“Amma and Appa, I want to go to New York”
Once upon a time, there was a 16 year old girl who was at the first crossroad of her life. For years, she showed immense passion towards science and wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. Her Indian parents were extremely supportive (especially since every female figure in the family chose a similar career path). However, this young teen had recently started binge-watching Gossip Girl, an American drama series that revolves around the lives of privileged upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. While the teen girl enjoyed the roller coaster of drama and romance, the glamor of NYC mesmerised her. Her longing to visit Manhattan grew when she watched Meryl Streep strut in her Prada (a movie that requires no introduction) — and oh, how much this girl wanted to trade in her college fund for a trip to Manhattan!
She created a vision board, wherein she put together a collage of all the tourist spots in New York she would like to visit and the scrumptious delights she would like to feast on. She had no idea how she would get there, but was certain that that day would arrive and thought it was her duty to inform her parents that she would soon leave for the Big Apple. “Amma and Appa, I want to go to New York”, she said.
Fast forward to 2021, when this teen girl blossomed into a young adult, who switched her career path from science to business (which was her new found passion), completed her three-year undergraduate degree and was ready to pursue her Masters in Marketing. She was back at the crossroads, praying that she got wiser and would arrive at a decision sooner as to which school she would like to secure her degree. Her prayers were answered and Covid-19 swept across the globe. Note that this is not an insensitive comment against anyone affected by the deadly virus, but an opportunity for her to find her true calling. This was the year when she found faith in a higher power and most importantly, trusted her instincts. Her strong faith and patience got her through every entrance exam, college application, health episodes and personal losses she incurred during the time. Eventually she was accepted to multiple universities across the UK but her eyes were set on one institute — New York University. In fact it was the only institution in the USA that she applied for. She felt like she owed it to her inner child to give it a shot.
The rest is history. It has been a year since she moved to New York and has successfully completed her first year of her marketing program at NYU SPS. The more she explored the subject, the more she realised how vast and dynamic the world of Brand and Marketing is. I could go on about her experience since her move but I haven’t had my caffeine intake for the day.
Now the above mentioned anecdotes were definitely not a part of her college essay so she is delighted to share her side of the story on Medium! Today, you read the story of a personal brand — Varsha Raghavan. Going forward, she will use this platform to share her passion for Marketing with you readers, hear your opinions and continue to narrate more stories inclined to the industry. I will now put down my stylus and sip on my coffee.
Until next time.
Your budding marketer,
Varsha
