FIN has created a new program called “Education for Employability and Sustainability”, which is taught via academic institutions. We are proud and honored to be partnering with NITPY, the National Institute of Technology Puducherry, on this education innovation. One of the course assignments is creating a self-presentation blog post. Why? Because first presentations can make a lasting impression in job interviews and life. They can provide insight into the individual’s character and personality, which can be invaluable in determining suitability for the organization or the role. So, here we are proud to introduce Jubin Thomas Kuriakose from the first batch of this course. We wish him the very best for the future!
Hey, it’s me! Jubin Thomas Kuriakose! People often correctly guess my native region as I walk in with my oiled-up lush curly hair and dark skin. I still love to exclaim – I’m a Malayali!!! Tall, dark, and handsome is what my mother calls me, ohh that gives me all the confidence that I need to start the day. It was kind of an everyday ritual going to school, apart from the prayers that she used to make me recite and the force-fed breakfast. Sometimes I was up to mischief, but always cherished the moments of love and laughter I shared with my mother while she rushed behind me to get me ready in time for my school auto.
As for my education, I spent my entire schooling career at Kendriya Vidyalaya CRPF in Hyderabad. Those were some truly unforgettable years, filled with wild and wacky experiences that have stayed with me to this day. And then after clearing JEE examinations, I joined the Engineering College, NITPY (National Institute of Technology Puducherry) in Electronics and Communication Engineering, where I’m currently in my final year of BTech.
But wait, what’s a Malayali doing in Hyderabad? I mean go anywhere in the world and try speaking in Malayalam. I assure you some random stranger will walk up to you and ask… “Malayali aano?” That’s a trademark. My story starts with my grandpa, he’s someone I admire and love so much. He was an assistant commandant in the Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF. As a responsible father, he got his son, a proficient maths teacher, married to the daughter of a police officer who died on duty and took over his job to look after her family. Both had jobs in Hyderabad, so we built a house there and made it our home.
Being the first child, I was loved and a lot was expected from me, and I shared an equal enthusiasm to fulfill their expectations. I did fail at times, but they always carried me and helped me become mature enough to take on failures with grace and keep moving.
During my school life, I always had a good set of friends, motivating, playful, ambitious people. We played sports and competed with each other academically, but we always supported one another too. We loved playing a variety of sports like kabaddi in school and as soon as we’d go home, we’d throw our bags and come to “our spot” and play gully cricket. I loved showing off how good I was at Kabbadi. Winning for my team was always an ego boost. A big reality check was when we lost our state championship in Kabaddi. We went home devastated, but Mom knew just what was needed to lift my spirits. She came out carrying a bowl of biryani, my mood lit up and raised a new vigor to conquer the world and we won 7 months down the line!!!
If there are things that have a hold over my mood, they are food, travel, and music. I grew into being a foodie, in my childhood my grandma used to feed me rice rolled up into balls and used to feed me saying, “Eat one for me, eat one for Papa, eat soon otherwise the crow will come and take it away…” many such lines, dude I love my grandma, I wasn’t that numb ever than I was 2 months ago when she passed away suddenly. I needed time to even let my mind accept this reality.
Traveling did help me, it always used to give me peace and happiness. When I heard the news, I didn’t think of anything else. I gave my end-semester exams, packed my bags, and took the first bus to Hyderabad via Chennai and from there to Kerala. I asked my mum permission to travel alone, and my mom understood and obliged. I started earlier and they followed by flight.
While on the bus I kept to myself, listening to music on my headphones to keep me from crying. The man beside me asked if I was okay. Those words somehow broke my struggle to hold myself together, I was just glad that my mom didn’t see me crying. I was trying to keep my shaking lips together and vacuum my tears back in, but he gently kept his hand on my back and comforted me and he told me how he was on his way back from Rishikesh. Then he spoke about his son who had passed away recently from kidney failure. Once I became calm enough, we talked for a long time about our philosophies on death and grief and as he left, he handed me over to me a book titled “Tuesdays with Morrie”. Till then I hadn’t been much of a bookworm, (but Amar Chitra Katha was an exception). I had heard of the book and decided to give it a read. It was a game changer; I wasn’t less numb but I became more peaceful.
The lockdown season brought me a new love, Anime, and Japanese art. It helped ease my creative brain, with the overflowing ideas and stories, my brain thinks without my permission. It helped me steer the narrative, the uncontrolled part of my brain takes me through. It offers a wide variety of themes, settings, and storylines. I especially like the genre, Shonen. And right now, I’m watching One Piece, an anime about a boy aspiring to be the pirate king, and reaching 1000 episodes feels like an achievement.
If you ask me what’s something I’d do even if it had no personal benefits, it would be to do something that makes people around me happy. It would give me a sense of innate peace. Even if it means just being with people, and listening to them actively, it would be good. Because if we can speak of our experiences and be heard, we usually feel better. I want the people around me to experience that, I love the phrase. “Be the change”, If I CAN make them feel that, then why not?
The funny thing about that is, I came across articles about pleasing people and was anxious if I was doing just that. So, I asked my mum, who then sat down with me and asked me a series of questions and commented that, from her understanding, she felt that I wasn’t, and she based her conclusion on two main points. Firstly, she noticed that people pleasers often sabotage themselves, but she didn’t see that tendency in me. Secondly, she recognized that I could resist manipulation and make conscious decisions, avoiding the trap of people-pleasing. She asked me to talk to a professional if I felt like it, but I turned it down.
Taking up responsibilities is something I dread, but put myself into because I am an introvert who is comfortable with a select few, but standing up for the people I want to speak up for is something I cannot say no to, it just comes out, I want the power to act on it, therefore I tried different leadership roles, managed events, social media handles, etc. everything helped to shape me into the person I am.
Although I’m an introvert, I’ve taken on leadership roles in school and college to challenge myself and make a difference. I may not enjoy taking on responsibilities, but I know that it’s important to stand up for what I believe in and speak up for others.
And one day during our regular break during online classes I was talking with my classmates about how I wished to be a doctor, but a turn of events brought me here. Other students resonated with similar experiences. We couldn’t just sit on it, so we contacted Dr. Govinda Raj sir, who used to handle LEAP, and Dr. Bala Kumar sir, present NSS coordinator to help revive it and carry forward the coaching classes to the local students who needed it. We started it for both JEE and NEET competitive exams. Our most significant achievement was when we saw that LEAP students were getting into NITPY, PTU, IGMCRI, etc. igniting a dream in them was our achievement. “Mission Agni siragugal” was a success.
When it comes to my long-term professional goal, is to achieve financial freedom by creating income-generating systems and owning assets. That said, I’d love to live a laid-back life in a village offering organic farm produce, milk, and eggs to my society folks. I like farm gardens, but maintaining one is a bit of a challenge for me. However, I am determined to work on it and overcome my tendency to get easily bored.
I am confident that with time and effort, I will be able to achieve my goal of owning a thriving farm within the next 20 years. I am determined to do this by exploring, learning from others, and creating a network that will benefit my community. I feel that there is a lot of untapped potential in things that we often overlook due to societal norms and prejudices. Which I hope to gain insight into as I mature.
I enrolled in the FIN course with the aim of unlearning and relearning, improving my qualities, and developing myself. So far, I have found the course to be demanding but rewarding, as it has helped me prioritize my time and schedule more effectively. Even my wisdom tooth has started budding XD. A sign? maybe.