my gap year, mostly
Taking a gap year was supposed to be a clear-cut mission: focus on the JEE exam and secure a spot in an engineering program. But life, in its unpredictable way, had other plans. What began as an academic oriented gap year turned into a year of adventure, exploration, highs, a few lows, and unforgettable buffaloes.
Volunteering with the Mayur Vihar Tamil Association provided a profound high. Each Saturday, I joined in distributing over 400 meals to those in need, witnessing firsthand the impact of small acts of kindness on grateful faces.
Yet, not every moment felt triumphant. My technical endeavor of the year, which was to predict the Air Quality Index of Delhi using an LSTM model, turned out to be an arduous task. Errors in my code, incomplete datasets, and hours of research tested my resolve. However, these setbacks became stepping stones to growth.
And then came the buffalo moment—it’s not every day you fall off a first-floor windowsill, but then again, it’s not every day laziness trumps common sense so thoroughly. It started with a seemingly brilliant idea: instead of taking the longer, more pedestrian route up to my room, I thought, Why not take a shortcut and climb through the window? All I can say in hindsight is, it wasn’t a graceful fall.
My gap year was a mosaic of successes, failures, and laughter. It gave me clarity about my passions, resilience in the face of challenges, and a story that never fails to make me smile.