Manish Sundriyal

If my family had supported me then, I would have been a footballer instead of an IT professional. Well, for what I have become today, I have no regrets. When I was in class 9, I came across programming stuff, thanks to my elder sister. I got a little interested when I saw her working with HTML and CSS. After my 10 th exams, when the result was not out, I learned a little bit of C programming in the nearby institute for fun. I figured out that I was average in coding. So it didn’t attract me much then. Eventually my attention shifted to football. I also joined a couple of clubs. However, my family preferred education to sports, so I couldn’t make it big even if I wanted to. I planned to focus on football as soon as I completed 12 th . After completing my school, I applied in all the universities and was accepted by an average college. Even then, I didn’t have focus in studies.

My love for football had taken over me completely. I played football seriously. By the beginning of my graduation days, I had already become a professional. I had joined clubs under Delhi Soccer Association. This continued for two and half years, until the third year. Then the situation had worsened, so much that I had to choose between two things– studies or football. I thought about it deeply. Keeping my family, their expectations and some important aspects in mind, I decide to quit football… but not entirely. I stopped being a professional and played the game just for fun. I stopped going to club or trials. This was a paradigm shift for me. From there, I started investing time in computer science.

While I was in my fourth year, preparing for placement interview and tests, I came across a special genre of books, ‘Self Help’. The books like ‘Power of Subconscious Mind’, ‘How to make friends and influence people’ changed the way I saw the world. These books motivated me to try different things which led to self-discovery that I liked to teach, a form of public speaking. I used to conduct sessions for my juniors, taught them whatever I learned about competitive programming, data structures etc.
It has been 2 years since I was placed in my current IT Company. I have learned a lot of things, but the most important thing I learned is to stay updated. The world is changing rapidly, and if we don’t keep up with the pace, we might get lost in the midst. But I have plans. As the horizon has widened, I have options like marketing research, public speaking or the noble task of teaching. I also wish to provide free mentorship to people.

For starters, I have created a website where, I am publishing my articles, which are targeted to help people who are confused about what to do. I am doing similarly on other social media platforms as well. Sometimes, I do wish that my parents would have supported me for playing football, but bygones be bygones. Whatever has happened in the past, I have no regrets. The only goal now for me is to keep on learning, growing and be the best version of myself.