🎓Back to school: Uncertain but excited

I quit my job to join the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University

Author

Mohammed Rayaan
August 03, 2023 • Reading Time: 10 minutes

On June 30, I quit my job as a sub-editor with The Hindu BusinessLine (THBL). I am currently pursuing the Young India Fellowship (YIF) — a multidisciplinary liberal arts program at Ashoka University near New Delhi.

My time at THBL is one of the most cherished years of my career as a journalist. It was fabulous to work with talented reporters and editors who taught me different aspects of journalism like writing, editing, research, proofreading, etc. I even explored different mediums like podcasting and occasionally dabbled with Instagram.

I am grateful that I parallelly had the opportunity to pursue the online Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program (EJCP) last year and participate in the Splice Beta 2022 — a media start-up festival in Thailand. All of these experiences helped me get mentored by fascinating people and learn so much from them.

Every feeling, every time all at once

Before I got into YIF, in the early months of 2023, my brain had been buzzing with several things; I felt restless about my career. To make sense of all my feelings, I spoke to my good friend/mentor Alan Soon (co-founder of Splice Media with Rishad Patel) via Zoom.

I shared my fears: "I don't even know if I still want to be a journalist or if I want to pivot. I'm confused. I want to do more. I want to make good money!"

Alan, in his usual calm tone, simply told me that it's okay to feel what I feel. "You're just 27!" he reminded me and said that, in time, I would figure it out myself. He told me that it's okay to be uncertain. He also reminded me of the privilege that I have — a supporting family. My family have always given me the freedom and courage to pursue a career I dreamt of.

The conversation was the right knock on my head and I needed to remind myself that I need not get overwhelmed.

As I continued to write and edit at THBL, I started applying for other fellowships — hitting every dart across the board blindly — having no idea why I was even applying.

At times, I would daydream about studying abroad but then the overwhelming cost alone would make me think twice. And that was when I stumbled upon the YIF. (This video is a perfect explainer of what the program is all about).

Here's what attracted me: I was fascinated by the faculty of the program, the scholarship they offered, the courses they teach and I was particularly attracted by the Experiential Learning Module (ELM).

I applied having no idea that I would get in but then I did.

Out of the cuckoo's nest

I'm the first in my family to pursue higher education after UG. At this moment, to be honest, I am not certain what I want to do post YIF.

Sometimes I feel I should pursue a full-time career as an entrepreneur running my own journalism venture. Sometimes, I also feel I should just pivot — take my journalistic skills and perhaps try and see where I can dive into.

The thought is scary but also exciting at the same time. It’s because I have hope: In the brief conversations that I have had so far with my fellow cohort members of the YIF, I met people who have their plans sorted. I have also met those who are clueless. Some are hoping to learn what each one of us has to offer.

Everyone here has grown up in different cities with unique cultures, speaking varied languages, with mixed educational backgrounds. Some fellows are straight out of college and some have work experience. (This diverse perspective reminded me of my time while pursuing EJCP with 32 journalists from 15 countries).

I was told it’s the people who make the fellowship. Everyone, everywhere all at once for one year of uncertainty. I guess that’s by design. Uncertain tribe figuring out together, one day at a time. The alums told me that the experience would be different and oh-so-fast as the academic schedule is tightly packed. But I believe I am up for it. We’re up for it.

So what’s next?

My passion for journalism, creating sustainable newsrooms, community building, start-ups and the creator economy is still high. (Hit me up if this resonates with you!)

Stepping out of my home for the first time in my life, and living away from the comfort is what I perhaps need to make myself more independent. I'm positive that living and growing alongside 100 fellows for the next year will offer me perspectives, ideas and learnings I'm unaware of.

I'm uncertain but it is exciting. I believe that's okay. I am expecting the unexpected so I can get least disappointed and learn to handle new surprises. But I am up for it. I'm just 27, open to new opportunities and we’re just getting started.

Other projects

  • I aim to continue with The Chennai Emailer over the weekends. Now that I am back to school, I feel I have far more time to focus on my newsletter as I found it harder to do so with my job at THBL.

  • I am also building a media playbook on Notion that has curated reading lists and websites which would help any journalists or digital entrepreneurs who are aiming to get better in their field or take the first step. I’ll be sharing soon.

Reading lists

I'm proud of the stories that I have written for THBL. If I could pick out some of my favourite in no order, then it could be this:

Chennai-focused features:

Podcasts:

Opinion pieces:

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