Anagh's Story

Written by Anagh Chakraborty

Where it all began

Hi, I’m Anagh, and I’m currently pursuing my MA in English Literature at the University of Birmingham. Even now, saying that out loud feels surreal. Birmingham was once just a name I saw on university rankings and course pages, it was a distant dream associated with excellence and prestige.

I never quite imagined I would one day call it my university, my second home. My love for English and languages more broadly, began as early as I can remember. I was always fascinated by how language works: how it shapes thought, carries emotion, communicates and builds entire worlds through words. Literature, to me, was not just a subject in school, it was always a space of curiosity and imagination.

But loving something and choosing it are two different things.

Choosing the unconventional

I come from West Bengal, India. A place rich and known for its long-standing literary traditions. But even then, there is often a strong cultural perception that sciences are superior to the arts. This might not be a universal experience but something that I always listened to while growing up. Choosing humanities can sometimes be seen as settling for less, as if academic merit is measured only through equations and laboratories. Personally, I have always reflected on each subject equally and I firmly believed they contribute equally to the society. I still remember the unspoken assumption that I must not be “good enough” for science when I used to say I want to pursue literature. There’s also a class narrative attached to it, that the “best” students go into sciences, while humanities is a secondary option.

But here’s what made all the difference: my parents.

They didn’t just allow me to choose humanities, they encouraged it. They reminded me that arts and literature shape the way we think, question, and empathise. They believed that critical and analytical skills are not confined to one discipline. Most importantly, they told me to choose what I loved. At one moment it felt like three against the world, my parents and me. And that three was my whole world. With their immense support, I chose Humanities in higher secondary school without hesitation.

Shaping the dream

I went on to pursue my undergraduate degree in English Literature at Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Government College, Kolkata. To me it was really transformative. I was fortunate to have extremely supportive faculty who nurtured my academic curiosity and pushed me to think deeper every time. Somewhere during my first year of undergrad, a thought quietly settled in my mind that I want to study abroad.

The UK had always held a special place in my story. When I was just two years old, my family brought me here for my very first international trip. Of course, I don’t remember any of the details, but I grew up hearing the story. Perhaps, in some way, that early visit planted a seed. From that point onward I worked steadily on my grades. I refined my academic interests. I researched universities extensively and built my application with care. Among all the institutions I explored, the University of Birmingham stood out.

It offered something uniquely aligned with my interests the opportunity to study Popular Literature alongside a dedicated module on Modernism. Both excite me deeply. Finding a programme that valued both felt like discovering the academic home I had been searching for.

The email that changed everything

Submitting my application was a mixture of hope and fear. I checked my inbox obsessively. Every notification made my heart race. And then one day, there it was.

“Congratulations.”

I must have reread that word countless times. I screamed before I could even process it properly. I told my parents, and for a moment, it felt like time paused. It wasn’t just an offer letter, it meant so much more than that. It was proof that choosing what I loved was never a mistake. I had never wanted to argue with those who doubted my decision to study humanities. I wanted to answer them through achievement. That email felt like the beginning of that answer.

A full circle moment

When it was finally time for me to move to the UK, my parents accompanied me. Years ago, they had brought a two-year-old Anagh to this country for his very first international trip. Coming back all these years later felt both exciting and surreal. To be honest, I don’t think I fully processed the fact that I was going to study abroad, not until I actually boarded the flight. It was a bittersweet moment: leaving behind the place I had called home all my life and travelling somewhere new to begin building a life of my own or maybe taking the first step towards it.

In that moment, I couldn’t help but think about everything that had led up to this day, the long nights spent working toward my goal, the moments of doubt, the quiet pressure of wanting to prove to myself that I was capable of reaching somewhere I had once only imagined. There were times when I questioned whether I would really be able to make it happen. Am I capable enough for this journey? I experienced a lot of self-doubt.

If someone had told the Anagh I was growing up that one day he would travel so far from home to study, I’m quite certain he wouldn’t have believed it. For most of those years, it simply felt like a dream, something distant and almost impossible to imagine becoming real. And somehow, I am here. Writing ‘my story’ about that very dream becoming true. And, now the moment feels quietly complete, like a small circle in life had come back to where it began. I don’t know how or when it happened, but eventually it did happen.

Choosing yourself

Studying at Birmingham is more than earning a degree for me. It represents choosing passion over perception. It represents trusting instincts when external voices were louder. If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be this: listen to your own mind. The strongest opinions are not the ones imposed on you, they are the ones that grow within you. There will always be comparisons, and hierarchies defining what success should look like. But fulfilment is deeply personal. This is just the beginning of my journey. And for the first time, I can confidently say, I chose this path, and it chose me back.