#FirstSalary

Every youngster aspires to #growup sooner than time-takes and every adult wishes they could become young again!

When I finished college, I was the first one to get campus-placed in the country’s largest media-firm.

Look the number of goods in the above statement:

College was over and I was entering into the next phase of my life.

If that excitement wasn’t enough, I was the first one to get hand-picked by the first company at campus.

To add some more thrill…which company? The biggest media house in the country it was that saw something promising in me.

Lets add more…the first month was supposed to be a full month of trainings at the firm from 9am to 6pm. No work!

Excited seemed like a shallow word…..

Tiring that it was to sit for such long sessions, by the end of week one, I had got used to it ( like class lectures used to be) This continued for next three weeks.

It was only at the end of the month, when salaries were given out, I came face-to-face with the feeling of “working-to-get-paid”

Till now, I had worked for mom, for dad, for friends, for professor, without any expectation in return. Here I was, listening to lectures whole day and being paid for it. WHAO!!

This was a weird-tingling happy sort of feeling, which was slowly being absorbed by my awakening maturing mind ( if this is what’s called maturing)

“Doable, easily doable” I told myself, with a virtual pat on my back (only if my hand could reach in reality)

I received a cheque of Rs 18,000/- in my hand on the last day.

Staring at it for long, I wondered how dad would feel when I told him tonight of this. What would I buy for mom with this? Or would I hand over the whole cheque to her? ( ‘sanskaari’ me speaking to me). What would I buy for myself as a first salary gift? (having no boyfriend left a huge responsibility on me towards myself). Where would I take my friends to party? ( not realizing this money wouldn’t be enough for it. Was I calling myself mature above? Duhh)

By the end of the day, one thing had seeped in clearly: This was my money! And I wouldn’t have to ask anyone how to spend it. Also, I would not ever ask dad for money ever again now that I had started earning and hopefully ‘matured’.

Evening call to the family was a little longer than usual. We all celebrated the news, a lot of jokes and dreams woven around it. Eventually, cutting the long story short, I wasn’t allowed to spend that money. Dad made me invest it, teaching me the first few principles of managing personal finances, thinking long term.

Although I continued to take money from dad for next few months, but it was soon ended.

We, in our eagerness to grow up, do tend to forget we are still ‘growing’ and end up resorting to ‘yet-to-be-chiseled’ versions of ourselves. While its our elder ones who actually help us ‘grow’, get outside our comfort zones and assist in ‘maturing’ to become the better versions of ourselves.

But how many of us actually do realize this? Do you?