We recently connected with Surabhi Singh and have shared our conversation below.

Surabhi , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Work. Appreciation. Relevant Opportunity. Gut Instinct.
I had it all but it turned out to be a risky combination, atleast for me and I will tell you why.
Four years of spending blood, sweat and tears while working in labs and getting every possible achievemnent a 21 year old can ask for, starting from published research papers, internships at the biggest institutes in India and a job offer just at the junction of my dissertation and work life, I decided to take the biggest risk of my life. It was during the pandemic when I was supposed to graduate with my integrated master’s in Biotechnology, and due to the pandemic, I had to complete my dissertation before time because of the nationwide lockdown. Thinking about it now, I never had a moment in those five years of my degree where I could sit in peace, think and relax and the pandemic gave that to me. While I did suffer from the ill effects of COVID-19, a part of me was happy to have finally found time for retrospection.
I got a message from the lab I was a part of at that time asking if I would like to continue working for them, and while I was thinking I would hesistate while refusing that offer, surprisingly I said no instantly, making me realize how saturated I felt working in an isolated work environment where talking felt like a crime and days got more monotonous with every PCR plate I prepared.
That was when my life started to take a 180 degree turn. I saw various batchmates moving abroad to pursue higher studies in biotechnology, mostly a doctorate degree and that was what I also planned initially, becoming Dr. Surabhi by the time I turned 25. But little did I know that gut feeling that I thought was momentary, made me turn to a path I had never imagined. Being that person who hardly got any rest in those past five years, I felt very idle during the pandemic and just to not lose my touch in studies, I took up the challenge of learning Korean language as that was something I always wished to do but never got the time for due to my intensive studies and labwork. While doing that, I also took up a course on sustainable development and that was when I had my second realization that whatever I had been doing all these years was actually connected to it, all of it: women bone health, neurodegenerative disorders, bioremediation, EVERYTHING, but it was a shame that I never knew about the concept beyond its elementary school definition. That was when I decided to switch my life-career path from science to social science, meaning that I would get to work more closely with people who are in need and impacted.
And that realization made me decide to pursue another master’s majoring in Developmnt Cooperation during the course of which I not only had very valuable experiences but also learned the importance of different stakeholders in the entire process of making the world a more liveable place.
If I didn’t take the risk of moving abroad not for a doctoral degree in the same major but to switch my major to explore a new phase of life, I might not have ever met people belonging to various countries and walks of life, never got the chance to be a part of an international NGO, and would never had the opportunity to be a part of international discussions on climate change, and other topics of significance.

Surabhi , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am basically a biotech researcher turned sustainability enthusiast.
With my current expertise in agricultural waste management, development project design, event management and NGOs, I am professionally capable of providing environmental consultation for development organisations striving for the sustainable implementation of a multistakeholder development project and also businesses which are trying to expand their Corporate Social Responsibility in an inclusive manner. As a content creator, I create motivational content using myself as a way of inspiring my followers with truthful insights and first-hand experiences, and also advocate for environmental an social issues. I am also leading an NGOs subregional chapter where I work with my seasoned experience in leadership, project management and public speaking.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have always been an all-rounder, the type where you are not necessarily good at everything but if the situation asks for it, I can upgrade and complete the puzzle, ending up being an asset wherever, whenever. At least, I saw it that way.
But realization dawned upon me during my undergrad’s behavioural science lecture when two guys called me out and said “Why do you keep complaining all the time? If you dislike being busy like that then why do you have to participate in everything?” and “She is very self-centered”. I was hurt for the time being but their statements opened a whole new door into my conscience and that’s when I realized that being good at multiple things is actually a blessing but..only when you are enjoying the process. That was when I had to unlearn getting affected by people’s opinions and self sabotage behavior. After I reprogrammed my inner self, I became more well-rounded in a sense where instead of complaining how busy I am, this topic is so hard,. I am so stressed, I started finding gratitude in the act of staying busy by saying, Eventhough it is a complicated topic, I am studying it because I love it, I am grateful to have spent an entire day doing an event I am passionate about and so on.
I had to unlearn complaining to learn the importance of gratitude, and now am expressing it in every bit and grain of life.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One thing I have realized in my personal and professional journey is that while a lot of people always have eyes on you, only a few are actually supportive or are rooting for you. As a society, the first step that any individual can take is to drop their judgements about anyone who is embarking a fresh creative journey. While everyone has a different capacity of environmental stress tolerance, many people end up giving up just because of the fear of judgement by friends and family members.
As the generation who will be entering their parenthood era soon, it is important that we don’t follow the footsteps of our parents for once and let everyone in our proximity thrive in a creative field. As a friend, the least you could do is not make fun of your creative friends when you see them starting off by uploading a short video of themselves to test the waters.
Making fun of what makes the other person happy is the cruelest thing you could do to a person. If you can’t appreciate, encourage or leave a motivational comment, don’t bother to leave a hate comment either.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_maze.of.life/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surabhi-singh-수르비-싱-135650156

Image Credits

Students For Liberty, IRENA, Arirang TV, self