I turned 29 four days ago. Back in March 2023, I was 27 when I decided to start from scratch. I had just quit my job — a job I actually liked — but it consumed most of my time, with 12-14 hour workdays, five days a week.
After quitting, I boarded a “safe” train — I enrolled in a course. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t my destination. It wasn’t what I truly wanted, but I took it anyway. It helped me keep learning, gave me a backup plan, and most importantly, made it easier to convince my parents to let me take a break. Not that they wouldn’t support me otherwise — I’m stubborn enough to push things through — but this route saved me some drama.
I gave it my best. But honestly, it felt like being on the wrong train, heading in the wrong direction. Eventually, I had to get off. And that was the best thing I could’ve done for myself. It took me almost two years to fully realize this. But thank God I did.
At the time, I had no solid plan. I didn’t want to return to corporate life. I wasn’t chasing money. I just wanted one thing: freedom. I wanted those 14 waking hours to belong to me — not to my employer. And no, I wasn’t dreaming of launching a startup either. I knew I’d just be switching one kind of slavery for another, working 18 hours instead of 14 — this time for myself.
So I told myself: I’m taking a vacation — a long one — where I do what I want. I had dreams of traveling the world, documenting my journey on YouTube. But somewhere along the way, laziness crept in. I started sinking into a comfort zone — waking up late, scrolling endlessly, becoming a passive consumer of everyone else’s stories. then, it hit me hard in February.
I asked myself: What if I stopped all this nonsense and actually did something meaningful?
That’s when I set out on a 3 months long solo journey — starting from Darjeeling and eventually drifting through Sikkim, Himachal, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. I wandered with no fixed plan, met incredible people, made lifelong friends, spent a week in a quiet village, learned the basics of art, played with kids and animals, filmed my experiences, and even got my first tattoo. I lived.
Now, I’ve enrolled in a 25-day yoga teacher training course in Rishikesh. And after that, I plan to explore life in Auroville — to keep learning, growing, and simply being.
And money? Honestly, I don’t care much. It comes and goes. Yesterday I was saving it, today I’m spending it — but I’m spending it on things that make me feel alive.
Now I’m 29, staring down 30, and I’m doing just fine. And I don’t know about other things but one thing is very sure, I won’t regret anything in life.
Here’s what I’ve learned: You won’t become homeless just because you don’t have a steady income. People obsessed with “secure” salaries often end up the most unfulfilled.
Yes, it’s important to challenge yourself to make money on your own. But before that — live. Travel. Create. Do the things you’ve always dreamed of — even if they cost you more than you’re comfortable with.
Do it anyway. Think about the consequences later.
Because this is your life. And it’s happening right now.