First of all, many congratulations to LinkedIn for its 15th anniversary! Today, when I saw this notification on LinkedIn that it has turned 15 please share what you wanted to be when #WhenIWas15. It suddenly took me around 16 years back in time. It’s more than half of your entire life!
I am a 90’s kid. I was in 9th grade when I was 15 years old. We had just survived Y2K a year ago. Some of my friends were still struggling whether to write the date in DD|MM|YY or DD|MM|YYYY style because 98, 99 made sense but 00 and 01 made no sense. At least to us. Fortunately, only ultra-rich people in the country had cell phones and the majority of students were traveling to school either by Municipal transport or bicycle. We never worried about Notifying where we were and parents never panicked if were late by 10-15 minutes.
It was an interesting time. The main source of entertainment was cable network but, it used to get cut by parents during exam times. Kids used to play outdoor sports in the evening instead of sticking their eyes to some kind of screen. When I was 15 one of the families in our apartment bought the first computer. Almost everyone in our apartment gave them a visit and was getting awestruck by seeing MS Paint, work! Sometimes, I think 2001 was a turning point in the history.
A boy, 15 years of age neither fitted in adults nor in kids. When I was 15, boys and girls of my age were comparatively subtle and conventional. Dressing up nicely was the only way to impress girls. Funnily, many of my so-so friends impressed comparatively good looking girls just by being neat and tidy. When I was 15 BF, GF, BFF etc. were not discovered and boys did not shy holding each other’s hands or put their hand on other boy’s shoulders while walking in the street.
When I was 15, even though there was a wave of software-computer engineers going to the USA, we were struggling to think about our future. Thinking about being a Computer Engineer was not a problem but, till then I had “touched” the computer only a couple of times. That too was clicking here and there. Till 2000, when I was < 15, I wanted to be an astronomer. But, I figured out that in terms of career it has nothing to offer. So, I started looking for other options.
Being a 90’s kid the list of top 3 most favorite topics for me was
- Bollywood
- Cars
- Cricket
When I was 15 I knew I can never be an actor. I was a poet but, I never thought it can a full-time career (even today I have not changed my views about it). Cricket was a favorite thing to watch only because of Sachin Tendulkar. I used to play cricket but, I knew my parents will never allow me to be a dropout and be a professional cricket player. After all, there is only one Sachin Tendulkar who was a dropout. Hence, the only thing remaining in my basket was Cars.
I decided that I want to be an engineer or a car designer. I drew some concept cars for my own and realized that it will be easier and better to be an engineer. So, I started asking people about it. A new word caught my attention – Automobile Engineering. No one in my family studied engineering so naturally, I had to rely on outside experiences. The thought of automobiles, cars and engineering was churning in my mind.
When I was 15, Maruti Suzuki was the choice of people and slightly richer people used to go for Honda City. Mercedes, BMW’s and Ferrari’s were like comets. You can see them once in some years. One fine Sunday I was coming home from the playground and I was suddenly taken aback. There was a shiny black Mercedes Benz, with silver alloy rims and tinted glasses, royally turning around my apartment. That was the moment when I decided that I will be an Automobile Engineer!
#WhenIWas15 I wanted to be an Automobile Engineer !