My initiative in the direction of change

My name is Ravi Yadav. I am 19 years old and I come from Sakti District, Chhattisgarh. I completed my 12th grade in Science. My hobbies are playing sports and learning new things, and my dream is to become a teacher.

Before joining LP4Y, I was at home doing nothing. My routine was only sleeping, waking up, and eating. Sometimes I helped my father with farming, housework, and receiving people at home, but most of the time I felt lost. I had forgotten who I was. I felt lazy, useless, and like a burden to my family.

I had completely lost faith in studies because everyone around me kept telling me that studying had no value. Still, deep down, I wanted to do something meaningful, but I didn’t have a platform. My family always motivated me, telling me that I was a good student.

I stopped studying for almost two years because I wanted to support my middle-class family, even though my parents wanted me to continue my education.

I tried to find work, but I didn’t get any. Then I asked myself, “Is this routine okay for me?” And I realized it wasn’t. When I asked educated people (teachers, doctors) whether studying was important, all of them said yes. That was the moment I understood that I needed to return to studies.

My father told my cousin, who is a government employee and also connected with LP4Y, about me. My cousin called me and told me about the Training & Development Center. My family encouraged me to go, saying, “This is a good chance for you to restart your life.”

Now, I am doing training at the LP4Y Green Village in Chhattisgarh.

When I first arrived at the center, a dog was barking and I was confused. Then Vasu (a senior Youth) welcomed me. Everyone was having snacks, and at first I thought it was a boys’ hostel. When I saw girls too, I was shocked and surprised. Later, I joined everyone in a Garba dance.

On my first day, I joined the morning briefing. Everyone was standing in a circle using sign language, and I didn’t understand anything. I thought, “What is this? How will I manage? Everyone knows English except me.” But I found “Knowledge of the Day” and “Thought of the Day” during briefing time very interesting.

After two or three days, I started feeling comfortable, and I started to change. I began enjoying everything. I learned so many new things; about business, interviews, jobs, and life in general. I also asked a lot of questions. People would say, “You always ask too many questions,” but I didn’t listen because I wanted to learn and improve.

Since day one, I have enjoyed every moment. I learned how to impress people through communication, how to face challenges, manage pressure, behave professionally, organize events, and lead a team. As a member of the Event company, we organize many programs. Sometimes we receive negative feedback (being late, poor time management) but I take the positive things from every comment because anyone can teach me something, whether a Coach or another Youth.

Sometimes people got upset when I spoke too directly, but my coach taught me how to speak more politely. I made many mistakes. But every day, I learned something new.

One of the most important things I learned is that everyone is equal, no matter where you come from or who you are. Everyone deserves a chance to shine and be included.

Another precious lesson I learned is that everything depends on your mindset. That is a golden truth for me. The Green Village is a golden place and this time here is precious. I have no words to express how I feel. The coaches always motivate and teach me, and I am truly inspired by them.

I am proud that our micro-company is making a profit. It is the result of teamwork and hard work. We are the top-performing company, and every event is an opportunity to learn and help others learn. We always give our 100% and improve from our mistakes.

My main goal is to become a teacher because children are the foundation and the future of our nation. I want to inspire them to do something meaningful for themselves, their families, and their country. Teachers have a strong influence, I experienced that myself. Indeed, I have always been inspired by my teachers, that’s why they made me want to do this job.

I want to end with two messages: The past is gone and will never come back. The present is our best gift. We don’t know the future, so live and enjoy the present and always focus on the process, not the result. If your process is good, the result will also be good.”