"Mind you, in Jalandhar, I had never even stepped out of my home to pay an electricity bill on my own. Once I reached Delhi, I travelled on my own. I visited each college. I discovered the city myself. Once I was out, I learnt slowly that Delhi is not that untamable. All my notions about the city, which I’d built from what my relatives, friends and the media had shown me, were thrown out of the window. I gained confidence as I went along. I could actually see the change in me - I was using my physical and mental energy to the optimum.

This all had seemed unreal at one point of time. It was after I finished Class 10 that I first heard about Delhi University. I researched it thoroughly. I didn’t tell anyone at that point that I was planning to move out of Jalandhar. I wanted to study at DU not because I wanted to leave home, but because I did not want to be deprived of all the opportunities that I had read about. I started studying to get in.

It wasn’t easy to convince my parents. They wanted me to do something they would choose, while I wanted to follow my heart. Despite my brother having been out of the house for almost a decade, they had reservations about me leaving town. Even all my relatives were of the view that home was a much safer place for me. My parent’s consent mattered a lot to me. My brother’s help was instrumental in convincing them; we simply kept pointing out all the advantages to me again and again till they agreed.

Once college started, I witnessed people around me thriving on creative energy. I also came across the concept of internships, which was actual work. That I could work and learn together was an amazing and novel realisation for me. I have good teachers and classmates. I’m doing well at studies; it is all so exciting!

It is this exposure that has opened up so many prospects for me. Before I came here, I imagined that I would finish college and get a job. But now, I want to be an entrepreneur, a singer, start an NGO - the options are so diverse and endless!

Now, when I tell my parents everything I am experiencing and learning, they feel happy about supporting my decision."