Taylor Price Financial Literacy for the Future Scholarship

Medicine. The only acceptable field of study in the eyes of my Indian parents. So how do I escape the shackles of this damaging cultural ideology? How can I prevent disappointing the people I love the most? Simply put, I had to prove myself to them. I had to prove that I could be successful in the field that I’m so passionate about. I had to prove that I could make a salary that eased their ceaseless worries of my future, which they perceived to be devastating if I didn’t secure a job that they deemed financially stable. Gathering every ounce of courage in my body to tell my parents I was determined to do business was petrifying in comparison to the hour I spent practicing what I was going to say to the stuffed toy in my room. I decided to make a wager with them, and I was willing to put everything on the line. If I was successful in my upcoming business competition, then they would accept my desire to go into business, but if I wasn’t, then I would drop business altogether. They seemed to contemplate the idea for quite some time, but their eventual agreement placed a soul-crushing pressure that weighed over my entire body. My entire future was at stake. I joined DECA, a club that prepares future business leaders, at the start of my junior year. After hearing how marvelous the DECA competitions were, I decided to participate in the Business Solutions Project, but at the time, it was impossible to fathom even a fraction of how much this project was going to end up meaning to me. I initially steeled my resolve to balance my already challenging school life with this exhaustive project so that I could obtain more beneficial business experience, but it turned into a life-changing gamble with my parents. The Texas state Deca competition. I was finally here. When it came time to compete, I walked into the presentation area with an air of self-assurance resonating around me, but as the minutes ticked down, so did my seemingly boundless confidence. Despite the unease I felt, I gave an almost perfect presentation, and I felt a true sense of pride after contemplating how much effort I put in to chase after the future in business that I know is meant for me. The next day, I made my way to the award ceremony, and impatiently endured the suffering of hearing countless names called that weren’t mine. All of a sudden, “Adish Sundar” rang around the Fort Worth Convention Center, but the cheering from thousands of voices began to drown in the back of my mind as pure suspense took a hold of me when I acknowledged that this didn’t mean I qualified for nationals yet, as just being a state finalist was still a possibility. Name after name, hope slowly started to dwindle. All I could feel was agonizing silence in a room trembling with noise. The last name was finally called, and to my utter disappointment, it wasn’t mine. I took my state finalist award with dignity and concealed sorrow, and I walked off the stage while awaiting the doomed conversation I would soon have. I faced my parents and waited to hear them tell me to start studying for my MCAT, but then came something I could never have expected. They told me how proud they were of me for believing in myself for so long, and by showing the initiative to pursue this field on my own, they believed I was ready to enter the rigorous world of business. Crawling out of the shy and frail shell that enveloped the person I used to be coupled with gaining enough confidence to create a professional-level presentation and stand above thousands of others, made me realize that challenges are the fuel driving me towards improving myself. I struggled, I failed to meet my expectations, but I also loved every part of the journey. Next time I have to do better, I have to further prove that business is who I am, not to my parents, but to myself. My future in business is now set in stone.