My Journey: A Story of Learning, Reinvention and Finding Myself

When I look back at my life, I do not see a perfectly planned journey. I see a series of chapters—some expected, many completely unexpected—each one teaching me something about perseverance, ambition, family, balance and, ultimately, myself.

A Childhood Filled with Love

My childhood was truly wonderful.

I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by love, warmth and a deep sense of security. My father, Col. S. K. Sinha, and my late mother, Jyoti Sinha, created a nurturing home for my siblings, Vartika Sinha and Amarendra Sinha, and me.

My siblings and I were good at studies, but our parents never put unnecessary pressure on us to constantly excel. We were encouraged to do our best, but marks and ranks were never allowed to become a burden.

Because of this, I grew up in a relaxed and supportive environment, filled with memories that I continue to cherish.

Academically, I was doing reasonably well, but I had one habit: I tended to become serious about studies only when the final examinations approached.

For several years, that seemed good enough.

Then came Class 9.

The Incident That Changed Me

One day during a mathematics class, our teacher gave us a problem to solve. He then had to leave the classroom for an urgent call.

In his absence, a classmate began checking everyone’s notebooks.

When he reached mine, he looked at what I had written and started making fun of me in front of the entire class.

“See what this girl has done!”

Some of his friends began laughing.

I felt deeply embarrassed.

But somewhere beneath that embarrassment was an uncomfortable truth: I had not studied that particular topic properly. I had always assumed that I could become serious later, study before the examinations and somehow manage.

That incident forced me to look at myself differently.

When I reached home that day, I opened my Mathematics Refresher book and began solving problems one by one.

I made a decision.

I was going to become really good at mathematics.

Soon afterwards, the summer vacation began. For almost three months, I spent much of my time working on mathematics and physics. I practised repeatedly. Whenever I struggled with a concept, I went back and worked on it again.My father observed me and he decided to put best tutors from the city for both the subject .

I remembered something I had once read in a story: if you keep working on one thing with complete dedication and perseverance, eventually you will succeed.

I decided to put that principle to the test.

When school reopened after the summer vacation, our mathematics teacher conducted a class test.

To everyone’s surprise—including that same classmate —I scored the highest marks.

Then came the half-yearly examinations.

Once again, I scored the highest marks in mathematics and physics.

Within a relatively short period, I had transformed from an average student who became serious only before examinations into one of the toppers in my class.

But the most important change was not in my marks.

I had discovered a genuine love for mathematics and physics.

And that love eventually inspired me to choose computer engineering as my career path.

Engineering and the First Taste of Independence

After completing Class 12, I was selected by some of the top NITs. But the decision was not as straightforward as it might appear today.

Some institutes did not offer Computer Engineering, while others did not have suitable hostel facilities for girls.

Eventually, I joined D. Y. Patil Women’s Engineering College in Pune.

Moving away from home marked another major transition in my life.

Hostel life taught me many things that were never part of the engineering curriculum.

Perhaps the most important lesson was this:

The company you keep matters.

When you live with your parents, much of your environment is naturally shaped for you. When you begin living independently, you start choosing that environment yourself.

The people around you can influence your habits, priorities, confidence and even your academic performance. Good friends can encourage you to grow, while distractions can quietly pull you away from your goals.

Like most young people discovering independence, I had my own experiences, distractions and mistakes.

But I came to understand that all of these were part of growing up.

Engineering gave me technical knowledge.

Hostel life gave me independence, judgment and maturity.

Entering the Professional World

Soon after completing my engineering degree, I applied to InterGlobe in Gurgaon and was selected as an Associate Software Engineer.

That was the beginning of my professional journey.

One project after another came my way, and I developed a habit that would help me enormously throughout my career: I tried to understand not only the technology, but also the business problem behind it.

I was eager to learn.

Sometimes I would even go to the office on weekends to complete pending work, learn something new or prepare myself better for the week ahead.

Gradually, my work started getting noticed.

As my confidence grew, I began looking for opportunities outside India.

That search eventually took me to Kuala Lumpur, where I received an opportunity to work as an IT Specialist.

The project was extremely demanding and had an eight-month timeline.

I decided to push myself and complete my responsibilities ahead of schedule. I finished most of the coding and helped move the project into User Acceptance Testing.

The customers wanted me to stay longer.

But by then, I had decided to return to India.

I came home, continued receiving good projects and kept moving ahead professionally.

My career was progressing well.

And then life introduced a completely different kind of responsibility.

Marriage, Motherhood and a New Question

In the middle of all this, I got married.

A few months later, I conceived my first child.

The birth of my daughter Sharvina Srivastava changed me in ways I had never anticipated.

It brought immense happiness into my life and made me realise that I wanted to slow down for a while and truly experience motherhood.

For some time, I did exactly that.

Eventually, however, maternity leave came to an end and I returned to work.

The transition was not easy.

After returning, I was not always getting the kind of projects I wanted, while some of the available projects were extremely hectic.

For the first time in a long while, I found myself asking a very different question:

What do I really want to do next?

I began thinking seriously about returning to education and broadening my understanding beyond technology.

Luckily, my husband Sandeep Srivastava encouraged the idea.

That support gave me the confidence to begin another demanding chapter of my life.

Becoming a Student Again

I decided to pursue an Executive PG Diploma in International Business from IIFT.

This time, education was very different from my engineering years.

I was no longer simply a student.

I had a job.

I had a young daughter.

I had family responsibilities.

And I had classes, assignments and examinations.

Balancing everything was difficult. I arranged help from a nanny and attended classes on weekends.

Eventually, I took a three-month break from my job so that I could focus properly on completing my studies.

Stepping away from a stable career was not an easy decision, but I strongly believed that learning and growth should not stop simply because life had become more complicated.

