Arashdeep Hayer
Accountant & Aspiring Lawyer
Heyra, Punjab, India to Dublin, Ohio
The best feeling that you will ever get out of life is accomplishing your goals. Getting a diploma was a chance I had to experience that. Graduating from The Ohio State University: Fisher Business College, that very moment that I was handed my diploma I felt a rush of adrenalin, there is no other feeling like it. After getting the diploma, looking over to the crowd and finding my family, then looking at the expression on my dad's face; the look was something I have never seen before. It made me feel so happy and proud. The inspiration behind me was, is, and will always be my family; not only because they are always here for me through the good and bad times with support but also because none of my family members, immediate and extended, when to college. My dad wanted me to be the first one to go to college. I have achieved some family goals but I haven’t really gotten to my personal dreams, I wanted to fulfill my father’s dreams before pursuing my own because his dreams are very important to me. I had to mold myself to follow my family’s lifestyle. We have a small family owned business called Amul India, it’s an Indian restaurant. My father has always wanted me to learn the business aspect of the restaurant he wanted me to become an accountant and take care of the financial issues of the business. Never really took any family vacations because of the restaurant, we all can’t just leave it and go. Therefore, the someone in my life that influenced me is my Dad. All his life he has been living for other people, doing things for other people; all just to make them happy and this makes me want to do things that will make him happy. He sacrifices a lot for his family and I want to be the one who can achieve his goals and dreams for him.
I grew up in the small village of Heyra in Punjab, India. I think it’s the best place to live because we are cultured there, everything revolves around the family. That’s the only thing that matters. In India we were so innocent, we never went out, if we did we were with family. We just learned to appreciate our family and values. As a child I was not much different from what I am today. I knew when to act crazy and when to act all well behaved, I would try to please everybody and show how good of a kid I am. I loved the attention. Back home in India I went to Guru Nanak National Public School. I was actually a very good student. Always did my homework, never skipped school. I would’ve gotten all the “best attendance” awards back then if there were any given. (Laughs). It was during this young age that I discovered after reading a book about a Lawyer, I wanted to be criminal lawyer, but it’s still a dream though I’m in the process of trying to get there. Ha-ha. My favorite memory is when at the end of the day all the students would run toward their buses to get good seats, kids of my bus would be the last one to get out and be so chilled. Because our bus always came 30 min late so we get to chill after school.
My grandmother and grandfather, Dadi and Dada, had the biggest influences on me as a child, they raised me for four years of my life. My Dadi always used to say “don’t trust anyone but yourself. You are your own best friend” I love my family life. We are six members, Dad, mom, grandparents my brother and I; we all are so very close. We all have a say in every decision that’s taken in the family. My family has always been there and supported me with everything until today. My parents have done so much to just make me happy. The best thing is we all understand each other well and never have to raise our voice to make the other one agree on something. My dad is best friend. I can share anything with him. Same goes for my brother, we are just as close. Mom is treated as a child (laughs) we all love her so much. Until the age of nine my life was as any other kid, but after that due to some family emergency all of a sudden everything erupted like a volcano. People left, people came, new roles and responsibilities were handed down. I was left with no choice other then to pursue the role of an adult, one whom my brother could look up to. My mother left to the USA with my father, my grandparents became our primary guardians, and I a role model for my sibling. After my thirteenth birthday my brother and I came to the US the land of the free and the home of the brave you could probably imagine the culture shock, for me to be experiencing the whole new culture, language, school, and people.
I went to Dublin Scioto high school. As a teenager I had two sides. With friends, I was and still am the craziest person anyone could ever see. However, in school and with family I am very sweet and calm. I don’t really have much time to spend with friends. But if you ask me what I did for entertainment, I would say BOLLYWOOD. (Laughs) The Indian Hollywood. I love Bollywood movies so watched a lot of them, plus I used to read lots of books. My biggest challenge was learning how to drive, after high school, when I graduated; I would sit and figure how much my salary I would get and how much I needed to take out to have a driver because I was terrified of having to learn how to drive. In college my favorite subject was business law not because of the subject itself but the teach was a lawyer and taught from his experiences and not the text. And why yes, it sure does have a lot with what I’m doing today! It connects with my line of work. The best part of getting my degree was that I met few of my best friends in college who I will never forget. The worst thing is getting up in the morning! It’s such a pain ha-ha. When I was back in high school our teachers made us make a timeline and I have achieved everything on my timeline so far. I wanted to graduate in three years instead of four which I am very proud to say that I achieved.
