“Challenge Yourself With the Things You Fear”: Vaishnavi Saumya

When I first arrived at Ashoka, I was a quiet, hesitant first-year, convinced I would fail at anything I tried. For a long time, I held myself back, believing that everyone around me was far more talented. My Caterpillar Moment came when I began saying yes to things that once scared me: playing volleyball – a sport I had never tried before, and joining clubs and projects far outside my comfort zone.

Each small step I took – showing up to practice, planning an event, sitting down to code for my project – became a milestone of confidence. I learnt that growth doesn’t come from being the best, but from daring to begin. There will always be someone more skilled than us, and that’s okay; what matters is giving our personal best. Over time, these small steps built my confidence, allowing me to move from timid participant to campus-wide leader, first as Events Head of SLAB and later as Co-President of FarmFresh.

To anyone reading this, I would say: challenge yourself with the things you fear. Whether you are learning, teaching, or simply trying, every experience adds up in ways you can’t yet see. Sometimes, the very things that once intimidated you become the spaces where you feel most at home.