They say that if you find something you love to do, you’ll never work a day in your life! Follow along as Student Ambassador Ganesh tells us how he found his bliss, and why it brought him to Ireland!
Joseph Campbell, one of the world’s most respected mythologists, gave us a simple yet profound message for our lives: “Follow Your Bliss”. He said, “bliss is how you feel when you do something you absolutely love to do, and it is a thread that’s connected to your dreams. So, when you follow your bliss, you also find your dreams, and fulfil your reason for being here”. I first came to know about this phrase in one of my all-time favourite books, ‘The Secret – Hero’ by Rhonda Byrne, which made me believe that by following your passions and true loves, you will find bliss.
Following his bliss! (photo: Ganesh)
No matter how insignificant or small it might seem, if each day you make sure to do something that is your idea of bliss before you know it, you will be inspired by all of the other amazing things you can do. Soon, you can have a hold of a thread that’s going to take you to your dreams, and lead you towards a far better life.
But, it often takes the most courage to do the thing you love. To go against the majority, to resist the temptation to try and please everyone, staying true to yourself takes a whole lot of courage. We often lose ourselves when we walk on stereotypical paths. Be it respect, status, etc., we always give excuses to not follow our dreams and go straying away from who we really are just to fit in with a bunch of people who are doing nothing but the same thing.
My bliss…
I found my bliss in Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking just when I was about to graduate from Commerce and Chartered Accountancy! Being a first-generation graduate in my family, I was just a few miles away, on the wrong path of course. The catchphrase, “Follow Your Bliss.” stuck with me and it kept repeating in my heart and mind. There it was. The inner voice that most of us spend a lifetime running away from.
I decided that what I needed to do was to follow this voice and find my bliss. I embarked on a journey to study Cybersecurity in Chartered Accountancy where my voyage towards bliss began. The journey was full of astonishing experiences, be it working with India’s top Cybersecurity consultancy firms, or India’s most advanced Cybersecurity department, Maharashtra Cyber.
I always wanted to pursue higher education in cybersecurity, to get validation of what I am good at. However, even with all this experience, I was not able to secure a place in any Master’s Programme in Cybersecurity in India due to my non-technical educational background.
My big move to Ireland!
I tried to apply for such courses in other countries, where rather than a degree, your experience matters. To my fortune, I became a recipient of the prestigious Government of Ireland IES award to pursue a masters in Cybersecurity! The course is fully sponsored by the Irish Government too!
My journey here started with an immense amount of thankfulness to everyone who made it possible for me to pursue the life of my dreams. I had been preparing to study abroad for the past couple of years before I actually ended up in Ireland, and I will never forget the moment I landed at Dublin Airport.
Autumn in Ireland (photo: Ganesh)
As I started living here, I have felt the compassionate atmosphere. The people here are very friendly. Whenever I am walking down a street, people greet me with a warm smile! The people here make you feel at home. They offset the single-digit temperatures with the warmth in their hearts! While crossing a road, people behind the wheels stop more than ten feet away and wave at me to pass first. Such a beautiful thing! The hospitality, kindness, and love for humans is contagious over here. I have seldom experienced this before.
I have been thinking that I will never be able to repay these kindnesses to these people who have made me feel this way, but at least I surely can make others happy by my own acts of kindness, humility, and compassion. This is how it works here in Ireland. Making a positive and kind community of people, and thus making the world a better place to live! I wish I had enough words to express my gratitude for the amazing people here.
I am finally living my bliss!
Ganesh is working towards a Masters in Cybersecurity, Information Security Management at Letterkenny Institute of Technology.