As of now I’m not living the way I envisioned I would, I thought that I’d be in law school and have my own place by now but my traditional values is what is pulling me back from move out. I know that in America many people would think that I am lazy or what not for not having my own place by now, but as I said before growing up in India we have family value and tradition, back home children stay at home until they get married off. Once married the bride usually moves in with the groom’s family and they start a new life style like that. It’s very common to find India families living together. My views on marriage, I believe in arranged marriage, I will marry whomever my parents find for me. It’s not like I’m just going to get married to a stranger. Ha-ha. I will get to know him then after we feel comfortable with each other we will take the next step. Or if I don’t like him my parents will find someone else. They will not force me to marry someone I do not want.
Two years ago if you asked me what lead me to my line of work I would have said my dad, but now as I experience in the field of accounting I grew more interest in the accounting/ business work world. Accounting is not the same thing every day; I have to deal with different clients and different files. The recent economy problems hasn’t affected us because no matter how bad the economy this people still have to fill out their tax, that’s the good thing about accounting. The most exciting part of my job is after putting long hours on stupid reports when the numbers finally match at the end.
In my eyes there is no such thing as the American Dream every individual has its own dream, as I have mine to be someone’s hero at a point of life. I want to fight for what is right and be someone’s voice., When I was going through my rough times I had to act as if nothing was wrong because my family looked up to me for assurance. If I was sad they would have broken down but if I acted the same they would feel as if everything was “ok”. I have no regret in life, I wouldn’t change anything. From my challenges in life I have come to the conclusion that what I did wrong was I thought about others and not me but this incident made me realize that if you yourself won’t care about yourself nobody else will. I think a lot of people take life for granted not everyone but most people...I was one of them. I don’t think I could ever be happier then I am today. I believe in doing things in the spur of the moment that is why I’m living here right now, I will go where ever the paths will take me. I don’t believe that when I get to pursuing my own dreams that I would need to move anywhere but if I do I will. I don’t think I would have done anything differently than what I’ve done already. I have no regrets because I have learned a lot from what I did. I used to think I can’t live without such things or some people. I try to be the bamboo plant because if you notice when there is heavy wind it bends and it stands straight when the wind stops. Just like in life, I mold myself with the situation. I am very determined, reliable, efficient. However, I’ve learned that there’s nothing in this world that one can’t live without. Another thing, it’s not possible to please every single person around you. I want my children and grandchildren to remember me as a person who lived and enjoyed life without any fears. Live everyday like it’s your last…
Accountant & Aspiring Lawyer
Heyra, Punjab, India to Dublin, Ohio
The best feeling that you will ever get out of life is accomplishing your goals. Getting a diploma was a chance I had to experience that. Graduating from The Ohio State University: Fisher Business College, that very moment that I was handed my diploma I felt a rush of adrenalin, there is no other feeling like it. After getting the diploma, looking over to the crowd and finding my family, then looking at the expression on my dad's face; the look was something I have never seen before. It made me feel so happy and proud. The inspiration behind me was, is, and will always be my family; not only because they are always here for me through the good and bad times with support but also because none of my family members, immediate and extended, when to college. My dad wanted me to be the first one to go to college. I have achieved some family goals but I haven’t really gotten to my personal dreams, I wanted to fulfill my father’s dreams before pursuing my own because his dreams are very important to me. I had to mold myself to follow my family’s lifestyle. We have a small family owned business called Amul India, it’s an Indian restaurant. My father has always wanted me to learn the business aspect of the restaurant he wanted me to become an accountant and take care of the financial issues of the business. Never really took any family vacations because of the restaurant, we all can’t just leave it and go. Therefore, the someone in my life that influenced me is my Dad. All his life he has been living for other people, doing things for other people; all just to make them happy and this makes me want to do things that will make him happy. He sacrifices a lot for his family and I want to be the one who can achieve his goals and dreams for him.
I grew up in the small village of Heyra in Punjab, India. I think it’s the best place to live because we are cultured there, everything revolves around the family. That’s the only thing that matters. In India we were so innocent, we never went out, if we did we were with family. We just learned to appreciate our family and values. As a child I was not much different from what I am today. I knew when to act crazy and when to act all well behaved, I would try to please everybody and show how good of a kid I am. I loved the attention. Back home in India I went to Guru Nanak National Public School. I was actually a very good student. Always did my homework, never skipped school. I would’ve gotten all the “best attendance” awards back then if there were any given. (Laughs). It was during this young age that I discovered after reading a book about a Lawyer, I wanted to be criminal lawyer, but it’s still a dream though I’m in the process of trying to get there. Ha-ha. My favorite memory is when at the end of the day all the students would run toward their buses to get good seats, kids of my bus would be the last one to get out and be so chilled. Because our bus always came 30 min late so we get to chill after school.
