There happens to be a moment in everyone’s life where everything seems clueless. That particular period has a lot to offer. It is a moment when life takes a new turn. Something similar happened to me about two years ago. I had no clue about what I wanted to do in life. Imagine how dreadful it would have felt, I had completed my graduation and I still did not know whether I wanted to do Masters or go for a job, I did not even know what field I wanted to work in.
During graduation, I used to write small pieces just for fun. The writing was more of a hobby to me. Then one day, when I was contemplating my misery of not being able to figure things out, I came across Youth Ki Awaaz. I published an article titled, My Hijab doesn’t decide my abilities, I do. To my surprise, the post gathered a lot of viewership, it was widely shared and criticised, of course, because it was about the Hijab. But, a writer has to get accustomed to critical comments, they must never take such things personally.
Coming back to my story, after writing that one article I felt great. It is often said that where there is darkness there is light and that light brings a ray of hope. That one small ray lightens you. The article was that one ray and Youth Ki Awaaz was that hope. I started publishing more articles and with time, my writings improved.
Another happy moment struck me when at the end of 2018, Youth Ki Awaaz published a year-ender featuring 33 best writers who boldly spoke truth to power on YKA. I was ranked 8th on the list and that is when I realised that I wanted to write. I decided to write on issues that I thought were not covered by the mainstream media. Writing about crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, women, people from Dalit communities, and minorities have always been my call.
As time went by I stepped into the world of freelancing. One after the other things happened and I finally understood that writing will never leave me. It makes me feel better, it helps me get rid of frustration and anxiety. It is there for me when nothing else is.
I published my first-ever article on Youth Ki Awaaz. I was a novice then, but you just need one push for a great start. I got my push 2 years back through this platform. Not many people are blessed to turn their passion into a profession and those who can do that are very lucky.
I don’t think I’ll ever give up on writing. This is just a start, I still have a long journey to cover. No matter where I go and what I do in the future, Youth Ki Awaaz will always be my saviour. It made me realise my passion for writing and that’s a favour I’ll never forget.