One more semester has flown by and I find myself precariously
close to passing out of college to start and endure a "real life".
With rumours that the employment scene in the country is unhealthy, the mood in
the college is pensive. Everyone seems to be spending a huge chunk of their
time trying to imagine themselves actually doing something serious in life.
Like a job maybe? Trying to picture themselves going for interviews and GD's. But
this is not the case with everyone. You see, you can loosely segregate everyone
in college into a few different categories.
The first major category are people who have an idea of where
they want to be. Now this could be anything from "I-Am-Going-To-Germany-Bitches"
to "Family-Business-Yo!". All that matters is that half your mental
burden is done with because you have an idea of where to be and what to do to
get there. These people will usually be dealing in extremes, either completely
chilled out or stressing about the stuff they have to do. Again, I am just
generalizing. I also know people who work towards their goal in a calm and composed
fashion but those people belong in the next category.
The next category is like a sub-category of the last one. These
people are those who seem like "Its-All-Sorted-Bro!". They would have
already enrolled themselves in one or two classes for GRE, GMAT, GATE, CAT,
XAT, BAT, MAT, RAT or something like these. Instead of Angry Birds and Stick
Cricket, you would find "Painless GRE" and "Barron's word
list" apps installed on their phones. Do not fret if they show sudden
growth spurts in their vocabulary (Which they will no doubt flaunt), they are
paying by the thousands for it. You can find them trying to win over professors
for that gold nugget of a Letter of Recommendation or to maybe even co-author a
research paper. Don't get me wrong, these people are real hard-workers. If you
wish to spot these people, look out for those who make you think along the
lines of, "What am I doing in college again?".
There is another category of people who, even in such times
of economic chaos, dares to dream of jobs which pay lakhs per. annum. Now these
are the people who fight tooth and nail for that extra half mark, who can tell
you their GPA faster than their age. Probably because it's a GPA worth sharing
with others. Now for these guys, life is about building a resume. It all boils
down to what you can add into that one file or folder which they present during
their job interview. Now this is a very functional approach and an effective
one no doubt. How do you spot them? That's easy. Organize a workshop for some technical
crap. Midway through the workshop announce that you will not be distributing certificates
later. Now take a seat and wait for them to come for your head.
And finally there is a last category. These people have no
fricking clue about the journey they will embark on after college. But the best
part, they are completely chilled out about the whole deal. They play football
during the exams, make fun of the 9-pointers and study just enough to hit
average. Now you must be wondering, "What a bunch of cocky idiots!".
Now there are two ways to look at this. Some of them genuinely live with the
principle of going where life leads them. They spend time on things that they
love doing and it makes no difference to them if that activity may not
contribute to them earning millions in the near future. But there are others
who are simply wasting their time with no clear goal, passion or interest in
life. They are just happy to knock the ball around for few singles and keep the
strike.
Now that was college in a nutshell from my point of view. You
are probably wondering what category I belong in. All I could think off during
my exams was writing some crap or the other. Here I am doing that as soon as my
exams are done. Writing my blog. Making fun of other people. Do the math now.
I would like to romance with the idea that I am part of a group
of people who enjoy the liberty of dreaming excessively. And one such lifelong
dream of mine is to settle down in some quiet country side with a Labrador
(Preferably in the shadow of the Alps) and keep writing for a living. Ruskin
Bond-esque, I know. It wouldn't be much of a living for sure, but it would do.
Or maybe open up a shack in some small fishing town on the Atlantic coast and
cook (Yes, I do that reasonably well) for a living. Then I realized, most
people have already thought of this. Some dismiss it as wayward thinking while
others chew on it for a while before eventually spitting it out on their
journey of life. Only a handful of people dare to hang on to the dream long
enough to eventually get there. I am still chewing.
But amidst all this rush to sort out our future, somewhere
down the line, we are letting go of the present. We have all been brought up
with the mentality that to achieve something in the future, you must give up
something in the present. Study for your 12th boards they said. Work hard for a
GPA they said. I have a bad feeling that this is all that people will keep
saying. When does this cycle end? When do we finally reap the fruits of all
this effort? And if you cannot understand what these fruits are, why bother
with the effort anyways.
I have shared some of the most memorable moments of my life
talking, playing and messing around with my friends in my hostel. And all I am
saying, if I am saying anything at all, is that I am not willing to disconnect
myself from all of that for a possibly fruitful, near utopian future that I
could have. Like my economics sir used to say, "Look at the cost benefit
ratio". I urge you to not spoil your numbered days in college worrying,
rather panicking, about your future. I am not saying don't prepare yourself or don't
work at all. All I am saying, is just "Chill out, Bro!". And make hay
while the sun shines. Because as far as I see it, "There is a storm
coming". (Batman reference intended)
(Picture Credits: Pinterest)