My grandmother and grandfather, Dadi and Dada, had the biggest influences on me as a child, they raised me for four years of my life. My Dadi always used to say “don’t trust anyone but yourself. You are your own best friend” I love my family life. We are six members, Dad, mom, grandparents my brother and I; we all are so very close. We all have a say in every decision that’s taken in the family. My family has always been there and supported me with everything until today. My parents have done so much to just make me happy. The best thing is we all understand each other well and never have to raise our voice to make the other one agree on something. My dad is best friend. I can share anything with him. Same goes for my brother, we are just as close. Mom is treated as a child (laughs) we all love her so much. Until the age of nine my life was as any other kid, but after that due to some family emergency all of a sudden everything erupted like a volcano. People left, people came, new roles and responsibilities were handed down. I was left with no choice other then to pursue the role of an adult, one whom my brother could look up to. My mother left to the USA with my father, my grandparents became our primary guardians, and I a role model for my sibling. After my thirteenth birthday my brother and I came to the US the land of the free and the home of the brave you could probably imagine the culture shock, for me to be experiencing the whole new culture, language, school, and people.
I went to Dublin Scioto high school. As a teenager I had two sides. With friends, I was and still am the craziest person anyone could ever see. However, in school and with family I am very sweet and calm. I don’t really have much time to spend with friends. But if you ask me what I did for entertainment, I would say BOLLYWOOD. (Laughs) The Indian Hollywood. I love Bollywood movies so watched a lot of them, plus I used to read lots of books. My biggest challenge was learning how to drive, after high school, when I graduated; I would sit and figure how much my salary I would get and how much I needed to take out to have a driver because I was terrified of having to learn how to drive. In college my favorite subject was business law not because of the subject itself but the teach was a lawyer and taught from his experiences and not the text. And why yes, it sure does have a lot with what I’m doing today! It connects with my line of work. The best part of getting my degree was that I met few of my best friends in college who I will never forget. The worst thing is getting up in the morning! It’s such a pain ha-ha. When I was back in high school our teachers made us make a timeline and I have achieved everything on my timeline so far. I wanted to graduate in three years instead of four which I am very proud to say that I achieved.
As of now I’m not living the way I envisioned I would, I thought that I’d be in law school and have my own place by now but my traditional values is what is pulling me back from move out. I know that in America many people would think that I am lazy or what not for not having my own place by now, but as I said before growing up in India we have family value and tradition, back home children stay at home until they get married off. Once married the bride usually moves in with the groom’s family and they start a new life style like that. It’s very common to find India families living together. My views on marriage, I believe in arranged marriage, I will marry whomever my parents find for me. It’s not like I’m just going to get married to a stranger. Ha-ha. I will get to know him then after we feel comfortable with each other we will take the next step. Or if I don’t like him my parents will find someone else. They will not force me to marry someone I do not want.
Two years ago if you asked me what lead me to my line of work I would have said my dad, but now as I experience in the field of accounting I grew more interest in the accounting/ business work world. Accounting is not the same thing every day; I have to deal with different clients and different files. The recent economy problems hasn’t affected us because no matter how bad the economy this people still have to fill out their tax, that’s the good thing about accounting. The most exciting part of my job is after putting long hours on stupid reports when the numbers finally match at the end.
In my eyes there is no such thing as the American Dream every individual has its own dream, as I have mine to be someone’s hero at a point of life. I want to fight for what is right and be someone’s voice., When I was going through my rough times I had to act as if nothing was wrong because my family looked up to me for assurance. If I was sad they would have broken down but if I acted the same they would feel as if everything was “ok”. I have no regret in life, I wouldn’t change anything. From my challenges in life I have come to the conclusion that what I did wrong was I thought about others and not me but this incident made me realize that if you yourself won’t care about yourself nobody else will. I think a lot of people take life for granted not everyone but most people...I was one of them. I don’t think I could ever be happier then I am today. I believe in doing things in the spur of the moment that is why I’m living here right now, I will go where ever the paths will take me. I don’t believe that when I get to pursuing my own dreams that I would need to move anywhere but if I do I will. I don’t think I would have done anything differently than what I’ve done already. I have no regrets because I have learned a lot from what I did. I used to think I can’t live without such things or some people. I try to be the bamboo plant because if you notice when there is heavy wind it bends and it stands straight when the wind stops. Just like in life, I mold myself with the situation. I am very determined, reliable, efficient. However, I’ve learned that there’s nothing in this world that one can’t live without. Another thing, it’s not possible to please every single person around you. I want my children and grandchildren to remember me as a person who lived and enjoyed life without any fears. Live everyday like it’s your last…
I really liked the picture. Her story is great! I like where she says that she molds herself to the situation.
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