Interviewer 1: So tell me something about yourself?
Me: I’m an optimistic person, I like doing this and that and this and that. The reason I wish to be a part of this is…blah blah blah
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Interviewer 2: So tell me who you are?
Me: I’m a jolly person; I think I’m very passionate about some things in life, umm, etc etc
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Interviewer 3: So Prachi, tell me who you are?
Me: I’m an avid reader, I like doing …., I’m this and that.
(More questions for 10 minutes)
Interviewer: Are you sure you know who you really are?
Me: Do I?
Do we mould the question of who we really are especially in interviews based on what the interview is for? Smart, aren’t we?! For example: If it’s an interview for volunteering, who am I? I’m a passionate individual who wants to bring a change in society.
If it’s an IIM interview, who am I? I’m the future of the business world. I feed on case studies!
I don’t know if many of you do that, but I honestly did that. It was the easiest and the smartest way out. In this one interview, I was asked this question again. And I used my tactic again. But this time, the interviewer saw through me pretty clearly. After 10 minutes, I was asked again, who are you? And then she told me some things she could see in me, which I did agree with, and I knew those too, but I didn’t use them in my answer.
But why?
Was I trying to pretend I was someone just because I wanted to get through? Or because I really believed that I was what I was speaking? Was I in constant denial of myself?
I don’t know, maybe.
Sometimes, we get so involved in showing the world we can do something that we forget to question ourselves if we REALLY, GENUINELY want to do it or not!
It’s a mad cat rat race as aptly put by one of my professors. And amongst this race, the most important challenge is to be comfortable in your own skin. Accept yourself the way you are, and get accepted that way. Don’t try to fit in if it’s at the cost of molding yourself into someone else.
That interviewer who I’m forever going to be grateful to may not even know the depth of what she has done for me. She has told me this one very important thing, she told me to give myself a chance. Drop my fears and just let go. Go on this journey of self exploration and self acceptance. And trust me when I say, this journey has been ever so fulfilling.
One of my favorite authors says, “Don’t give in to your fears. If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”
Everything I do now is to know more about myself and my capacities. I’m still trying to fit in but on my own terms. I’m letting go. And by letting go I mean, I’m giving myself a chance to figure myself out and not stubbornly stick to what I already know about me. I’m open to review and reflect.
So probe a little deeper and be proud of yourself. Don’t bend the jigsaw pieces if your ends are too sharp. Create your own puzzle. Love yourself and stay a misfit if that’s what you are!
Live it all, on your own terms.
