Since my childhood, I have been interested in tech — not just computers, but also solving the problems of everyone around me. I always dreamt of becoming a software engineer at Microsoft, designing and building the next version of Windows.
I wasn’t a topper at school, but I was always in the top 10. Becoming an engineer slowly became the default career path for me.
Up until Class 4, my dad was very strict with my studies. Every day from 6pm to 9pm was a focus session for all five of us in the family. We used to sit in the porch area of our home. My parents did their office work, and me and my two sisters did our homework. It became our daily routine.
My dad used to check all our homework, teach us whatever we needed (Maths and Science were his favourites), and even take oral and written tests. Only after finishing my homework was I allowed to go out and play.
Things changed after Class 4. My sisters went to college and no longer needed dad’s help. Somehow, this gave me some relaxation too. My dad stopped pushing me and just used to say:
“If you want to be a computer science engineer, study.
If you want to become a garbage collector, that’s also your choice.
We’ll still be fine.”
This line was enough to keep me working for at least a month 😄
During exams, my dad would say,
“I trust you. I know you must have studied hard.”
And my mom always said,
“Don’t take tension. It’s just an exam. Do your best.”
Even when I didn’t perform well, they said,
“It’s okay. Do better next time.”
Zero pressure in life.
Choosing the stream
After Class 10, even before the results came out, we had to choose a stream for Class 11.
Medical Science – Physics, Chemistry, Biology
Non-Medical Science – Physics, Chemistry, Maths
Commerce – I didn’t even know what was in it
Arts – Never explored
The choices were simple:
Doctors → Medical
Engineers → Non-Medical
CA → Commerce
Arts → “No one takes this”
Since everyone had always seen me as a future software engineer, Non-Medical was my default choice. I didn’t even look at the other streams.
CBSE offered Computer Science as an elective, so I went to my class in-charge and requested it. She rudely replied:
“We only have Music and Physical Education.”
That broke my heart.
I went straight to the Principal (Mr. Rajiv Utreja). He said there weren’t enough students for Computer Science.
I told him,
“Students don’t even know CBSE offers Computer Science because the school blocks it.”
He said,
“Get me 30 students and I’ll allow it.”
He handed me an A4 sheet and asked me to collect signatures.
I felt he was just trying to scare me off.
Little did he know, it was damn easy for me.
A lot of students wanted to become software engineers. Everyone signed.
Next day, I went back to him. He looked surprised and said:
“We don’t have teachers for Class 11 and 12 Computer Science.”
I felt cheated.
WTF, you broke your promise.
I even went to my Computer Teacher (Mr. Mukesh Babbar) and requested him to teach us. But due to school rules and qualifications, it wasn’t possible.
So Non-Medical came with three costs:
Some of my good friends went to Commerce
I had to give up Biology
No Computer Science — had to take Music
JEE dream phase
Life moved on. The new target became:
Crack JEE Advanced → Get CSE at IIT Bombay
I joined a local coaching institute.
The first 3 months were amazing.
Atoms, Bonds, Kinematics, Sets, Complex Numbers — I loved everything.
I solved all DPPs, sat on the first bench, and raised my hand for every question.
One day, my Chemistry teacher called me after class and suggested I move to Kota.
He even offered to convince my dad.
Soon, Class 10 results came.
9.2+ CGPA. A few 10s.
Confidence went sky-high.
Me and my friend cleared multiple Kota institute entrance tests.
Discovery of Commerce
After results, some friends organized a small party.
Friends from all streams were there.
I asked a Commerce friend what they were studying:
Accounting
Journals
Ledgers
Reconciliations
Economics
They even started explaining debit/credit on a notebook.
I was like:
WTF. This is so interesting.
I went home, Googled everything about Commerce and loved it.
Now the cost of Non-Medical felt bigger:
I wished I could study Physics, Chem, Maths, Accounts, Business, Economics
and skip useless subjects like Music and Hindi.
I tried switching to Commerce, but CBSE registration was already done.
So I stayed in Science.
Kota phase
We went to Kota for trial classes (told our parents we were going to Chandigarh 😅).
After 2 days, I felt completely distracted by Commerce thoughts.
I came back.
My performance in coaching dropped.
Instead of studying, I started building websites.
I redesigned websites of Kota coaching institutes for fun and even sent them links.
One institute offered me ₹20,000 for a website.
I accepted.
My Chemistry teacher warned me again.
So I stopped and focused on studies.
Still, PCM felt boring.
Plancess disaster
I bought a ₹15k–₹20k JEE video course by AIR 1–100 rankers.
Big mistake.
They were great at solving questions but terrible at teaching.
That’s when I learnt:
Being good at something doesn’t mean you can teach it.
No refund.
Dad said: “Forget it and move on.”
More about this incident: https://qr.ae/p2Htmb
At this point, IIT hype was gone for me.
Discovering BCA
Then I looked at BCA.
BCA had:
Computer Science
Accounting
Business
Economics
3 years instead of 4
It felt like the perfect mix.
I researched on LinkedIn and found successful BCA people.
But reality:
Still…
My heart wanted BCA.
I chose learning over perception.
My family wasn’t happy, but my dad supported me.
I stopped JEE prep in Class 11.
Final thoughts
Choosing BCA was the best decision of my life.
I studied what I actually loved.
If you ever have to choose between courses, pick the one you’ll enjoy studying.
Your success depends on your actions, not your degree.
No matter what you choose —
You’ll do great.
Just believe in yourself. ❤️