I successfully completed my postgraduate diploma.

It was another achievement, another goal reached.

But somewhere during this period, I began to recognise something else.

I was trying to do everything.

Career.

Motherhood.

Studies.

Family.

Responsibilities.

And somewhere in the effort to manage all of them, I had almost forgotten to make space for myself.

A Wake-Up Call

My body eventually began giving me signals that I could no longer ignore.

I experienced episodes of low blood pressure and stress.

For me, that became a wake-up call.

Until then, I had often associated productivity with long hours. If there was more work to do, I simply extended the day.

Slowly, I began understanding that working longer is not always the same as working better.

I started trying to accomplish meaningful work within a reasonable eight-hour workday rather than continuously stretching myself.

More importantly, I began searching for something beyond achievement.

I had spent years pursuing milestones—education, projects, promotions, responsibilities and personal goals—but I was beginning to realise that external achievement alone could not provide inner peace.

That search gradually led me towards Krishna consciousness and Hari-name chanting.One of my batchmate from IIFT asked me to follow Krishna consciousness.

It brought a sense of calm, perspective and purpose into my life.

I also became a pure vegetarian.

Spirituality helped me reconsider what success actually meant.

Success was no longer simply about how much I could accomplish.Meanwhile I welcome my second child Elina .

It was also about the state of mind in which I lived while accomplishing it.

Rediscovering the Woman Behind the Roles

At the same time, I rediscovered another part of myself that had always been there but had gradually been pushed aside by responsibilities:

my love for singing and dancing.

I began making time for them again, particularly on weekends.

For years, I had been an engineer, a professional, a wife, a mother and a student.

But I was also still the person who loved music, movement, expression and creativity.

Rediscovering that side of myself was liberating.

It reinforced a lesson that was becoming increasingly important to me:

Success is not only about how much we achieve. It is also about how peacefully and completely we are able to live while achieving it.

And then came another unexpected chapter.

Mrs. Telangana

In 2018, I participated in a pageant.

It was something completely different from anything I had done professionally.

To my delight, I won the Divalicious Mrs. Telangana title and went on to achieve recognition at the South Zone level.It was wonderful exposure I still remember one line from the choreographer of beauty pageant that just remember you are performing for your family and take stage very seriously.

For me, the experience was about much more than a crown or a title.

It was proof that life does not have to follow one straight path.

I had started as a young engineering student.

I had built a career in information technology.

I had worked internationally.

I had become a wife and mother.

I had pursued higher education.

I had discovered spirituality.

And now I was standing on an entirely different platform.

The experience reminded me that reinvention does not mean abandoning who you were.

Sometimes it simply means discovering another part of who you have always been.

The pageant opened another door.

I began receiving opportunities to anchor shows and went on to take up several anchoring assignments.

It was exciting to discover yet another side of myself—the ability to stand before an audience, communicate, connect and perform.

Every time I stepped onto a stage, I felt more confident and more comfortable expressing myself.

Life had once again reminded me not to define myself too narrowly.

Then Came COVID

And then the world changed.

COVID arrived, disrupting lives, careers and plans everywhere.

Like so many people, I had to reconsider my priorities.

Opportunities changed. Routines changed. The world itself seemed to pause.

Eventually, I returned more fully to the IT world and continued my professional career.

Yet I returned as a very different person from the young Associate Software Engineer who had once begun her career in Gurgaon.

By then, my understanding of success had expanded enormously.

Technology remained an important part of who I was.

But it was no longer the only thing that defined me.

I had learned that careers can pause and restart.

Interests can disappear for years and return.

Priorities can change.

And a person can reinvent herself many times without losing her core identity.

Looking Back

When I look back today, I realise that my journey has never been a straight line.

It has been a series of chapters.

A carefree childhood.

A humiliating moment in a mathematics classroom that became a source of determination.

A love for mathematics and physics.

Engineering.

Hostel life.

My first job.

Working abroad.

Marriage.

Motherhood.

Higher education.

Stress and the search for balance.

Spirituality.

Singing and dancing.

Mrs. Telangana.

Anchoring.

COVID.

And a return to technology.

Each chapter gave me something different.

The mathematics classroom taught me perseverance.

Hostel life taught me independence and the importance of choosing the right people.

My career taught me curiosity, commitment and continuous learning.

Working abroad taught me confidence.

Motherhood taught me love, responsibility and perspective.

Returning to education taught me that growth has no age or perfect timing.

My health taught me the importance of balance.

Krishna consciousness brought me peace and a deeper sense of purpose.

Singing, dancing and pageantry reminded me that we are always more than the roles we perform every day.

And life itself taught me perhaps the most important lesson of all:

We do not have to choose just one identity.

We can learn.

We can change.

We can begin again.

We can be professionals and parents, ambitious and spiritual, disciplined and creative.

We can succeed in one field and still have the courage to explore another.

The girl who once came home embarrassed because she had solved a mathematics problem incorrectly could never have imagined where life would eventually take her.

She could not have known that one embarrassing afternoon would awaken a determination that would influence so many later chapters of her life.

But perhaps that is the beauty of the journey.

Some moments that initially feel like setbacks become turning points.

Some interruptions become opportunities.

Some difficult choices reveal new directions.

And sometimes, when one chapter closes, life quietly asks us the same question again:

What do I really want to do next?

Today, I no longer feel that I need to have one permanent answer.

Because if my journey has taught me anything, it is this:

Life is not about following one perfect path. It is about continuing to learn, evolve and move forward—while staying connected to who you truly are.

A strong next step would be to make this slightly more book-like and emotionally vivid, with memorable scenes, dialogue and family moments, rather than reading primarily as a chronological life summary.