ACM - An Unforgettable Experience

This guest post was written by Amrita Nair.

What an awesome year it was! A year full of responsibilities, new learning experiences and a welcome change. ACM is the best thing that ever happened to me. A great platform, for which I will always have immense love and respect.

ACM brought about a beautiful change in me and my life. I may sound as if I'm exaggerating, but it's true... A journey from a quiet, reserved and introvert girl to a bold, strong and confident individual. Every moment of this journey was a moment to be cherished.

I still remember those intimidating moments of the interviews and those questions which were bombarded one after the other. It was my first interview ever and a memorable one indeed! After the results were announced, I was simply flabbergasted! It took me days for the feeling to actually sink in, and to believe that “I” was the “Chairman”. Well, that feeling was something I can't express in words.

        

Right from the induction day, we began handling different things which we never thought we could. I am still reminiscent of those sleepless nights I have had, thinking about the daunting tasks I had to take up the next day. Planning for the events right from scratch with my team, assigning duties, seeing if everything was done right and then finally executing it - this was my daily agenda! I had a kind of tape recorder playing in my head saying “I have to do this now, then this” right from the time I woke up until midnight. We conducted back to back events, i.e. one event every week or maybe even two. Yes, it was tiring, but at the end of the day I felt satisfied that we had achieved our goals.   

  

           

Honestly speaking, managing academics and other activities wasn't that easy, it was a challenge that I had to face every day. But as they say, “Greater the challenge, sweeter the victory”. Every task pushed us to the end of our abilities. We had exams (many many exams) as well as events going on throughout the year and they kept us on our toes. But we sailed through these difficult times safely. Especially, when you have such an awesome team to support you, nothing is impossible! Keeping yourself motivated and being down to earth throughout the entire process is the key to achieve that balance. Leadership skills and team work is something I learned from the entire experience. Appreciation gave us the confidence to go forward whereas criticism made us stay grounded in this journey of ours. But slowly, it taught us to accept bouquets and brickbats in the same spirit and grace and carried us through a year that was full of hard work and fun, discouragement and resolve, defeat and victory.

Yes, I had to sacrifice and compromise many things. But, it was worth the experience. I got innumerable opportunities to show my abilities. I learned things I would never know otherwise. I discovered my hidden talents, I discovered a new me. Every day reflected my strengths and weaknesses. It helped me be a decision-maker, a good one... I learned to be calm when the going gets tough and all odds are against me. I realized who will be the people who'll actually stand by me during thick and thin and those who won’t (Yes, there were some). I learned to accept success and failure as it comes.

It was a mighty task, to prove everyone and most importantly to ourselves, that we were worthy of the post given to us.

Well, the best part is, today I am confident enough to speak in front of a crowd (which I was quite terrified of earlier). And I swear, I haven't spoken to so many people in my entire life. Signing on all the certificates felt great, as though I'm giving away my autograph!

I have a lot more to say and even more to share. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who have been a part of this journey, all you volunteers who have worked very hard, all the participants, seniors who were ever-ready to guide us and my juniors as well. And of course my ever supportive team!

And, as they say, “It’s not the destination, but the journey that matters.” Though this fascinating journey has come to an end, the amazing experiences I have had, will always remain fresh in my memory for ever, that's for sure!!!