Delayed, Not Denied: From 'Why Me?' to 'Thank God It Was Me'

If someone had told me that "Whatever happens, happens for a good reason!" during my sixth semester of college, right when I was accused of cheating and failed a practical exam, I would’ve probably asked them to keep their “philosophy” to themselves. I mean, how could failing an exam possibly be a good thing?

But what happened after that flipped my perspective completely.

The Storm Before the Calm

Back in 2023, I was in my sixth semester. Life was giving me its typical “engineering college” rollercoaster. Amid all the chaos, I got shortlisted for an interview with PTC. It was offline, and I was excited, like, first-interview-of-my-life kind of excited. But the moment I sat in front of my interviewer, my enthusiasm took a negative dive.

He was this seasoned professional, possibly in his 50s, with a full head of white hair and a matching beard, basically the Gandalf of tech interviews. He started firing questions like he was hiring for a senior role, and here I was, a fresher aiming for an internship. It went on for an hour. He wasn’t impressed. He gave me negative feedback. Meanwhile, my friends were wrapping up interviews in 15 minutes and getting selected. One of them got selected in just 2 minutes with a single question: “Do you want to join the DevOps team?”

Of course I was happy for them, but also kind of crushed. I felt like I had been thrown into a different game altogether.

The Second Chance That Wasn’t

Later that day, HR asked if anyone wanted to be interviewed for the QA team. I raised my hand. The next day, two panelists grilled me for 45 minutes and they were genuinely happy with my answers. They even suggested me for a Java Developer role.

I was on cloud nine… until my name never got called.

I was the last one to be interviewed. And just after I walked out, they announced the position had been filled. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I had answered almost everything correctly, except one question. Was that one wrong answer enough to change my fate?

Apparently, yes.

Down the Rabbit Hole

I tried to shake it off and focus on my practical exams. But during the Web Application Development practical, the external accused me of cheating for copying Bootstrap code. Yep, the same Bootstrap that’s literally meant to be copied and reused. I explained everything. I answered her follow-up questions. But she wasn’t in the mood to listen.

I hoped she’d just cut a few marks. But she failed me. That meant I couldn’t sit for any company interviews in the seventh semester. A backlog made me ineligible. And I had to wait the whole semester just to retake that one subject.

While my friends were getting placed in top companies with handsome packages, I was nursing my bruised ego in silence. I congratulated them outwardly, but inside? I was broken. It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain. Like being left behind while everyone’s boarding their flights to the future.

A Job. A Certification. And A Surgery?

Eventually, the results came. I cleared everything, including that cursed practical. But by then, it felt pointless. All the good companies had already recruited. The ones that came next weren’t offering anything close to what I had dreamed of.

Then, in the 8th semester, Cognizant visited for mass hiring. I had no other options, so I gave their exam. Cleared it. Interviewed. Got selected in July 2024. A modest 4 LPA offer, but it was something.

In parallel, I had started preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam, pouring in late nights and early mornings because I knew adding a solid cloud credential could change the game. I scheduled the exam in August and after a month of juggling between anxiety and mock tests, I cleared it and received the certificate. Here’s the link for the blog about how I cleared the exam.

And then came the real test of patience. I had to wait from July till November just to receive my joining letter from Cognizant.

While waiting, I thought, “Why not fix my eyes?” So I got LASIK surgery done on September 9. (click here to read about my surgery.)

Funny enough, exactly seven days after the surgery, I received the offer letter. But I couldn’t even open my laptop screen, my eyes were still light-sensitive. I had to call a friend and guide him to accept the offer for me.

My joining was finally confirmed for November 12, and the location? Chennai. Over 900 km from home.

Chennai, Heat, and A Whole Lot of Growth

I joined because I had to. The food, the heat, the language barrier, everything felt alien. I missed my cousin’s wedding. I got tanned like never before. Lost 7 kilos. Struggled through every day. But I stuck it out.

Eventually, I got transferred to Hyderabad, a place I had always wanted to work in. That alone felt like a win.

After 8 months of support work and limited tech exposure, I received an offer from a product-based company through Naukri. Better pay, better role, better everything. I resigned from Cognizant and took a leap.

And now, here I am.

The Pattern That Makes Sense in Reverse

When I look back, I realize, if I had been selected by PTC back in college, I wouldn’t have had the chance to fix my eyes and only the people with spects can understand the pain of not having clear vision, not being able to see clearly without wearing spects. 

If I hadn’t failed that practical, I might’ve ended up in a company with a job in Pune, far from home. If Cognizant hadn’t hired me, I wouldn’t have waited peacefully during my surgery recovery. If I hadn’t been transferred to Hyderabad, I wouldn’t have gotten my new job, which requires working from office.

Each misstep was actually a pivot in the right direction. The dots never connected forward, but in reverse, they tell a perfect story.

A New Turn...

Recently, something happened that feels tragic on the surface. It’s raw. It hurts. But deep down, I’ve developed this strange sense of peace. Because now, I trust this process. I’ve learned that sometimes the worst moments are just stepping stones to something bigger, something better.

And I know, just like every other twist in my story, it too happened for a good reason.

If you’re going through a rough patch right now, constantly asking yourself “Why me?”, I get it. I’ve been there, when nothing made sense, and everything felt unfair. But trust me, life has a strange way of connecting the dots. Sometimes, the delays, detours, and even disappointments are just setting the stage for something far better than you imagined. You might not see it today, but one day, you'll look back and realize that everything unfolded just the way it was supposed to. 

And that’s when the “Why me?” will turn into “Thank God it was me.”

Alhamdulillah.