Hi, I am Kshitij Singh, a 19-year-old law student, from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Dehradun.
I had not decided on Law as a career until 12th standard, because it was at that time when I developed a keen interest for the subject.
I consider myself an ambivert. I take my time to mix up with people, but once I do, it becomes really easy for me to talk to them. When talking to people, the most interesting thing that I usually encounter are the differences in thinking and their experiences from the past, since these things help me introspect and analyze myself. Gaining experience by talking to people is one of the most fun activities that I enjoy. Although sometimes, when I don’t feel like talking to anyone, I put my mind to other things that I enjoy doing.
Some of my hobbies include writing, sketching, watching movies and playing video games. Reading comic books is also something I enjoy but I rarely find the time to do this. I have been published in a few anthologies alongside a few of my friends. I find myself looking for inspiration to write whenever I am left alone with my thoughts. I find writing to be an escape from the overwhelming feelings I experience. I have always been interested in drawing characters from my favorite cartoons and series, and it is what got me into sketching. If I am doing none of these activities, you’d find me playing video games either on my laptop or on my phone, I really like playing real time strategy games as I find them mentally challenging.
Due to my father’s job, we used to move from one place to another. This is why I have been exposed to various cultures of India. I have lived in Ajmer, Rajasthan, Nanded, Maharashtra and currently I am residing in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Having lived in some of the most culturally rich cities, I see myself as being aware of my spirituality and close to reality. I spent a major part of my childhood in Nanded, Maharashtra which gave me an opportunity to learn to read, write and speak Marathi as well. I was born in Varanasi and currently residing here, it is known for its spirituality and peace. I find it funny how after coming here from Nanded, I felt like an outsider in my own hometown. However, after a while it started feeling like I am back to where I belong.
After my last board exam in March, a lockdown was imposed on the whole country, which totally ruined my dreams of going to any college that I would join. Although for me, taking a year off didn’t seem like a good idea because the course I wanted to take up was BA LLB which takes 5 years to complete and I have planned to study further so I thought taking a year off would waste my time so, I got myself enrolled in the School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. UPES was way ahead of any other college in adopting the online teaching methods, and was efficient in it. Still, online classes can never give the same experience as being there in the classroom and studying along with peers. Since I haven’t been able to meet my batchmates face to face or visit the campus, I cannot tell you my actual experience of the campus life, but still we did not lag behind in studies. We had continuous classes for 3 hours or more every week day. I feel it was harder for me to keep up with things in online mode than it would have been in offline mode of learning. I was made the class representative of the class as well, which allowed me to interact with my batchmates as well as our faculties.
In the past few years I got the opportunity to Volunteer my time for the Robinhood Army (RHA), Varanasi. A non monetary and volunteer group, people in RHA brought necessities such as food and clothes to the needy. It was the experience with this organisation that I started thinking more about helping people and make a difference in their lives even if it was the minimal that I could do. This is why I was very excited when the SRIJAN internship programme for us UPES students was announced.
I was placed in Friend in Need, India. And after the orientation I was so impressed with it, that I couldn’t wait to start my internship. Friends in Need Trust, is working on various grounds to help people. FIN has a lot of changes that they want to see in the world like, efficient waste management, mitigation of climate change, more greenery in cities, no open defecation in cities or rural areas, access to safe sanitation, etc. These are some goals that I too would like to work on and bring changes in my own neighborhood as well. Looking at the positive changes that I can bring working with FIN I am really interested in working with it. FIN believes in action and change, which I think applicable universally both in personal life and professional life. Developing new skills does not come from positive thinking, action is what is needed to acquire those skills likewise, to bring a change mere thought is not enough. The main skill I look forward to developing in myself is the will to take such actions which bring positive changes, in myself and the society as a whole. This ability to have the will to take actions may put me in a place where I am able to spark an inspiration in others as well, and maybe they can inspire others. I believe that the will to bring changes through actions is something that every leader has, and this may bring with it various other leadership qualities in me. Changes can be big or small, but once someone decides that he/she becomes a leader then and there. The other skills I would like to enhance in me are that of communication skills, empathy, research skills, etc.