“Your son will not get admission this year no matter how hard he’s going to try.” That’s what my dad got to hear upon consulting an astrologer. Yes he’s a stereotypical father who takes lesser rational decisions. This was during the time when I had decided to quit my job in order to pursue MBA. I had put my papers in August 2013 because I knew I ain’t great at multi-tasking : studying and working parallely. I was no bright kid (most people are deluded by my academics though), so I wanted to devote time and prepare well to get some respectable ‘percentile’ in the entrances.
I didn’t have much idea so kinda missed out on the exams that began at the start of the season (like CMAT1). I applied for the other exams and kicked off the preparation. CAT wasn’t pretty much my cup of tea. I was looking at the other exams, which might look mediocre to many of you. Yes, MAT was in the list too. ?
That astrologer’s words hadn’t stopped ringing in my ears yet, and my elder brother coaxed me into visiting another one (my dad wanted to double check, you see). This one didn’t say any different. I wasn’t shocked either. I don’t understand the logic behind this. I really don’t. I know I may offend here many people’s sentiments when it comes to astrology, palmistry and alike but I’m not against it. I’m just saying why not make efforts first and then probably wait for the result. It’s no magic that you do xyz puja and get a seat overnight. You’ve gotta work for it. I’m saying all this now but back then I knew how much those words had bothered me during my preparation.
Results time. I managed a 99 in MAT, 85 in XAT, 82 in SNAP, 195 in NMAT. CAT isn’t worth mentioning. ? I could manage 6 decent calls for the season. Again, decent is considering my capabilities. The best of my calls were TAPMI, GIM, K J Somaiya. ?
The GDPIs started. I know how much effort I had put in after the calls. Reading was something I hated. I pushed myself to read newspapers, watched debates on news channels. I wanted to convert every call I had got. I couldn’t forget that astrologer’s words. I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him that I proved him wrong. But I composed my thoughts and focussed on my efforts. Some interviews went fine, some were weird yet some I can’t even find words to describe, ranging from as short as 5 mins to as long as 35 mins.

The moment came. One call after the other just brought good news and good news and more good news. I had converted all the 6 calls! My happiness and excitement knew no boundaries. All I could do was just sit and stare at my laptop’s result screen every time and recall those words said by the astrologer. I don’t feel like punching him now. Well, had it not been for him, I wouldn’t have got that extreme determination (which came out of frustration though) and the headstrong attitude I had developed eventually to disprove his baseless thought process.

All I’m saying is, don’t let anybody, I repeat, ANYBODY determine you or your future. It is your actions, your efforts, your determination, your courage that pave the way for your future. If you’re doing it right, you’re going to get it right.

Oh btw I’ve decided to go for GIM. All I dream now is of Goa and the 2 years of awesomeness I’m gonna have. ?
Good Luck all ?