Who else might I have been - Part 2

Read the first part here

yahooooo.....I got 96% in my exams and have scored very good marks in all subjects including the language papers. My joy knew no bounds and I was jumping happily. My grandma couldn't understand my sudden strange behaviour, though she understood that my score was good. I quickly took a calculator and started calculating my total score for medical admission. The calculator replied "284/300". So I still stand a chance as per my dad's inputs, though I had to keep my fingers crossed.

The next week was full of wishes from teachers, friends, neighbours and relatives. I also came to know that not only did I stand first in my school but also third in my district, which inturn guaranteed a merit scholarship from the Government for whatever course I plan to take.

The day indeed arrived when I had to realize my dreams getting shattered. The cut-off for general category was 291/300 which was way ahead of my score. My name was not even in the waiting list. In a single day, all my efforts and dreams had to be buried. I cried the whole day. No consolations helped me. My neighbours tried to convince me that my scores for engineering were very good and I could get a seat in a good college easily. I understood the reality the next day that there is no chance I can get into medicine unless I can afford to pay a huge sum of money as donation which I can't claim through my scholarship. I knew that my dad couldn't afford such huge amount and also felt that it's not worth buying a seat paying a lumpsum. I should have earned my seat through a very good score which I didn't.

Days passed by and engineering admissions began. I got into a good college opting for Computer Science. At that point of time, I haven't even seen a computer in my life. Should I call this undecisiveness or guts or societal pressure? Probably, I could have spent another year and give a shot at medicine again if I were really passionate about my dream. But I didn't want to do that.

So here I am, a software engineer who could have been a doctor if circumstances were different. Though the regret and disappointment is still there in a corner of my heart, I enjoy my career right now and I'm taking it in the right direction. This whole experience taught me a powerful lesson - "Start liking what you do. One day, it will turn out to be your passion."