How Working on an Omdena AI Project Made Me Realize My True Potential
Have you ever thought of giving up on your ambition? There is a way to reignite your drive…let me share how I did it.
We all struggle in our lives at some point in time or the other when life hits us hard and makes our dream shattered. It is up to us to either pick ourselves up and keep going or to give up.
In this article, I would like to share my story of how I overcame the very thought of giving up on the Omdena project that I was working on to becoming a successful Omdena collaborator. For all who do not know about Omdena, it is a collaborative platform where a global community of changemakers builds innovative and ethical AI solutions to real-world problems.
Recently I completed the Omdena project, with Child Growth Monitor (CGM). It is fighting hunger around the world with a focus on Sustainable Development Goal 2: “Zero Hunger by 2030”. Their vision is a world in which everyone can lead a self-determined life in dignity and justice, free from hunger and poverty.
How did I join the project?
I always wanted to apply my AI skills for good. This has been my passion. When I saw the Omdena project with CGM on LinkedIn, I got the intuition that I have to go for it. I believed it was a wonderful opportunity for me to apply my skills for social good. With all enthusiasm and excitement, I applied for the project and within a couple of days, I received the email that I got selected for the project. I was set to do the project and attended the kick-off meeting.
It was not easy for me to be an active contributor in the project. I am a mom of twins. I have a cute little boy and girl who were just 8 months old when I was working on this project. Life has been very busy for me managing both childcare and household chores for the past year. To be honest, managing both my personal and career ambition was challenging for me being a first-time mom.
Does a woman’s dream expire with a family?
Pursuing my career ambitions was at stake being a twin mom.
Is it even possible to allocate sometime for myself while taking care of kids and household chores? Does this mean should I stop thinking about my ambitions and just do my day to day activities?
All these questions kept revolving in my head. These questions arise when you wanted to do something that your heart desires but couldn’t manage to do it successfully. I didn’t have much support and it was my primary responsibility to take care of kids and home. Slowly things started getting complicated and it became difficult for me to allocate sufficient time for the Omdena project. By and then I was into post-partum depression and had some health issues. As days passed, I was very stressed and couldn’t concentrate on the project and eventually became inactive in the project.
Though I was active initially, I regretted not being able to contribute to the project. Then came a day when I received an email from the Omdena community that I would be removed from the project due to my absence and I wouldn’t be able to participate in any project in the future. This email shook me. I felt helpless and was on the verge of giving up on my Omdena project. I decided not to go further with the project. But wait, should I have already known that it would be difficult for me to do it in the first place but why did I even join the project?
Bouncing back even stronger
I joined the project because I was so keen to apply my AI skills in solving real-world problems that would benefit mankind. This thought was deep inside me. I was waiting for this opportunity for so long but now I do not want to let go of it. This single thought, having the burning desire kept me going. I reconsidered my decision and sent a response email stating that I would be active in the project again.
I messaged my Omdena project manager and explained my current situation. She was very supportive and understanding. She understood my situation and motivated me to keep working. She also told me that I will be very proud of what I will be doing.
Sometimes few kind words from others is what all you need to keep going.
I decided to keep my stress and anxieties at bay and focus on the project. Believe me, it was not an easy thing to do. I started to make time for my passion. I opened my project slack group and read through all the messages in all the task channels and understood the current project status. I volunteered myself to work on a task and messaged the task manager.
The beauty of the Omdena project is that it is bottom up, so we can pick tasks that we wanted to work on and do it.
I love the bottom-up approach which gives us the flexibility to choose what we want to do. This was an enriching learning experience for me as I decided to work on something new which I have never done before. The task manager immediately responded to my message and scheduled a call with me. The Omdena community members are so helpful and they lift each other up. He explained the task details and I started working on my part.
Success = embracing struggle + time management + perseverance
Every day I allocated a few hours to do my project and worked on it consistently. How did I get extra time for the project? Does this mean I am doing this at the cost of my health or responsibilities? No, if we plan things properly and organize ourselves, we can surely find time to do what we want.
My situation didn’t change but I completely changed the way I approached challenges. I considered every struggle that I faced as an opportunity to improve myself. I started to embrace my problems and work on it rather than excusing myself for the current situation.
I became an active member of the project again and worked religiously. I was able to complete my part successfully and merged my code to the CGM GitHub repository at the end of the challenge. I felt so proud for coming this far and my happiness knew no bounds. I had a sense of satisfaction. When I look back, I feel quite surprised that I was able to contribute to the project in spite of my hardships.
What did I learn from my Omdena project?
Should we have to give up on our dreams when we have so much to do already?
No, not at all. If your dreams are powerful enough you can create history. As the famous scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has once told, DREAM is not what you see in sleep, DREAM is something which doesn’t let you sleep.
From my experience in the Omdena project, I realized that if a person has a true aspiration for something, it will make them stronger to face any struggle that comes along their way and achieve it. Engaging ourselves with something that we love will make us both a better and confident person. The Omdena project has helped me realize my true potential.
Giving up on your dreams is not an option. Don’t let your challenges demotivate you! Tell your challenges how powerful your dream is. Remember that working on your dreams will mould you and make you stronger than ever before and one day you will be really proud of yourself.
We can easily find an excuse to procrastinate on the things that we have always wanted to do. If you really want to do something, you will not procrastinate in the first place. You would just do it. There is nothing called the right time to start something. One small step at a time in a consistent manner will yield unbelievable returns. Trust me!
Some final words…
I am grateful for the opportunity provided by Omdena and CGM. This has helped me to believe in myself and my strengths and capabilities. This project also gave me an opportunity to work on my weakness. If not for this project, I would not have known that our dreams and burning desires can turn the stones that hit our lives into beautiful diamonds.
I would like to end this article by quoting the words by Prof. Stephen Hawking from whom I draw inspiration every single day.
Are you looking to utilize your AI skills to solve real-world problems, please check out Omdena for their upcoming projects
Signing off,
Ishwarya
