Business, Law, Travel Agency. Writer?

Anish Masand
3 min readJun 8, 2021

No one here gets out alive;

Meager age of 28, and I’ve dabbled in a bunch of careers already. I was 16 when I got accepted into 3 schools: business, mass media and economics; I got forced into business, naturally.

A little bit about me: I’m a concoction of vices, love for food, constant reading and deep affection for good people. When it comes to the people part, I’d say I’m quite afraid to show it; who knows which one will leave first, right? Walled up for my own good.

But what’s most important about me is… I know my way with words. A cliché that drinks beyond capacity to pelt out emotions on paper; that rushes into arguments headfirst only to realize how deep my words cut.

So naturally, I was inclined towards mass media; what with the whole “express yourself” mindset. Economics was a pretty decent choice too, I loved it; one of my favorite subjects at the time. But I chose business because it made my parents proud. Trust me, it was the dumbest thing I did.

Fast-forward 3 years, back in Bombay with a terrible job market. I dove into studying law because… “well, what else is there to do, so might as well study some more”. I will tell you this; I slept through my afternoons at my internship and refrained from clearing my degree by one paper just so that I wouldn’t be forced to take the BAR. Yes, I did that.

While I got bored through studying law, I also worked at a jewelry store for a short while; counted a lot of cash. Quite fun, I’ll say. My hands are pretty good at it. Once I completed 3 miserable years of law, I stumbled into a job at a travel agency. Three beautiful years learning everything there is about countries and all that they have to offer. I had the best teacher for the job, I’ll never regret it.

What I do regret, after all this time, is never listening to myself when it came to writing. Oh, I could have been great, with the right training. But, I don’t think I’m doing so bad without, either. So I finally gathered my guts and waited out the lockdown unemployed. I finally landed a job: content marketing for two amazing brands. I also realized it’s time to start putting out my writing for others to read and commend/criticize (always open to both).

2021 opened my eyes in many ways. About my identity, love and purpose. Words are my weapon, savior and everything in-between. When I’m sad, I speak. When I’m angry, I prepare for arguments. When I’m hurt, I bleed out to great music. But in all of this, words are my comfort. My safe space.

So help me God, I’m going to work on being a brilliant writer one day. A book or some columns, but 2021 is the year I realized writing is my cathartic release. It’s what I need to feel, express & balance myself. There’s always experiences that mold a person into being a certain way; if it wasn’t for going through these evolutions, I’d never be the writer I am today.

“Hang on paradise; here we come now”

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