For all the doors that shut on me, I came back to buy the building. Hold on till pain ends, “I never lose, I either win or learn.” –Nelson Mandela. These were the lines that kept me going till my last attempt. I would like to thank everybody who supported me and helped me get this far. Good day, everyone! My name is Enoch Daniel, I was recommended for NDA-146 from 33 SSB Bhopal (Indian Navy) on 18^th of February, 2021.  After two failures, the happiness after hearing the officer calling out my chest number had me stumped and I stood as still as a statue!

Ever since I joined the NCC in middle school, I dreamt of joining the Armed Forces, in fact my inclination towards the Indian Navy takes its roots in INS Vikramaditya. I was fortunate to get a chance to visit the vessel and learn about her. It was during this visit when I got to know about the National Defence Academy, and that was the day I decided that I will join NDA. “Whatever it takes!”, was what I told myself that day.

After I failed to clear the written exam for NDA-144, I made the best use of the time I had in the lockdown of 2020 and prepared for the NDA 145 and 146 exams and managed to get a decent 400+ marks. I got my call for the SSB and I over-prepared for NDA-145 and was not able to express my true self. I managed to get till the conference. I learnt a lot from my first attempt and I made perseverance and resilience as my best mates, since I had only one attempt left.

For my second attempt, I took each stage and each task, one at a time. I did a lot of self-introspection.  Also, I met some officers who told me the Do’s and Don’ts that I was not aware of.  They guided and nurtured me and boosted my confidence. I also practiced writing TAT, WAT, SRT and SDT. I learnt a lot from my first attempt and improved each time I wrote.

My advice to the aspirants, never forget why each one of you has come this far. Break the whole procedure into small parts and take everything, one at a time. Even if some tasks goes bad, don’t make the same mistakes again, stay calm and always focus on the next task. Think before acting /answering. Never feel intimidated, always be confident. Stop obsessing about the technical details and start feeling the procedure of SSB and be your true self.