so much of freedom in terms of both expression and exploration. I loved every aspect of it starting from print journalism, electronic media, advertising, public relations, photography, film making etc etc. My inclination was more towards film making and photography, which led me to finish my post graduation in Photography and Visual Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia. I had also applied and cleared the entrance exams for IIMC, Delhi and XIC, Mumbai but I decided to stick with Jamia. It turned out to be a great decision as it opened up a whole new world for me and in many ways broadened my visual perspective. Even though I took a tougher path when it comes to career, I would not want to go back or change anything as I firmly believe that all those mistakes taught me one thing or the other and led me to where I am now. For example if I hadn’t tried out engineering in the first place I would have been wondering all my life whether I would have been better off pursuing engineering or not.

My career journey

After my college was done with, there rarely is a field of creativity wherein I haven’t tried out my hand. I have been a wedding photographer, event photographer, cinematographer, content writer, assistant director, film festival coordinator and so on. My last stint was with writing which eventually got me where I am today. Currently, I am working with Infoedge India Ltd in Shiksha, and trying to create a platform to guide the confused lot out there, who like me, go through a hard time figuring out a career path. Why this drastic transition you ask? To be honest even I don’t know the answer to that. But since the time I have been here, all my basic cravings of communication, creativity, photography and writing all have been tested from time to time. The only difference is that, now all this has been aimed towards a definitive purpose unlike my earlier adventures. So in short (too late to say that I guess), I have taken an adventurous path till now with lot of learnings. When I look back I can proudly say that I have taken a tough path but have enjoyed every bit of the way. So yes I still am learning, enjoying and cruising through life wondering what in the world do I want!!

About the Author:

I’ve done my Bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication from Amity University, Noida and completed my PG diploma in Still Photography and Visual Studies from Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi.

During my college days I have interned across various spectrums of communications like online newspaper, Public Relations, events etc. After post-graduation I have been working with various production houses in Delhi and Mumbai. The work areas during these times vary from camera handling, management, direction, writing and occasional acting stints. Before getting into Infoedge I was working as a content writer. Currently working with Shiksha Campus Connect Program for execution of strategies and building an ideal platform for aspirants to interact with current students. In the process also ensuring a steady state of product operations for business growth.

Mystory is a new Shiksha initiative to provide students a unique platform to share their experiences right from college admission to career selection. Here’s your chance to get published on India’s leading education portal. We’ll be happy to publish your story.   Write in to us at: mystory@shiksha.com