The Road Not taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.... I studied Robert Frost's poem, probably also answered a couple of questions on it in my English examination , but never really took the message home!
After II P.U.C exams in april of 1994 and writing the Common entrance exams for Engineering/Medicine/Dentistry in May, I along with my brood, awaited the results and the interview - Counselling, it was called -for admission into colleges. Designing things was not my passion, equations didn't entice me! But I wanted to study to become an engineer. Because that's what most of my friends wanted to do and if you couldn't manage to get into a professional course, you were no good!
At that time, there were cases going on in court for fixing the percentage of seats that would be reserved for students from different ethnic backgrounds! For most of my friends and me, the general merit quota was the only channel and that was getting squeezed thinner by the day! Protests and rallies went on and newspapers threw up a differ number each week - days and weeks passed and the fate of thousands of us hung in this tangled balance. My rank was not particularly impressive, but I was somewhat confident of securing an admission in an engineering college. Some of my friends joined B.Sc. and I debated with myself on whether I was doing the right thing by putting all my eggs in the engineering degree basket. One morning the percentage rose to 80% - a very dear friend of mine called me - I ran to my neighbor's who lived across from us, where we received important phone calls as we didn't yet have a telephone at home back then - "Call for Sujatha" called out aunty and I sprinted across. My friend talked to me for five minutes discussing the chaotic situation and advised me to join B.Sc just in case... I thanked her and came back home. My parents' thoughts echoed my friend's words. My own fear had grown to a Godzilla size. So I went back to my college where I studied my P.U.C , 2 months after classes had commenced, to secure an admission for B.Sc. The Principal was supportive of my case, but gently chided me for running the rat race toward engineering. I wanted 'Microbiology' , she said I would have walked through if I had come during regular admission time. The class was full and she could not offer me that. She said 'Clinical nutrition and Dietitics' had some openings and I could take it if I wanted. I did.
For almost 4 weeks I worked overtime catching up on lab work, notes and completing my Practical record up to date. I still felt very sore at the thought of not being able to make it to engineering. The course was otherwise very interesting. Our nutrition lab comprised of planning diets for a sedentary youth, a pregnant lady, an athlete and so on. We had to meet the carbohydrate/protein/fat/water requirement for each meal and keep the calorie intake within a certain level. We laughed when we came up with adult meals like - 1 idli, 1 cup of sprouts , a banana for breakfast. Or 1 roti, 1 cup of rice, small cup of yogurt and  a small salad for lunch. I realize now those weren't ridiculously small, but actually the right kind of portions for today's inactive lifestyles.
Before the end of a month into my new course the counselling sessions had started and my turn came - I went for it and got into an engineering programme, thereby abruptly ending the B.Sc course I had barely joined. At that time, it was peer pressure, societal pressure and my own imagined pressures that pushed me into studying engineering. Fast forward fifteen years, and I now enjoy reading and learning about olive oil, vinegar, almonds and spinach. I devour every article I chance upon on metabolism, exercise, and food. It feels like a career in nutrition and dietitics would have been so right for me! 
 But then from time to time I have wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer, a biologist, a dancer, an actress ( oh! that I still fantasize about), a detective, a teacher and so on..
In the past few years, my mind has been toying with a few more options!!!!
In my case :
A few roads ( not two) diverged in a yellow wood
I took the one heavily trodden upon, I am bugged
I keep turning to see
Most other roads seem like fun to me
I think I am going to run back to the fork
Stand there for a while and wonder
About the road I took
And the one yet to be taken!

In conclusion :
1) A girl's life is full of choices
2) I am a very confused person
3) And Rober Frost , definitely had it easy!