I was always destined to pursue medicine, and to become a doctor. At the age of 15, I had decided that I’d become a cardiologist (partly because the word sounded fancy to me, and partly because I had always studied pure sciences). In 2014, one academic setback changed the course of my plans. I dropped out of medicine, and was left without any sense of where my life was going. I fell into studying Economics by accident, and the only reason I tried to excel at it was to redeem myself. I knew that Oxford was the redemption I was looking for, but never had the mettle to voice it.
I spent five years of my life, trying to build my profile, so as to be able to pursue graduate studies at Oxford. I made sure I graduated at the top of my batch, worked with multiple National and multi-lateral organizations, broadened my international exposure, gained some research experience, did not give myself days off for years – to be able to give myself the ‘at least you gave it your level best’ reassurance if I didn’t get admitted.
In 2018, I came fairly close to winning a renowned scholarship for Oxford. However, owing to the selection procedure – like most things in my home country – being opaque and politicized, I did not win. When I directly applied for an MSc in Economics for Development at Oxford in 2019, I was anxious about witnessing a recurrence of the same. However, this time I won two fully-funded scholarships, one of which was the Weidenfeld Hoffman Scholarship.
As I was packing to come to Oxford, I just told myself one thing, “This is your redemption”.
So, if you’re reading this, and are facing/or have faced a personal, academic, or professional setback, just remind yourself:
And you never can tell just how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit— It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!
– John Greenleaf Whittier
