“22 tak padhai, 25 pe naukri, 26 pe chokri, 30 pe bachche, 60 pe retirement, aur phir maut ka intezaar.. Dhat aisi ghisi piti zindagi thodi jeena chahta hu”- this one dialogue was what helped me chase my new passion, and finally achieve it. Although everybody got the chance to WFH completely after the pandemic hit us last year, I have been used to this from a long time now. I’m a full-time software developer, and also a full-time traveler!
Before joining the IT world, I had the passion for earning money, having a fascinating full-time job, and living a corporate life. So, when I started working as a software engineer in 2014, I was happy. But after about a year of working, I slowly started feeling retarded with my routine. I found my escape with weekend trips and frequent vacations. These outings made me realize that I felt happy while travelling, meeting new people, being close to nature, and last but not the least, writing all of this on my blogs. But getting back from each of these trips always felt like a nightmare. As much as people get used to their jobs and daily life, I found it very tough.
In 2018, despite being in a company that had a good work culture, being a part of a project and having to work for 12 hours a day drained me out. My trials to find comfort in these patterns went on for a few months. One fine day, while I was working, I came across an article that spoke of how we all have just one life and we should be doing what we like. It triggered something in me and I knew that I had reached my peak with tolerance. Immediately, with nothing in hand, not knowing what to do, I stepped out of that world. And damn did it feel right! The very next thing that I did was call my dad. I told him, “Dad, I have tried for 4 long years but can’t take it any longer. I want to end this struggle of fitting in at work. I have walked out today and want to leave my job, as I need a break. I’ll figure out what’s next later.” His supportive response gave me the courage to leave my job.
I even went on to switch 3-4 organizations in search of settlement and ease. When nothing worked, I knew that deep down, my heart was looking for more trips, mountains, and nature.
Initially, I went to my hometown and stayed away from everything, everyone. It was difficult to not do anything, especially after being a person who had paychecks coming in every month! Having done content creation during my university days, I thought I can get back to it and even curated all of my journals. I then went on to write my book “Every girl’s untold story.” It’s a book that revolves around the life of a small-town girl, her dreams and desires. It took me a few months to finish it all by myself, but with no one to publish it at normal rates, I ended self-publishing it on Kindle. I had to do the marketing bit by myself too and that’s when Instagram came to my rescue. I posted my thoughts, and certain snippets which really caught the eyes of the people online. I received a lot of positive vibes and comments for it, eventually leading to blogger invites across Pune. Slowly, I have started getting collaborations, and have even recently launched my YouTube channel as well.
All of this makes me happy, but financial stability became my roadblock. As much as I didn’t want to end up in the IT world’s routine again, I was lucky enough to find a job as a remote software developer in a company that gave me the flexibility to WFH, full-time! With this job, I re-started my travel journey all over again. Shoja was my first and most memorable trip, something which changed my life. From struggling to get my friends to join me on these trips, to now me travelling solo, I’ve come a far way. I don’t travel like a tourist who wants to stay in hotels and go to crowded places; I go around like a traveler who lives in local places and explore the unexplored. I get to extend my trips as per my wish and that gives me all the happiness in this world. With a special calling for the Himalayas, I tend to spend time often there.
Overall, this workcation is a great opportunity for people like me to live a life and not just exist in their routines. I’m a person who believes that passion can change things with time. So, as long as one finds out their passion, one can find and pursue it without letting go of their mainstream jobs. This will ensure that one does not only earn money, but also finds their happiness!
Total Work Experience : 7 Years (TCS, Capgemini, Amdocs, Oracle)