Choosing a Real-Life Avatar

Growing up is a huge responsibility. When we were children, we were just waiting to grow up and go to work! We thought that life was easier for our parents and the other adults we knew because they had no homework to worry about when they got back from work. We associated school to torture when we compared them with our childish imaginations of adult life. And, although some of us did say that we wanted to become doctors or teachers when we grew up, the span of our imaginations could not be limited to those few words put into our heads by adults.

Take, for example, what my little sister used to say she wanted to be when she grew up; “Haaayah”, her version of Aayah, a name we use for maids who clean, and help the teachers in the kindergarten. She also used to claim that her Haayah was her best friend! My little cousin once said he wanted to be a lorry (truck) driver. What simple, uncomplicated wishes they were, very unlike the clichéd aspirations we were expected to possess.

At different stages of my life, I have wanted different things. I have imagined myself in a variety of professions, and even now wish I could try out at least a few of these. I have always felt that it would be fun to try out a different career, probably once every two years. Imagine the number of roles one can try out if only that was considered “normal”!  So, anyway, here’s looking back at the different careers I have considered for myself over the years.

• Army Soldier - While I was growing up, I was extremely patriotic. (You can ask my older cousins if you doubt this fact, because I invented a game which I called “Bharat Matha ki Jai” and forced them to play it with me.) One of my earliest aspirations was to become a soldier in the Indian Armed Forces. I dreamt of living in camps, sleeping on bunk beds, and training in the sun. I fancied wearing the military uniform, getting a crew-cut (like Katy Perry in 'Part of Me'), and risking my life to heroically protect my country. To add to these, a really honourable funeral would await me when I die.
• Air-hostess – I was introduced to the concept of air-hostesses through a couple of my childhood friends (they were twins). They used to travel a lot by plane, and I had never even seen one up close. So, obviously, I relied completely on their descriptions of the tasks entitled to air-hostesses. The idea of becoming an air hostess sounded pretty cool to me, because I had heard that the lady living in a huge mansion a few streets from my house was one. That, I inferred in my little head, meant that air-hostesses earned a lot of money, just for being nice and helpful to passengers on the plane. If I became an air-hostess, I thought I’d have an easy life; lots of money, simple job. And, as a bonus, I would get to travel the world.
• Dentist – After I went tumbling down the stairs in my school one day, my teeth needed a lot of mending and repairing. I had to wear braces for two long years. Adding to that woe, I also had to get rid of all the rotten teeth (four, to be precise), thanks to all the milk-and-chocolate-loving germs. Trust me; I brushed my teeth every single day! Anyway, I’ve heard a lot of kids those days saying they were afraid to visit their dentists, but it was very different for me. I loved my dentist! He was a sweet, talented man, who knew just the right things to say to me while he worked on my mouth like a plumber fixing a sink. I am almost proud to say that I looked forward to my dentist visits. I have often pictured myself working as his junior dentist/orthodontist at ‘The Smile Centre’.
  
