The Corporate World is a Pain in the Heel!

'What do you want to be when you grow up?' was a very common choice for paragraph writing way back in primary school. My answer was always - a teacher. I mean, it was but obvious because that was the only profession I was exposed to as a kid. I had a huge blackboard in my room and during my play time I taught my imaginary class all my lessons. In fact soon this became a way of learning for me!

As I grew a little older I thought I should become an air hostess. Trust me back then I didn't once think about all the travel they got to do as the benefit. The uniforms were nice and they always looked pretty...so I wanted to be an air hostess. I loved the Gulf Air uniform. In fact my little sis and I used amma's thrown away dupattas and our hats to imitate their uniform.

By the time I was in high school, I decided that like appa I too would be a chartered accountant. My dream then changed to completing my CA and joining appa's office. I never really knew what appa did...but well he was doing well...and I guess that is all I saw.

The reality is, I didn't become any of these...not even close. I joined an engineering course and specialized in Electronics and Communications. There were a whole lot of silly reasons upon which this decision was based...but let me not digress. 

Just one year into this routine and I knew it was wrong for me. Quitting the course was not something I saw as an option. So I stuck on and completed my studies in E&C engineering, while all through I dreamed of being an actress in Bollywood working with the Khans, the Roshans, the Chopras and the Johars.

It was glitzy dream life that I led back then. I'd spend hours in front of the mirror mono-acting this second life of mine. Initially I thought I was a little nuts, so I kept to myself...but then I found some girls who did the same. Just that in front of the mirror some were actors, some were models...the stories were slightly different but the dreams were all glamorous.

By the end of my graduation, I was 21...and my dreams were more real. So acting in Bollywood went out of the window and I started toying with the idea of branding, marketing and maybe even celebrity management. I still remember the first time I spoke to appa amma about not wanting to be an engineer...I think somewhere appa thought it was all talk and he didn't pay too much attention.

But I think after choosing the wrong field to study for 4 years I wanted to be extra careful with what I chose for my post graduation. So I worked for a while in an internal communications team, with an NGO and also with kids. And at the end of it I knew I loved teaching...my first dream profession...but I had also discovered a love for marketing communications.

Once I had that figured out, I specialized in Marcomm and joined a media agency. Working in an agency was something I always wanted to do. It is a chaotic environment and each client is a specimen...but it was a fun place to be. I worked with a fantastic team. We walked into office most times in tattered chappals and ill-fitting clothes...there were not too many rules...but we still managed to break the few that were there.

My life in the agency was fun...but somewhere from wanting to be a teacher to studying Marcomm...I had started to want different things in my life. I wanted to be more in charge of what I did (I never got that opportunity in an agency as the client usually runs the show), I wanted my brains to be used and most important I needed to maintain my work-life balance. And so began my hunt for the next job.

The hunt took me about 6 weeks and I had 2 offers and it took me 2 days I think to take the final call.

I started working for my new organization on the 3rd of May...and as the days went by I could not fight the feeling that this was very close to my dream job...and I'd keep my fingers crossed and say touchwood! The work was good, the people were nice to work with and there was travel.

Last week I went on my first Corporate travel. I traveled to Mumbai on Wednesday, to Delhi on Thursday and back to Bengaluru on Friday. And you know what? As I walked into the airports to catch those early morning flights, tugging my laptop along I suddenly felt that all my dreaming, planning and a little bit of studying had paid off. I was now a part of the Corporate World!!

I slept 13 hours in 3 days. There was an event to attend and then an event to plan for and present. My phone had multiple alarms to make sure I didn't miss my early morning flights...my dreams were about technical glitches, speakers not arriving on time and an empty hall. I was very nervous.

Well, luckily none of these dreams came true. The event went off well...with very minor hiccups...and after 3 days of running around I was back in Bengaluru.

It felt great to be home...and with the events all wrapped up...I felt so light...but my legs hurt.

Yes...you read me right. My legs hurt!! With all the high-heeled footwear I wore to look great...my legs needed an entire Saturday of not being used to recover!!

So yeah, my trip was in a way liberating...I had started carving a little spot for myself in the Corporate World...but well after the 3 days of being a 'high-flyer' all I thought about was the corporate world is a real pain in the heel!