A story of Patience and Perseverance

A story of Patience and Perseverance

Hey fellas,

I am writing this down as a personal journal and sharing it with the only purpose that even if one person gets the courage to try something and give his best, he is motivated enough to try till his last breath. I will keep the technicalities of the journey out of this as of now. You can personally connect with me for the same. Thanking each one of you who have stayed with me during this time and believed in me. To the ones, I met on this journey and who became my great friends now. You know who you all are, and you only deserve the best. I love you.

This is not a success story. This is the story about not giving up! As we grow up we realize a lot of things and are exposed to new opportunities. This story is not about the exam, but just a medium to convey those learnings.

While I was in my graduation I tried my hands at one of the exams called CAT! Back then the awareness was less and so were my efforts. I scored some numbers which I don’t even recall now. Also, I was not quite excited about things back then. I joined one of the MNCs and as fate would have it, I was struggling to keep my mind at peace. The purpose was getting more clear now and with that the will to nail things down.

I have always been an average student who has never excelled at any entrance exams or has never done anything phenomenal(Like topper/ gold medalists). This is the reality and everyone should accept theirs. Why? Because this helps you to strategize things in a better way.

I have always carried three quotes with me whenever I start my journey. I will keep mentioning them ahead.

I started my journey to get what I never even dreamt of.

CAT attempt 1: xx% XAT Attempt 1 : xx%

This is the time when I was in college. Moving ahead.

CAT attempt 2: 73% XAT Attempt 2 : 70%

These numbers are not motivating, but can you give up this soon? NO!

And so now I got serious with the goal. I started solving questions from one material to another. I gave around 60+ mocks. I read books, magazines, news, etc. day in and day out. I had my low points when I never scored in mocks. Mocks are a kind of reflection of your efforts. My very first mock in this journey fetched me a mere 37%. Yes, you read that right! I doubted my decision from time to time. But was persistent enough to try things out for a little more time. Few close people of mine kept pushing me ahead and gave me the strength to keep trying at it. So 4 months into this and now I was all set to take on the exams. I had moved from 37% in my first mock to getting around 90+ in the last few mocks. Finally, the exams season started and I gave my best in all the exams. Success was waiting for me. Kudos Ajinkya you did a great job!

But as fate would have it, and as Sima aunty would say, “ My stars were not aligned”.

Result

CAT attempt 3: 88% XAT attempt 3: 82% SNAP, NMAT etc: 90 something

On this journey, I found my real set of friends and understood the genuine heart of people.
(Caution: People will tend to pull you down, just keep getting back up again!!)

Quote 1 “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa

I was not happy and I knew all my efforts were in vain since I won’t get admitted to any of the best colleges out there. I cried that day. But hey, did we improve? YES! Is that enough to motivate you? YES! Should we try once more? YES! One last time!

Quote 2: “The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. … But if we get on the treadmill together, there are two things: You’re getting off first, or I’m going to die. ― Will Smith

I took a small break and got back to this again. People are tired after solving a book exercise once. I went ahead and now I was going in for maybe 2nd /3rd time. I decided that this was going to be my last try and I will be happy with whatever I score now.

Why I am doing this?

Maybe to convince that 10-year-old Ajinkya in me that you are worth it and you too can be amongst the best. Even though in my mind I was just an average person, my heart always told me that the best was yet to come.

I was getting drained and tired with the same failing results. I started to put in the efforts again. Months went by and I was standing at the exam hall again. Now you know you are ready and you are going to kill it. But then Destiny is like, Hold my beer!!

One of the sections in the exam turned out to be extremely difficult for me. I was shaken to the core and feared that I would lose out again! I somehow managed to complete the paper and all other exams after that. I was not happy with the main paper but hey, that’s okay.

Quote 3. “Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” ― Stephen King

Results now:

CAT attempt 4: 97% XAT attempt 4: 98.9% SNAP: 99.xx%

Where did we start? Maybe somewhere in the 60s.

Prep support- 1. ElitesGrid CAT prep 2. PrepZone for GDPI 3. TIME Nagpur 4. Wordpandit for Verbal practice

I will try to summarize my learning’s and keep this short:

1. Things will never go according to your plan. Have patience and try to keep evolving with your plans as well as your abilities
2. Whatever happens, happens for the best. I could have never scored 99 in XAT if I had given up initially.
3. Do not quit after your initial failures. You do not know what’s in store for you.
4. How does not giving up help? It instills in you a confidence that you can nail things down no matter what! Next time when you face a challenge, try to give a tough fight till the end.
5. Stop giving excuses. It’s not helping you in any way!
6. It’s okay if you are not the smartest person in the room, but be the most hard-working one in there.
7. Keep your loved ones close. They are the ones who are going to help you sail through. I cannot emphasize this more. I owe everything to my loved ones.
8. Don’t stop dreaming! I dreamt of all these things 4 years back.
9. Anything is possible. You just need to plan and put in those efforts. Even if you fail, you will learn a lot and grow as a person.
10. Be serious about your goals. I could have achieved this maybe in 2 attempts but I slacked a lot of times.
11. After a point in time, be content with what you have. You should know when to put a full stop. I wanted 99+ in the cat, but one section got onto my nerves and spoiled it. But that’s okay. So, keep looking forward to new opportunities. GROW! LEARN! And GROW! again!

Why am I telling you all this?

Am I proving myself to be someone great? NO! It’s just an exam and nothing else. The real problems that should excite you are Life problems and real-life challenges. This exam is acting like an example that’s it! I have seen people across various social media platforms claiming how everything is not possible. Time we think of things and work on our shortcomings.

I am writing this to tell you that even you can give your best at what you aim for.

DREAM ON!

BE KIND!

PS: The way I have got things, I know there’s a lot struggle ahead also. So I know my ground. Cheers! :D

PPS: For all the technical doubts regarding the exams, like how to attempt, what to study, you can DM me.

I share visual stories on my Instagram handle. You can follow me there.

www.instagram.com/storiesbyajinkyajumde

Thank you.

Writer and Editor- Ajinkya
Co-Editor- Sheena