I come from a small village, Shigali situated in the foothills of the Shivaliks in Dehradun. My father is a Gardener and the only earning member of our family. My mother is a housewife. We are three siblings: my elder sister who is currently doing graduation, my younger brother who is studying in class 8 in the same school PYDS, where I am studying in class 11.
My life took a complete turn when I joined this school in 2010. I was selected for a national level competition, Youth Leader, under which we had to choose and address a social issue. We decided to work upon the segregation and proper disposal of solid waste in five villages. We started with awareness camps, telling people the difference between recyclables and non-recyclables and then arranging a vehicle for sending the garbage to a recycling unit: something that the local administration refused to do. Now including our village, there are four more villages with a proper waste disposal system. We stood second in the competition and along with this, I started looking at the problems that affected others more deeply, understanding society and finding ways to channelize my empathy.
From that moment, I started participating in more activities, being it the national level street play competitions, essay writing, the olympiads, dance competitions, the Doon School Model United Nation and of course games. Last year, I got selected for an eleven-month exchange program to Illinois, United States. Living there as an American teenager was a great experience and exchanging and accepting each others culture was one of the best feelings I have ever had.
Interacting with people, learning from them, understanding them and sharing about myself is what inspires me the most. I look to pursue Public Relations in the future. It feels as if my journey has just begun, there is still a lot to learn, explore and enjoy in life.