• Veterinary Doctor – I’ve always loved animals, but never really considered this until my study visit to the Vepery Veterninary Hospital (in Chennai) during my 12^th grade. We saw some interesting birds being treated, a dog being operated on, and a cow’s tail being amputated. It was way cool.
•  Zoo Keeper – I was always fascinated by the kind of extraordinary things people who worked in zoos were capable of, especially because they were able to hang out on the other side of the cage bars! I have thought of going away to some country where the zoos had colourful bird shows, and working there. The khaki shorts are, of course, an added bonus. I love them. (Wait, do I seem to love costumes a lot? Yea, I guess.)
• Hard-core Journalist Fighting against Corruption – This was my first real passion. I thought of this the first thing after finishing my Higher Secondary. I wasn’t keen on whether I wanted to join the print or visual media, but I definitely did want to make a difference by speaking out against everything unfair in this complicated, twisted, over-populated, colourful, politically-plagued country, in which women are still confused about their roles. Well, you get the point.
• Journalist for a Travel or Lifestyle Magazine – During my three years at Women’s Christian College, I discovered a whole range of fields in journalism, and a new-found love for writing. Although initially I hated the Feature Writing assignments in my Advanced English class, I soon picked up some ideas and learnt to work my way into churning out descriptive articles. That was when I decided that it would be more fun to write features related to lifestyle and travel in magazines. I also figured that I would have more pleasant experiences in this field, including less-stressful deadlines to work towards. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the idea of writing features in magazines with glossy sheets and colourful layouts. Yes, a huge part of me still wants to do this.
• Host for a Travel-based, Food Show in a Lifestyle TV Channel - Simply because I would get to travel the world and eat different kinds of food. Even though I wouldn’t call myself a foodie, I like the idea of being paid to travel and eat new things every day. What’s even better is that I would get to chew on-screen, and say, “Mmmmm...This tastes interesting!"
• Nun, teaching at a Convent school in a Hill Station – Movies have made me fancy convent, boarding schools in pretty, flower-clad hill stations. Well, I always thought they were perfect. When I was a kid, I wanted to study in one of these boarding schools, but that was not for me to decide. And I had a “I’m not getting married; I’ll become a nun” phase. Trust me; just a phase.
• School Teacher in a Remote Indian Village – I’ve always been known for explaining things in great detail. My sister always gets a 100% if I teach her anything before an exam. To add to this, I had a brief stint volunteering at an NGO where I had to teach little kids in a Children’s Home. It was the most challenging thing I have ever done, especially because my students were a bunch of high-spirited 10 year old boys. Even though it was only for a short while, I liked what I did. It brought me immense joy, and pride (when I managed to get them to learn something).  Then I heard of Teach for India (TFI). No concept has fascinated me more than the one at TFI. Adding to all this, a couple of friends I know have been part of this venture, and their experiences have thrilled me to bits. Imagine: You have had an excellent education, and you know there are way too many children who don’t – in your own country. So you go to them, in the remote villages they live in, and become their teacher for two years! (Please visit www.teachforindia.org to know what I’m talking about.) Yes, I still really want to do this!
• Tourist Guide in India – I love my country, and I know it holds a rich heritage and some really magnificent monuments. I know I would enjoy explaining intricate details about the history and architecture of some of the exotic places of this country I call my Motherland.
• Kurta / T-Shirt Model for Online Shopping Sites– Alright, before you laugh, have you seen how nice these women look flaunting all kinds of pretty clothes?  Check www.myntra.com or www.zovi.com, if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Colours give me a certain high, and that’s why shopping has always been a great mood lifter for me. While I worked at a corporate company, staring for hours into documents of black and white, I would surf these sites for a few brief minutes every time the pressure was getting to me. It was during such days that I used to imagine how fun it might be to work as one of those models. Whether they would hire me or not is obviously a different question!
• Window Cleaner for Tall Glass Buildings – Ha! While I worked in a multi-national corporate company housed in a glass building, I would watch guys in fluorescent overalls harness themselves and go up on elastic ropes. I want to try that at least once!
• Librarian – I would be able to read all the books I want in a quiet place, and get paid for it. What could be better for a bookworm like me? But then, of course, I would want the job to be in a nice, small library where not many people come to bother me.

In case you are wondering what I am currently up to in life, I am a student of Social Work. It’s part of the 15^th item on my rather long list of career ideas, although sometimes I really wonder what I’m doing here. But I have decided to give it a shot anyway. I learn new things every day, and am exposed to a whole range of experiences. I travel, I see parts of my country I would not have seen in any other field of work, I fight corruption and injustice to a certain extent, and I am contributing to the less-privileged in my country. That’s pretty much a lot of things in the above list rolled into one.

The only thing missing is my writing career, but I know that fire in me will never die. I will keep writing no matter what. I believe that, eventually, I will find ways to fulfill all of my dreams. Until then, I will continue to keep dreaming as many, wild dreams as possible. That, I'll never stop doing. Well, who wants to, right?