"Learn from the failures and keep on moving ahead in life"- Pragati Mishra
Introduction
My name is Pragati Mishra. I am currently posted at Fatehpur as District Divyangjan Welfare Officer. I belong to Azamgarh but I have been brought up at Allahabad where I completed my schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, AFS Bamrauli, Allahabad. I completed my graduation from St. Stephens College, Delhi University, and Post-Graduation from Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi.
My Journey
In school I was good in studies but
also participated in many extra-curricular activities like singing, dancing,
painting, debates and many more. This overall participation helped me in
building my line of thinking. So, I would say a comprehensive schooling is a
must for whatever we decide to do in future.
During graduation I volunteered in
NGOs and did internship in social sector relates organization. Through these
things I realized I have inner drive to work in social sector. This was the
reason why I decided to prepare for UPSC.
Challenges
I started thorough preparation after
my graduation. The biggest challenge I faced was lack of proper guidance. There
were many but none of them was good for helping me align my preparation to
clear the exam. I was doing hard work but not smart work.
Second challenge, I was drowning in
the zone of under confidence especially with respect to prelims because of
consecutive failures. In 2018 I gave BPSC, which I cleared and that gave me the
boost.
Beliefs
Study hard and smart. It would be better if you enjoy what you do. Even if you feel under confident or scared then also study. Be very clear with respect to your goal. If you really want to achieve that then do whatever it takes. Most importantly be honest with yourself.
My strategies to achieve the goal-
1) Stick to the syllabus
2) Fix study material. Don't swim in the ocean of books.
3) Use online sources also to make notes
4) Previous year questions
5) Make a separate notebook for data to use in answers
6) REVISE
Rule & regulation that should be
followed:
1)
Timeline to complete topics
2) Revise multiple times
Success
Failures were there but I tried to
remain positive. I tried to find reasons why I was not able to clear the exam
and tried to rectify them. Throughout the time there were ups and downs but I
tried to remain positive. Most importantly I enjoyed my preparation.
I would not consider qualifying some
exam or achieving some service should be counted as success. When we spend some
crucial years of youth in preparation, we study and experience a lot of things.
This is a rare opportunity which a lot of people do not get because people
rarely read things with aspirants' level of focus. We study ethics, GS, some
subject like Sociology for me, live in PGs, food issue, money crunch, try to
handle family and peer group pressure, sometimes we get new friends and
sometimes we lose old friends and numerous more things we face. When we decide
to come out of our preparation cycle and utilize our study and experiences to
become a better person that is what I consider success.
Service
I am District Divyangjan
Sashaktikaran Adhikaari in Government of Uttar Pradesh. I have to ensure proper
implementation of schemes relates to divyang people and PwD Act in the whole
district. I face a few difficulties in the beginning about how things work but
I would not count them as challenge. Till date I cannot categorise anything as
a challenge. I have received immense inter-departmental cooperation which has
made things smooth. Every day I get the opportunity to help someone in need.
This is the most satisfactory part of my job. Every day I get to learn
something new this is the most adventurous part.
My Message
to All Aspirants
I would say be very clear why you
want to prepare for these exams. Sometimes it takes time to clear them and your
clarity would be the guiding light. Failures are part of life. They do not
decide who you are. Learn from them and keep on moving ahead in life.