My Story: "I Was Told That My Poverty Would Prevent Me From Fulfilling My Big Dreams"

I am the first member of my family to graduate from college and become a doctor. I grew up in a small village in Tamil Nadu. Both of my parents only finished their 12th grade. My father worked as a coolie. However, I always had the goal to finish my education in a field that would benefit my family and me financially. As soon as I finished high school in my home state, I started looking for MBBS colleges.

When I first expressed my desire to pursue a career in medical care, my uncle turned me away by saying, "You can only dream of becoming a doctor. Your dream won't become a reality. Your poverty will prevent you from fulfilling it."

People Were Kind And Generous

To prove to my uncle that I can fulfil my dreams, I took it as a challenge. After completing my degree, I went to his house and told him that he didn't believe in me, but I made it. The words he used were so hurtful that I retaliated in anger, and my desire to become a doctor was never as strong.

I could not attain the required percentage for Tamil Nadu's MBBS college, but Gujarat college had a cut-off that worked out for me. The journey towards finding the right college entailed a leap of a year. After a year of searching, I entered a Gujarat medical college. I had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. I couldn't speak Hindi or English very well, so that was a stumbling block. Also, the food was very different. However, I had a fantastic experience. I managed to survive there without knowing their language. The people were incredibly kind and generous. They treated me like a brother.

My YouTube Channel Was An Outlet

However, despite living in a new state, where people still treated me like their own family, I still missed talking in Tamil with my friends. Sometimes I felt lonely. This led me to start a YouTube gaming channel. We were also having difficulties paying for the medical college fees due to my financial situation. So, I used to play games and stream them online to distract my mind.

I was able to network with other people in my state using my YouTube channel. I often discussed my thoughts with them. I was touched by their comments on my channel. It was one of those moments when I just thought, "Why not make a career out of it?" I've always been passionate about gaming. My childhood was spent living in hostels where I got very little pocket money, which I saved to play video games. On my YouTube channel, I started playing clash of clans and Free fire, which my subscribers enjoyed, and soon I had 20,000 subscribers.

Never Chose One Passion Over Other

As soon as I expressed my interest in gaming to my parents, they were all like, "God, I don't know what he is up to, what he wants; I can't believe this can be my career. He has lost his mind." At the time, my family didn't realize the potential of this industry, but my mother saw how happy and passionate I used to be when I played games and talked about them. So, she encouraged me. To follow both of my dreams and passion, I never chose one over the other. Today I work for a government medical hospital and am also a successful gamer.

I've always had a schedule for studying and gaming since the beginning. That allowed me to give equal attention to both. My extended family from both YouTube and medical college helped me get here, and I am thankful for that. It's in my genes to help people whenever and wherever I can. Although we may not have the money, we have a heart for helping others. My motivation for becoming a doctor was to help my people. In my practice, I want to treat every patient as if they were a family member. My goal is to connect to them and treat them better by looking for my family in them.

One of The College Memories

During one of my semesters, when I was unable to pay my medical fees, I was told that I wouldn't be allowed to sit for the exam and would have to take it all over again after six months if I didn't pay it by the next evening. I begged and cried to him to let me. Everything I had hoped for evaporated in my mind.

My friends came to me the next day saying, "We have solved your problem, so you can now sit for the exam." I was surprised when my friends posted a message at one of the groups about my situation, collected money, paid my fees, and surprised me. Their kindness deeply touched me. The YouTube community on my channel has also been tremendously supportive.

With the income I'm generating from my passion and my dream, I keep at least 5 per cent of my income for my college friends. In my mind, I feel I owe this to them. That's my way of repaying them. I can say that I am proud of myself today because my family and I are in a better place.

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