Finding his own music amidst the chaos- Suraj's Journey

Contributor: YA Team

Amidst the wild parties, craziness and the loud noises, Suraj found his own voice drowning. While dancing to the tunes of the happening life of a teenager, he realized that his own music was lost in the chaos. Suraj Uphadyay, a B.Com student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, was often confused about the emptiness he felt in a sufficiently perfect life. When he came across the form for ONUS, he was immensely attracted to the questions and challenged himself to get shortlisted. Never actually intending to join the program, he merely wanted to test himself at a form which demanded unconventional answers. Describing himself as a restless person, he narrates how he was always looking for a time to quit the program but found himself hooked to it beyond his control.

Suraj, for whom the values of trust and empathy held little significance earlier, was to discover a completely different side to him. It is strange how Suraj came across an extremely major learning through a game he played with his ONUS mates. It was a game of bricks which required teamwork. At this juncture, Suraj found himself in an argument with all the others. His views were in stark contrast with everyone. At first he was defiant and angry but soon his anger gave way to a moment of self-reflection. He found himself at odds with himself and first time in his life, he realized he was doing something wrong. That was the moment he began questioning himself and started his journey within.

A blissfully ignorant student with a definite goal of pursuing MBA and making big money found himself at crossroads in his life. He jokingly says, ‘ONUS has ruined me.’ He is now confused. He is now on a path to build his own self before he decides to build his future. Suraj says that the company of honest, respectable people has turned him around as he believes, ‘When you are around good people, it changes you for the better.’ Over the past few months of ONUS, there have been numerous big and small experiences in Suraj’s life which have transformed him and left their mark upon him. He has become less skeptical and has learned to trust with his heart. Trust gives him the courage to take risks.

Many years down the road if Suraj feels down, he is sure to turn to ONUS to relieve himself. He has found in himself the strength to confide. When asked how ONUS will play a role in his future, he says with utmost certainty, ‘The people that I met here will play their roles in my life. I found really good people here.’ So I believe even as Suraj jokes that ONUS made him lack clarity, it most definitely gave him a vision.

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This story was compiled by Prachi Lohia who herself was part of ONUS 2014-15 cohort and has decided to contribute back. Learn more about ONUS here.