Date: 15th February 2019
9:00am:
I woke up that day as usual. Made myself a cup of chai. Read a few pages of the book I was on. Cleaned up. Then read some more. It wasn’t an early day at work so spent some extra timing choosing which tee to wear. Drove to work an hour later not knowing what was waiting for me there.
12 noon:
The beginnings of my days at work are so well rehearsed. I made myself another cup of chai, ordered breakfast, updated my to-do list and opened my laptop to check on emails. The subject line of the email, third from top, was ‘Invitation to Participate in the YouTube Creators For Change Program.’ I read the email calmly not knowing what was going to unfold in the next few months.
1:00pm:
It took me sometime to quite understand what the email meant. Spoke to the team and replied positively. I remember being happy to be qualified to apply for a program like this. Selection wasn’t even on my mind!
I had a bunch of work lined up that day. So pat myself on the back for making it to the selection round and got to work. Not knowing that 2 weeks from then I was going to get a confirmation, making me one of the 4 Creators For Change Ambassadors from my country.
3:00pm:
It is crazy how many times I drink chai in a day. I enjoy the chai-breaks more because they also double up as gossip breaks near the kitchen counter at work. At one such gossip session on that day, I remember telling a friend of mine about the email and what it meant. Not knowing that 3 months later I’ll be in London for the Creators For Change Social Impact Camp hanging out with the coolest most motivated creators from around the world and attending sessions by people who make the word ‘inspiring’ fall short! Not knowing that I’ll be in a room so creatively charged that hours will seem like minutes and never-ending discussions about common passions and beliefs will be all that’s done. There’s something about meeting people who bring their own perspectives to the table and have a logical reason to it. But I clearly didn’t know that then because I was too busy gossiping.
4:00pm:
I finished writing a script I had in mind for quite sometime then and remember feeling so accomplished. Not knowing that 4 months later, I’ll be in a recording studio recording a song that took me 11 days to write and 13 hours to record.
Overestimating my talents has been a childhood hobby, to be honest!
5:00pm:
I have the lowest tolerance to physical pain in the entire universe. A scratch on my arm can keep me cribby for days. It was a broken nail on this particular day. I remember heading out to buy a band-aid and being extra careful while typing. Whining every chance I got about how it hurt like a b**ch! Not knowing that 5 months from then I would be training and rehearsing and punching and getting punched and limping and kicking to play a kickboxer in my Creators For Change Project. Not knowing that I would write a song called ‘No Offence’ which would deal with Hate Speech and I would be so scared for stepping out of my comfort zone like that.
6:00pm:
“My favourite part of my job is the fact that not one day is like another. I get to meet new people, see new places, have new conversations and still get work done.” That’s a quote from an interview I gave that evening. Not knowing that 7 months from then I was going to get a call saying my video had made it to the top 5 videos of this years Creators For Change Program to be screened at the United Nations New York Headquarters as part of their International Day Of Tolerance celebrations.
7:00pm:
I had to meet a couple of friends for coffee that evening. Which is rare because the way things are at work everyday, coffee is quite the luxury! Came back to work wondering how maybe I am past the age where I have the opportunities or the patience to make new friends. Not knowing that over the next few months I was going to meet such amazing people like Paul, Lauren, Maryam, Brenden, Maha, MaximNoise, LFresh and become great friends with them!
8:00pm:
I made a few work calls, had another cup of chai, brainstormed for a few video ideas, checked on my schedule for the remainder of the week, packed my things and left for home. Not knowing that the email I replied to this morning was going to take me on this crazy ride of content creation, writing, dancing, laughing, travelling and most importantly, making an impact. Not knowing how many crazy, incredible opportunities were making their way towards me. Not knowing how many mad lessons I was about to learn. Not knowing how much I was about to grow as a person. Not knowing how many great friends I was about to make.
10:00pm:
Had a quite dinner with Mamma and Baba and got in bed. Not knowing that this very day, my life had changed forever.