Three, two, one, bungee…and there I go.

A few seconds after these words, my world changed—and favourably.

I let myself free fall from a height of 50 meters.

I was floating between the blue sky and the green earth. The land below me was like a carpet, and from my vantage point, I could see rivers, mountains, forests, and buildings as small blocks placed randomly.

I could feel the breeze on my face, which was alluringly fresh and pure. The eerie silence—which I had never heard of—was outside as well as within me.

There was a complete vacuum in my mind.

I was just letting myself go where my body took me. I went down, then again bounced up, which happened three or more times. I was too numb to count.

All I could say was that after I came down I felt light—as if the entire burden I was carrying had been taken away by someone.

Before I dove for the free fall, the situation was different.

I was everything but an adventurous person. I always liked to pamper myself and made sure that I never overstretched myself or took any sort of discomfort.

But contrary to my conviction, I always had this craze for doing bungee jumping—for which I had no information about. I didn’t know how it is done or what it would feel like to fall from dizzying heights.

I don’t know when it crept on my to-do list.

So, on my vacation one year, I jumped upon the first opportunity of doing a bungee jump. I was all confident and excited, until I reached the top of the cliff from where the jump was to be made.

What I saw from that spot felt like madness. I was standing at a height of a 16-story building and was supposed to jump from there. It seemed like I was caught between the devil and the deep sea, as I did not want back out, nor take the risk of a jump.

At that time my jump master, who was standing behind me, told me something motivating.

He said, “Don’t wait for long. The more you wait, the more thoughts and doubts will pierce your mind and the more fearful you will feel. If you want to do it, just do it.”

I understood what he meant, but was unable to give up my apprehensions and anxiety.

But then I simply closed my eyes and decided to jump without thinking anything—although my heart beat faster and there was a rush of adrenaline into me.

I followed what my heart said: just do it.

When I returned with the memories of my trip, this jump being the most unforgettable, I was pondering on the lessons taught to me by this amazing feat. The entire act changed me a lot.

I started enjoying the element of uncertainty, the thrill of doing the unexpected and reveling in the success of an accomplished act. I understood that small things in life often tend to give big happiness.

Now I was more and more convinced to bring the much-awaited change in my professional life.

I was highly frustrated with my job and was thinking for a long time to do something on my own. Being a management graduate and having specialised in finance, I had a lucrative career.

But there was neither job satisfaction nor appreciation, despite the hard work and efforts. I understood that after all, a job is a job and it can never satisfy you of fait accompli like in a profession.

I looked at people around me and strained to find anyone who was completely satisfied with their work. Perhaps, they slogged because they did not know what else they wanted to do in their lives.

I somehow knew what I wanted to do with my life and how can I use my talents and skills to the fullest.

Yes! Deep down in my heart, I wanted to become a writer. Once again I was unaware of the how, why, when, and other nitty-gritties to become a writer. But I knew that I had an affinity toward reading and writing.

Since childhood, reading came naturally to me and writing was always an enjoyable thing. Learning new words every day and falling in love with the words was a routine for me.

But the procrastination and fear of the unknown would not leave me.

I had many reasons to keep my avoidance alive.

What if I could not succeed? How will I start everything from scratch after working hard for seven years in my career? Will my family accept my change and treat me the same? What if after some years I don’t want to be a writer and I want to do something else? People will make fun of me and never trust me. Am I doing the right thing?

The questions were endless and sans any explicable answers. The answer to these questions was not in my hands.

The only thing that was in my control was the ability to decide to plunge into it. I recalled the words of my bungee master—how he had told me to stop thinking and just take action.

It has been more than seven years since I left my job and started my career as a freelance writer. Of course, there were initial hiccups and the low and the high moments. But the most important thing is I do not regret the decision I took seven years back.

On the contrary, I am happy that I am doing something that is giving me satisfaction.

I enrolled in a creative writing course to hone my skills. I worked diligently and sincerely for the assignments and gradually I started tasting success. I started getting paid writing works and got offers to work as a guest author.

Family, friends, and relatives appreciated my work and it boosted my confidence.

I was surprised to receive accolades from the most unexpected counters. I was happy that my talent was recognised.

But then I did not stop at just being a writer.

I realised that everyone is creative and especially children. I was thinking about that ever since I had my child.

How to not let their creativity ever go down was something I pondered upon a lot.

A lot of brainstorming and idea bumping brought me to start a Creative Writing Academy for children, or for that matter, anyone who wants to learn.

What more I can say? I am yet to touch the sky, and even the sky’s not the limit.

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