Friday, March 28, 2008

My dilemmas

Are you satisfied with the way your academic life has been going ? Did you actually achieve your childhood dream? Are you happy with what you are? Would you want to continue doing that in the future?

Whenever I ask these questions to myself, the answer which I get is a big NO. Talking about my academic life, every constituent of it is now determined by its utility in the future. As of now, I am a person with no area of interest. I can study anything which I am made to. I have been trying to forcibly develop some area of interest but after every few days, I find myself pondering over the futility of all these things. I could attribute these thoughts to the frustration that I experience due to doing things which I think are not meant for me. There is huge incongruency between what I like and what I perceive is beneficial for me. Most of the courses that I opt for are those which I think could help me get a good job. A bad grade in a subject could be disturbing as it would lower my grade points and can affect my chances for a good job. My thinking as of now is restricted to getting a good pay package at the end of my stay here. But one thing that disturbs me is would I be happy doing something in my life which I cant do even for a semester. Is this actually what I want to achieve?

I also ask myself, that can I be hold solely responsible for the attitude that I have developed? But when I see other students encountering the same problems, the same dilemmas, I fell that there is something wrong with the system itself. The system of which you and I are part of. The system which gives priority to money over the interest. The system where quality is compromised for quantity. The system in which a student is spoonfed leaving little space for ingenuity and innovation. The system where a student has to accept things as they are. The system which has destroyed curiosity, our inherent characteristic. The system in which a person is directed to do things all through his life and then suddenly expected to take decisions, all of his own. The system which has provided so many employees but very little employers.

I am still unsure of how things would turn out for me. All I wish is a fast forwarding of my life to a position where all my dilemmas are resolved.

8 comments:

AC said...

Bingo...you have got the problem with the system and have discussed it in adequate detail but the solution still needs to be presented. I would really appreciate your thought on alternate solutions of happy survival other than surrendering to the system.

Unknown said...

Exactly what I have been feeling. A fast forward to when I get out of here.

Vatsheel said...

Straight from heart. I think we should follow our likings. It depends what you perceive as useful or beneficial. The biggest benefit is being happy and carefree. If a groovy job makes you happy, go for it. If it doesn't, stop trying for it. Life is about making tough decisions(tough for society not individual) and in my opinion adversity always brings out the best in us, so dont hate adversity. I am eagerly awaiting for your next blog on solutions to the issues raised. By the way your blogs are getting better each time.

Shanu said...

Kala, you must have got the comment in your mail box. Btw, as for reviews in your writing are concerned- its good. Keep it up. Try to be more honest in your writings..Sometimes I got an impression that you are with holding something from the reader. Otherwise good.

Intergalactic Gattu said...

As the previous comments have already shown, you are speaking for more people than yourself when you say that you are not happy with what you are doing. A majority of our peers, not just at IITs (as opposed to Shanu said in his comment) are going through the same dilemmas.

I would like to share an interesting story about a friend of mine who I met recently. He was not particularly bright in academics and had always wanted to become a pilot. His passion for planes was clearly demonstrated by the 'wasteful hours' that he spent on Flight Simulators on his PC. Due to some wrong information, he did not take Science in his +2 studies, which is compulsory for pilot training in India. Giving up his dream, he did his BBA and got a job in a KPO like a regular Commerce stream student. It was 2 years after he had joined his job and had recently been transferred to US when he found out that he could still peruse his dream in the US where the Science demand was relaxed. He has just been accepted in the second best pilot training program in the world. His age is 23 and would be over 26 by the time he begins to fly commercial planes, even as a co-pilot.

We must applaud his audacity to leave a good paying job and go back to studies, even though his parents did not agree with the idea.

Tele Jane said...

Thanx...!!
for wording my and many othr ppl's thots ....!
a really gud piece...!

Ur writing skills r "IMPROVING" !! :P

cool asky said...

the dilemma u spoke of , the feelings u expressed, the confusion you felt surrounded by is common to all of us and I would perhaps more than 90% of our generation. But fact is there is no way out.. We guys who have got chance to study in one of the finest colleges of India are so confused, how about the rest of our friends. isn't it time when the administrators of our education system should take radically revived steps to cumber this widespread void we all feel.


byt the way your writing style improved a lot this time

Intergalactic Gattu said...

dood. when are planning to return to d blogsphere?