(July 21, 2023) Whether it is former vice president of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, or Kiran Bedi, the first woman to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service, Sagarikka Sivakumar has had the privilege of presenting her debut book, My Unskooled Year to them, and receiving their blessings.
Her book is a testament to the courage of taking a different path, allowing oneself the time and freedom to explore personal growth and find clarity in life’s direction. It encapsulates Sagarikka’s explorations in her gap year.
A gap year between high school and college is a common choice, but Sagarikka Sivakumar took it a step further by opting for a break right after completing class 10. Initially met with disapproval from relatives and friends who believed she was ‘wasting a year,’ Sagarikka found unwavering support from her entrepreneur parents. “Why not?” they said. “Just go and explore whatever you want to do.” “They were encouraging,” recalls Sagarikka in a conversation with Global Indian.
Sagarikka Sivakumar with Kiran Bedi
“After completing my class 10 exams, I realised that our education system only provides a minimal perspective of the world beyond school. This prompted me to take a year-long break and explore what I truly wanted to pursue in life,” Sagarikka shares. “Standard 11 is the most crucial year in a student’s life as one has to choose subjects according to the path one wants to pursue. I wasn’t sure about that,” she admits. “I wanted to take a step back and have some time to read and learn about things that school doesn’t teach,” she says.
Making use of time
During this break, Sagarikka meticulously documented her diverse experiences, later compiling them into the book – My Unskooled Year. “It is a book about my transformation,” she reflects. “I wrote every day during that time.”
Her book has sold over 8,000 copies, receiving praise from readers. Encouraged by the positive response, Sagarikka decided to have it translated into Tamil. With her unconventional decision and the publication of her book, she began receiving invitations to speak at schools, colleges, and organisations. “I carried 300-400 copies wherever I went,” Sagarikka shares, highlighting the success she achieved by selling a substantial number of copies during her speaking engagements. “Finally, my relatives, who initially believed my year-long break would lead to a mess, were able to understand my perspective.”
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Not afraid of self-experiments
The youngster is not afraid of self-experiments and loves to document the journey during the time for the benefit of others. Shaken by the tragic loss of a 21-year-old friend to sudden cardiac arrest, potentially linked to obesity and an unhealthy diet, Sagarikka got determined to raise awareness on the subject. She consulted doctors and nutritionists and discovered the increased prevalence of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart problems among young people of today.
Identifying junk food as a major contributing factor, she decided to embark on a 30-day junk food experiment. “I wanted to document the changes in my body,” Sagarikka tells. To monitor her body’s response, Sagarikka had a sugar sensor attached and underwent a blood test before commencing the experiment. For 30 days, she consumed nothing but junk food five times a day.
Within just two days, Sagarikka noticed a significant spike in her sugar levels. She experienced fatigue, lethargy, and even caught a cold, signaling a weakened immune system.
By the last day of the experiment, Sagarikka observed alarming changes in her blood parameters. Her fasting glucose levels had risen from 86 to 93.8, fructosamine levels had increased from 214 to 283.7, and homocysteine levels (a risk factor for heart disease) had escalated. Additionally, her triglycerides and testosterone levels had risen, while her white blood cell count had decreased, indicating lower immunity. She also gained 3 kilograms in weight.
To accomplish her goal behind the junk food experiment, she released a documentary on YouTube titled Eat Fast Die Young.
The documentary served as a poignant reminder of the detrimental effects of junk food on overall health. It inspired not only the younger generation but elders too to reconsider their dietary choices and promote a healthier lifestyle to combat the alarming rise in obesity-related health conditions.
After her experiment, due to sheer willpower, Sagarikka was able to revert to her good habits, but ever since she has been on a mission to share the dangerous effects of junk food on the lives of millions.
“I had expected that exercising and adopting a healthy diet for a month would help me lose weight and restore my blood parameters to normal. However, it took me three months to reduce the weight I gained in one month of eating junk food and even longer to change the blood parameters to a previous condition,” she tells adding, “Just imagine how much harm people inflict on themselves by frequently having junk food over the years.”
Life ahead
A student at Amity University, Sagarikka has turned entrepreneur. The third-year student of business administration and data science is helping companies with their branding needs with her start-up ‘BeBindaas’.
She has also launched an app that is a platform for young professionals and start-up founders to connect socially, expand their network and take their work forward.
Sagarikka Sivakumar
“An entrepreneur’s journey entails lots of struggles and disappointments and is not a smooth ride. It takes lots of patience and hard work if one is starting from scratch. I am planning to write a book on how to make the life of young start-up founders like me easier with a step-to-step guide from my learnings,” tells the Chennai based youngster. Her second book, Entrepreneurial Odyssey: A Train Journey Across India based on Jagriti Yatra 2022 – a 14-day train journey of discovery and transformation organised by the Government of India is going to be released soon. For the 8,000 km journey, 500 ambitious youth from India and abroad were selected to meet the country’s inspiring role models in social and business entrepreneurship.
To ignite a growth mindset for youngsters and to motivate them to bring positive changes in life to succeed, Sagarikka always looks forward to speaking engagements to make a difference in her little way.
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