As kids, we have a million aspirations, often confused with ‘dream’. Some say they want to be astronauts, scientists, or maybe Miss Universe. Well, I wanted to be Miss Universe, not for the fame but because I wanted to wear a tiara and a gown. If I am being honest, I wanted to be a princess.
Most kids like me had unrealistic dreams or they idolised someone, they looked up to someone, whether it was a family member, a celebrity, or even a fancy name they came across in a book. For a phase in my life, I idolized my mother. She was the managing director of a hospital. When she walked in, people wished her good morning, brought her files to sign, and looked to her for decisions. I wanted to be that, the most important person in the room. I was in class 5 at the time.
But I saw my first true dream when I was ten years old, in class 6. I had just finished reading my first novel, Black Beauty and that’s when I decided I wanted to be a writer. That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. Why a writer? Because I realised that writers are magicians. You don’t always need a wand, sometimes, you just need a pen to create a whole new world. A world full of possibilities, surprises, and magic. Be it the magical world of Hogwarts or the secret cupboard that led to Naria, all of it were created by writers with powerful imagination.
Growing up in the small town of Jharkhand, when I told I want to be a writer in a class full of 48 students, everyone laughed. But I didn’t care. I was inspired by the stories of Tolstoy, Dickens, and later, Shakespeare. The back pages of my school notebooks were filled with poems and stories.
My grandfather taught me how to write how writing needs to come from the deepest emotions. I wrote my first poem for fun when I was 13, and soon enough, I was exploring different topics in my writing. When I was 16, I won first prize in a poetry writing competition. The topic was shared on the spot by the judging panel, and I still remember how proud I felt when mt words won.
Even when my father wanted me to pursue an MBA, even when I was told that writing was something that I could do for “fun” or later in life when I get old and wrinkly or when my friends called it unrealistic or when my relatives and teachers were disappointed in me for choosing Humanities, I knew I wanted to be a writer. And I was certain that one day, would be.
In college, I majored in English Literature, and every passing day my fascination with writing and writers grew. I wrote my first major poem Good Old Days in 2018. I was inspired by Wordsworth’s simplicity and reflected on the bittersweet nature of childhood memories and passage of time. I was influenced by his words “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.” I still believe that poetry is just that, raw, powerful emotional expressed through words.
It was during my internship however, that I discovered how writing could truly be anything I wanted it to be. My mentor introduced me to the world of SEO-based blogs and professional content writing. That’s when it clicked, I don’t need to write a novel to be a writer, I can write anything, writing could evolve, expand, and take many forms. From poems, to blogs, to research articles, AD copies and beyond, writing is limitless.
As a child, I dreamt of living in the Mount and writing for a living. Last year, I got to live that dream. The 10 year old me would have been so proud and it made me realise one simple truth, Dreams Do Come True!
Some people have goals, some have aspirations, but there are also very few who dare to dream. Out of those daring few, only the rarest achieve it. I am not exactly where I want to be yet, but every word I write brings me one step closer to the dream my younger self believed in.
Poetry, Blogs, and Books 