A Different Perspective

Having just a few days left before jumping on to the professional bandwagon makes one wonder as to exactly what kind of attitude will propel one forward the fastest and in the most gratifying way possible. But having already been through the Sturm und Drang of college life, I can't really say that I've nothing to go on.

The first key point I think would be to learn to use whatever we have to its maximum potential rather than crib about stuff we don't possess. Most folks are in the suicidal habit of beating themselves up regarding lost opportunities, under-utilized chances and even more ridiculous, things we have no control over! I'd say a 'no regret' policy needs to be adapted where everyone makes the most of the situation presented and then goes on his own merry way.

Secondly, I've seen people using two very different approaches when faced with a challenge to be conquered. One incorporates the 'thoughtless state of mind' widely preached and much popular among the scholarly types, while the other has everything to do with 'killer instinct' more akin to sports-persons. I'd like to draw a parallel between the two optimized for contention and call it 'cold intent', where a happy composed face masks a glacial design.

Thirdly, I think one should start with a clean slate when beginning a fresh endeavor. The triumphs or follies from the past shouldn't filter through to the present, thus preventing either complacency or guilt from needlessly building up within one's psyche, thereby allowing one to operate at maximum efficiency. Only by getting thrown into the deep end with ruthless sharks does one learn to swim and survive!

Lastly but most importantly, only two outcomes are possible when someone is confronted by an obstacle... You either crumble or you evolve! To each his own, but as for me, I'll always choose the latter, as success is a reward in itself and as important to me as the air we breathe in. Life has taken a busy turn and I'm sure it will be quite a while before I visit this blog again, so until then good luck to all the would-be professionals out there and of course anyone who has spent a couple of minutes to glance through this article, portraying a precious piece of my mind.

The Inner Sanctum

Only one month removed from leaving IIT-BHU and it already feels like ages! I'm sure a lot of young graduates fresh out of college are going through a similar phase, where emptiness sets in all of a sudden for apparently no reason among a storm of brewing emotions, many a times difficult to interpret. Five years seem to have gone by in a jiffy and yet when you leisurely think back they seem more like five decades!

It is a weird sensation especially for me as never before have I been mentally attached to a certain place to this extent, but considering just how much it has changed me, I guess IIT-BHU is an exception from all angles! It is like pieces of your soul being stretched out from behind as you try to move on, somewhat like the ice and dust trail left behind by a comet due to gravity, or puddles of water left behind by a retreating tide...

The leap from an educational to a purely professional life has created a strange new buffer zone, where you are excited by the prospects of the times to come and yet wonder if a bit more zing could have been extracted from the years gone by. Many new college entrants dream of a filmy joy ride when they first get enrolled, but little had I imagined that my life would take so many unexpected and wild turns at every stage as it did!

Life in an IIT might not exactly concur with its portrayal in movies, but there are quite a few similarities. Some things keep getting better and better, while others reach their peak and then slowly fizzle out at the end... I should say my buddies and I have had an immensely fulfilling and successful personal, academic and extra-curricular journey through college, so much so that I am willing to stick my neck out and confess how unlikely it is that these five years will ever be replicated again!

But, in any case, a closure needs to be obtained at some point. It is sad to think that some of the best friends you have ever made have already gone their separate ways. Fortunately for me, all my experiences have been forever preserved in this very blog, to be relived at any time via the extensive and sometimes abstract articles, thereby creating an inner sanctum of solace and strength. An era has culminated, a new one waiting in the not-so-distant horizon... So I guess there is nothing else left to be done other than planting our feet firmly in the present and looking only at the future!