“Foraying on the road less traveled can often be intimidating, especially without the support of friends and family. And most often than not, the views surrounding this brave step are more critical than cheery, making the transition to follow one’s passion all that more difficult.

I can vouch for this as someone who has gone through the beats of the ‘expected’ student life- making my way through school and slowly through a commerce degree before taking the leap of faith into the world of photography. I even tried my hand at chartered accountancy for a brief bit, to add to a ‘backup’ before ultimately deciding to dedicate my energy completely towards the specific creative pursuits.

Of course, there were tons of learning and opportunities for introspection throughout, especially since it was me fighting against a society that was viewing me with its goggles of judgment, comparison, or worse, pity! But the biggest discovery after treading through my formative years was that our educational system barely adds to a student’s skill sets. The focus is mainly towards scoring a particular level over a syllabus that rarely be classified as both ‘learning or monetizable’.

Plus the obsession to simply ‘mug up’ a concept in order to move ahead of fellow classmates in terms of rankings never really appealed to me. I mean, I’m a professional photographer today, and if we’re gauging whether the traditional schooling methods come in handy ever- then the answer would probably be a big ‘no’.

So having realized all this, I knew I had to upskill myself relevantly and thereby enrolled myself in a photography course post my graduation. And starting there, the path to discovery that slowly followed was exhilarating, to say the least; Every day I was waking up to something that excited me thoroughly and I was willing to give my hundred percent towards. Now that, alongside the most supportive partner has definitely been the deadly combination that’s propelled my journey as a full-time freelancer, today.

Again, this is to not state that the path has always been rosy. In fact, there were tons of obstacles, including financial crunches along the way. But with a wife, who was willing to stand rock solid, by my side, through it all, I was able to slowly yet steadily find my footing. And that’s exactly what any freelancer should know- there can definitely be difficult days in your quest but it’s all just a matter of time- especially with good people around who equally believe in your dreams! So hang in there!”