Summary

Shashwat Agarwal, a 22-year-old introverted writer and computer science undergrad from India, shares his personal journey, love for writing, and aspirations to pursue it as a career while contributing to the Medium publication ILLUMINATION.

Abstract

Shashwat Agarwal introduces himself as a 22-year-old writer who has been active on Medium for over three years. With a background in frequent writing on Quora, he found Medium's platform more simplistic and informative, leading to his decision to contribute to ILLUMINATION, a publication he has long admired. Agarwal is an avid traveler and nature enthusiast with hobbies including playing the guitar, chess, and coding. Raised in a Hindu family in India with three sisters, his family's frequent relocations for his father's job taught him adaptability and the importance of understanding different perspectives. He values kindness and compassion, acknowledging his own struggles with judgment while striving for personal growth. Agarwal's inclination towards writing began in childhood, where he enjoyed writing essays and even started a novel. As an adult, he turned to writing as an outlet for expression and emotional processing, finding it therapeutic and essential for clarity of thought. He aims to intensify his writing and potentially make it a full-time career, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to share his story on Medium.

Opinions

Shashwat Agarwal values the importance of hearing and considering everyone's perspective, emphasizing the need for understanding before judgment.
He believes in the therapeutic power of writing, using it as a tool to order his thoughts and cope with emotions.
Agarwal is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Medium publication ILLUMINATION and is excited about his writing journey on the platform.
He acknowledges his own shortcomings in judging others and is committed to continuous self-improvement.
Agarwal holds a deep appreciation for kindness and compassion, viewing them as essential qualities to foster in the world.

Writer’s Bio

Two Cents About Myself : Shashwat Agarwal

Thoughts of an introvert.

At the suggestion and encouragement of Dr Mehmet Yildiz I am offering up this article as an introduction.

Hi dear reader, I have been on Medium for over 3 years now and I have thoroughly cherished my time here!

Before I started writing here, I used to write frequently on another writing platform called Quora.

Though I enjoyed being there too, I found Medium to be more simplistic and informative. So I decided to try writing here.

It’s a privilege to be accepted by a publication like ILLUMINATION.

I have enjoyed reading articles of ILLUMINATION for a long time and would love to add my bit to the publication from now on.

Introduction

My name is Shashwat Agarwal and I am 22 years old.

I love to travel and witness diverse cultures. I am an admirer of nature.

Playing the Guitar, and indulging myself in the battle of Chess are some of my most loved hobbies. Being a Computer Science undergrad, I love to code as well.

I was born and brought up in India in a Hindu Family which consists of my parents and three sisters.

Growing up, we had to switch a lot of cities owing to my father’s job.

I have changed more than 5 schools which unsparingly taught me how not to be too attached to anything which added to my overall development.

As a child, it hurt a lot when I had to leave my friends and move to a different city. But in the hindsight, I now understand it was probably for the best.

Due to my life experiences, I believe everyone’s perspective should be heard and taken into account. Before judging someone, we should try to understand that there might be a specific reason for the way someone is and we know nothing about it.

I’ll admit that I tend to judge or even dismiss someone’s perspective too. But I keep on trying to be a better version of myself and I always will.

I truly believe Kindness and Compassion is what we need to put out in the world more.

Inclination towards writing

Since childhood, I was always drawn towards writing. Writings essays in the English class used to be a lot of fun.

At a ripe age of 10, I even started to write a novel and was convinced that it’ll be published someday! It was an epic fantasy fiction that was largely inspired by Hindu mythology.

I used to meticulously write for it. It was only when someone told me that it’s mostly similar to the shows I have seen and the stories I have heard, I realised it’s not going to be accepted by any publication house and I had to stop writing it heartbreakingly!

After that, I limited my writing to essays that my teachers gave as homework.

When I stepped into adult life, I figured that being an introvert, I would have to revert back to writing as a way to express my emotions.

That marked the beginning of my second phase in writing.

Writing is therapeutic for me. It’s my way to put my thoughts in order so that I can see things more clearly.

I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.

Flannery O'Connor

This quote resonates with me on an intrinsic level.

As a teenager, every time I felt overwhelmed by my emotions, I used to write and it acted as a vent to my sadness.

I still follow it as an adult. Nothing captivates my mind like writing. It feels like I’m immersed in it completely like a sponge in the water.

With each passing day, my love and respect for writing only grows.

Writing Goals

I want to take up writing more intensely and maybe turn it into a full-time career in the coming future.

As of now, I just want to write on Medium and see where this takes me!

Looking forward to my journey on this amazing platform!

Thank You all for taking out your precious time to read about me!