My Evolution

I never knew what I wanted to be ever since I was a kid. I remember my first ambition was to be a Pastor, then that changed to a Scientist, then I wanted to learn Martial Arts and teach Kung Fu. And then I got into senior high school and it changed to an Economist which evolved to a Chartered Accountant and I remember in my High School graduation speech I said I wanted to be a Mathematician (I don't think I impressed anyone). After a while I decided that music was my line, but that didn't last very long either, so I switched to wanting to be nothing (maybe that's why I flipped a coin to decide what to take in college Arts or Commerce, talk about smart ideas).

I really don't remember much of my college days (I don't think there was much to remember except a few very good friends Mafela, Hminga RIP. Salim Khan, Johnte) but in my final year of College my English professor suggested that I give Advertising a try. Imagine the excitement on my face, but I didn't know anyone in the advertising industry, definitely not any Mizo. So the genius in me decided that getting an MBA in marketing was the best way to get into Advertising. And like 'Joseph' would say every time we made a wrong decision, “everything was fine until you decided to be smart”... I decided to be smart and wasted 2 years and ended up working in the finance department at Samsung. WTF? How the hell did I get from the dream of being a copywriter to Finance, with a Marketing degree?

But fate has a way of messing with you before getting you to where you're meant to be. Because just when I was at my lowest point, I got a shot at MRM (McCann Worldgroup thanks to Rahul Mathur & Kush Grover and not to forget the rest of the team Pranay, Ritu, Titu). Joined as an intern for close to a year for a measly Rs. 6000 PM, but that didn't matter, coz I was later confirmed. I was there, finally reached my dream. I had never been happier in my life and as I sit here writing about it, I can still feel it, and to be honest I think that moment will stay forever in my head as my proudest moment.

The Aftermath

Working with brands like Hero Honda, Airtel, MetLife, Nestle, Videocon, Mobil etc. was exciting. But as time goes by, you find yourself in your desk from 10 am at 6 am way too often, you find yourself completely drained out, defeated, unmotivated and pissed off almost all the time (Sometimes I actually wake up angry, I don't even know what I'm mad at, but I just wake up angry). But every once in a while you experience “Joygasm”, I call it that because the joy you experience when you see your work, design, idea out there, appreciated... it feels good as the second half of the word, it's Jizz wonderful.(bad joke but I like it)

But the truth is that once you've fallen in love with the advertising industry, there's no 'getting back to how you were before you met', it's one relationship that lasts a lifetime. It changes the way you think, the way you look at problems, it makes you stronger and gives you confidence, but most of all it teaches you that the truth is not out there its in you.