SOP Sample for Literature Masters in India - Fresher Profile

Statement of Purpose

People across the world explore endlessly in the pursuit of the "right" thing for them, to find their true passion. In our daily lives, we come across many who are unhappy with their work and can't catch a break from the recurring disappointment and demotivation precipitated due to a lack of interest. Since a young age, this seemed perverse to me and I abhorred the spirit. I wanted my passion and interest to align with my true calling and build a career of it, or at least keep trying till I do.

The first decade and half of my life were spent in a sequestered environment and were rather trite. Soon, I started believing that passion and career are bound to be separate and what matters most is earning money as that was the definition of success which had been taught to me. Having passion being denominated as a mere hobby and being ingrained that following them is a far-fetched construct, especially for middle-class teenagers, I stopped pursuing ways to align mine and rather started tailing towards what seemed like a viable career choice based on the advice of my elders and the internet.

After grade 10, I chose Commerce, seemingly the "only" option for the ones not keen on becoming a doctor or an engineer. Arts as a field was ostracised and often shunned away even in career counseling sessions where the ones keen and talented were advised to first have a back-up ready before they get the foot in the door towards their calling. My unflinching, no-questions-asked naivety made me rest my career decisions with my parents and I merely complied with what they thought was best for me.

Over time, I truly understood the predispositions of people and the value they attach to what is out of their comfort zones. I decided that I had to make the most of the situation and break out these shackles and take control. However, this epiphany made its debut only after I took up business and commerce believing that earning money is all that matters and is the only "safe" way forward. I wouldn't say that I disliked it or resented my parents for it, rather I realised, somewhere deep down, I bought into the dogma and let my prejudices take over my sensibilities. What kept me going was my curiosity and my insatiable desire to learn new things and understand the true working of an enterprise, after all they can be personified as humans and are made by people within.

As I moved to college, I was struggling with my inner-self to identify and decide my path forward. I continued my journey in management and business studies but resolved into following my passions and interests. Soon, I was in pursuit for opportunities which would help me at least dabble and explore my passion. In the first year of my college, I took up an internship in the largest youth run organisation, [ORGANIZATION], as a part of the department which dealt with research and content curation where my primary role was to devise and conduct research on a plethora of topics, and to draft and vet papers.

Everyday, after a hectic schedule in college, I traveled to what became my second home, our office and worked till I could make it back home in the evening, just in time before my curfew. The passion and zeal that I felt towards the work was unmatchable. It was not just the people but it was the work which appealed to something untapped in me. As weeks passed, I started realising that literature and language studies was my true calling, my knight that I had to rescue. All the years spent in libraries, reading and writing articles made absolute sense now. The epiphany was now out there, that one need not follow the bandwagon of what life is and how it should be lived, rather it's a journey which is different for everyone with varying paths to follow.

I took it upon myself to further learn about the field by enrolling for a course by [UNIVERSITY] on Masterpieces of World Literature wherein we voyaged from the inception of English Literature with Goethe, went along to the three and a half millennia old saga of Gilgamesh, dived into the odysseys of Odysseus, explored the tale of Genji, learnt the enchanting tales of Scheherazade in 1001 Nights, enjoyed the satire of Voltaire in Candide and many more books. Post this course, I also engaged in the classical works of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson and enjoyed the modern works of Khaled Hosseini, Paulo Coelho, Kazuo Ishiguro and many more! Every book that I have read has left a vivid and distinguished impression on me. Debating and discussing these authors and their evergreen art is my absolute favourite thing to do.

To further explore and learn, I conceptualised and spearheaded a magazine, [MAGAZINE NAME] at [ORGANIZATION] which became the largest student magazine in India with it being distributed in over 7500+ schools within the first three months of its launch. This monthly magazine completes its year this February and has featured luminaries from different walks of life. Managing a team of writers and designers, editing the content and designing the magazine, reaching out to guest writers and celebrities for cover and for featuring theme relevant veterans, marketing was headed and overseen by me.

I had the good fortune of interviewing Olympic Winners, Indian Chief of Army Staff during India's last war (id est, Kargil War), Permanent Indian representative to the UN—[NAME], child prodigies, and a lot of people who have made a tangible change to this world at large. The past three years of my life have been completely dedicated to studying literary works, writing on various topics ranging from different fields, managing teams of writers and designers.

I now hold a position of the Head of Substance Department with around 70 people working under me on research material for our International, National and UN conferences, content, designing, public relations for our magazine, training of hundreds of students on a weekly basis on various topics, interviews and appointment of Chief Moderators and much more. Simultaneously, to further learn about researching, in academia, my capstone was a study on Behavioural Finance and Stock Markets. For the same, I used primary, secondary and tertiary means of researching which involved conducting a first hand study of over 150 people on topics relevant to my research paper, conducting literature review, performing analysis and writing observations after extensive research and interviewing two experts from the field.

Above lies the journey of exploration of my passion. While life has adventurously taken me through a quandary of streams, I knew where I had to set my foot. For 3 years, I have waited for the day I narrate my story and start a new phase of my life with one of the top institutes, pursuing literature academically and professionally under the guidance of veterans in the field. Literature is my passion and indubitably my future. I am certain that I shall be a suitable candidate for this course.