Just the beginning!

 I was rightly told,

College was going to be a place of my dreams,

Taking part in various events and fests would be adding value to my experience here,

Sure it would have,

Being a fresher, and a newcomer,

I went on to choose the "regular" or something I was extremely "comfortable" with,

I registered to join a writing club!

Excited as I was, little did I know that this was the beginning of my end

You heard it right,

My first article got rejected!

From there on,

The usual me,

Went on to a spree of overthinking, 

Went on to discuss my career in writing and naturally made it a point to write better,

However the rejection meant the end for at least that academic year!

Shattered. Disheartened and upset at something that was my only "comfort" in college,

I decided to never participate in these events!

Well, the next beginning to an end was here,

The next academic year we spent "online" due to the pandemic,

Desperate to make a change,

Excited to see the part my friends were enjoying in college,

I mustered the courage to join,

A new found comfort in "fitness",

I joined the fitness club of my college,

Still somewhere I didn't put my best foot forward,

Still somewhere I knew the fear of my rejection,

I knew what a "NO" meant,

By this time I was also desperate to be heard if nothing else,

I knew I wanted that voice,

I knew I wanted an audience to make sense of what I was saying,

That's when hosting shows and my interest in Communications rose,

From there on this fear was more or else solved,

I don't know if I was happy,

I don't know if I was extra happy,

The voice inside me had a place in the real world,

I was just so content with what was going on!

Fast forward to the begining of the next academic year,

I was proud of myself to have been approached by the same place where my first article was rejected,

By now I was sure my writing had improved,

Some of you have been active here since "You and I are not WE" my first piece,

Some of you are reading this piece and have reached this spot,

This place has been my chosen career,

This place is what college gave me,

Three years into the blogging space,

I was sure of making a difference in the writing club as well,

This was the beginning of an end I didn't want!

In my final year of college,

ALL read that again,

ALL the articles I ever sent to the writing club,

Were published and appreciated by all,

My suggestions, my ideas, my opinions were considered and used,

At one point I was also asked to please write an article this month!

After spending a year with the writing club,

In my last month,

I leave being the "Writer of the Month"

And nothing else will fill my heart with pride or make me smile even more,

I even got a proud title of being the "Shakespeare" of a different club for my writing!

I'm looking at that gift and smiling away!

Some might say I was here to prove a point,

Yes, I was,

Couldn't have said this two years back but,

I'm proud of my writing and it's always something that will be so close to my heart,

This space is proudly mine, 

Thank you for being part of my journey,

This is definitely just the beginning...

-Ushma Shah