Fearless

In response to the Sunday Scribbling prompt on APril 10 2008.

Anu was from a well to do family. Both her parents were doctors. Her elder sister was an eminent architect and her elder brother was doing PhD in a well known university. She was bred in success and achievements since her childhood. So, it was no surprise when she joined the Harvard Business School for her MBA program. Many entrepreneurs from different parts of the world have graduated from this school. She had a good academic record and it was meritorious that she got into the school with a full scholarship. US was a new land to her. Though she was born and brought up half the globe apart, she quickly adapted to the new US school culture. Harvard hosted intellects from different parts of the world and maybe that's why she did not take time to adjust. Intellectual minds, despite of various culture and backgrounds, think alike. Though she never dealt with the fear that millions of children around the world face everyday, the only fear she had in her heart was of losing. In her family there was no choice of coming second or losing an opportunity. She graduated in the year of 2001 and expected to embark a promising career. But the US economy had plunged into recession and the world was following it. Initially, she was taken aback and was on the verge of depression but her father encouraged her to see the positive side of life. She kept looking but the job kept evading her. More personal setbacks followed. She learnt the reality of life and understood that things don't happen to others. It can happen to anyone, including herself, in spite of a brilliant background she possessed. In the times of job searching and dealing with personal disasters, she learnt to face life raw and be at par with her expectations and what life offers. Today as she reads the offer letter from New York Times for a news reporter, she smiles realizing that in the last three years, life had taught one of the most important lessons of her life time - to be FEARLESS.