When I was a school student and yet to appear my matriculation exam, I was told that the first challenge one faces academically, is getting across the 10th standard barrier, as this exam will set the pace for the direction my future takes. As such, the education you start when you are 3 or 4 years old and continue on for the next 12 or 13 odd years to conquer this barrier, is for many, the ultimate goal. When you have reached it and crossed it successfully, you realize that more often then not, you are stumped and left floundering, trying to decide which direction to take, to further set another goal to achieve. Many young people have the privilege of having mentors and guides to help you through this process before you even reach your 10th grade, and yet, there are so many out there who seek education just because they are sent to school and told they have to have a degree for a future and are seldom asked what is their passion and what is it that they want to do? For that matter, most students themselves hardly give thought to what they should really be doing or studying to pursue a goal they have given themselves.
As we proceed along, we make mistakes and grumble about why a certain subject is too hard or why we should have taken something else. I’d like you to take a moment and analyze what is it that is really holding you back from reaching your goals in a manner you think is right? Is it because you took up a course just because another friend is taking it, or someone mentioned it as the future, even if you have never heard of it and don’t really know how you will use it upon completing your studies, or yet because you were told it was the easiest and you were only trying to get a degree or better still you wanted to leave home and experience living outside, away from restrictions and questions and be independent? How many of you have answered yes to even a single one of them? Now how many of you have taken up courses after researching what it is, where you should go, how much would it cost and how will you fund it, what should you do with it after completion, where could you work and the most important question of all, IS IT FOR YOU?
Many of you like me may have always waited for someone else to plan your future especially in your teens and this believe me is universal and happens in every household, maybe the degree just varies. Thankfully, in my case, that changed the minute I learnt there is a wider world to explore and many new things to learn if I worked with integrity and was honest with myself. But when you have reached an age where you consider yourself an adult and are making decisions that shape your future, remember that you and you alone are responsible for what happens to you, what dreams you pursue, how to stay on track and how to achieve those dreams. A dream is an idea sown in the depths of your mind and just like a seed sown in a field, that has to be fed and protected from the elements to bear fruit, so too your dream has to be nurtured correctly, with knowledge you need to progress and also the right environment to help you stay focused and protected. And I say protected because many young people who are starting college life are literally thrown into the big bad world without a crash course on what you should be doing to beat a system that is plaguing you with so many distractions, from relationships to activities be they in educational establishments, community activities, religious establishments, media overdose, flattering predators, part time work pressure and the list just goes on.
As a person who till the age of 18 years was completely sheltered, it was a huge culture shock when I first moved away from home. Maybe some of the mistakes I made honed me be a better person, but suffice it to say I wished I had people who I could talk to, who could have helped me make better decisions and choices. And yet I don’t regret those mistakes as I learnt valuable lessons from the mistakes I made. It made me determined to rise above them and set a goal to make something of my life. I constantly made mistakes even after that and continue to do so till today and each time, I come away learning and discovering new things about myself. Some I am very proud of and then there are some, I am not so happy about. I mention this because I want you as students to understand that when you think you have taken up a course that you find is a challenge, you have to especially work harder to master it. Your mistakes will help you to hopefully not repeat the same ones again and instead of throwing in the towel whenever you face a challenge or make an error, be determined to motivate and challenge yourself to correct it and come out successfully in the following attempts. These words of course are nothing new, we have heard about the try and try again quotes, that failure is a stepping stone to success and such others and although you know this and have enough people overwhelming you with these quotes, at the risk of sounding clichéd I repeat it.
There are certain things I’d like to share which might reinforce your attempts at fulfilling your dreams.
• Firstly, make the right choice. Ask yourselves why you chose it and what do you know about the subject? What can you do to learn more about the subject? In these times of modern technology, you have at the tip of your fingers, access to portals of knowledge about anything and everything under the sun. If you know people who are studying it already, ask them what made them choose it, what did they enjoy about it and what are the challenges they face? Never accept monosyllabic answers but always ask them to elaborate and give examples. Now honestly compare their answers with yours and see if these are things you face and can work with.
• Once you have made a choice, how do you stay focused on the subject? I have always found that having a subject taught by an interesting teacher helps me learn more, probably because I want to make a good impression on the teacher. But honestly, setting yourself a goal because you want someone else to be impressed no matter who that might be, is not the right attitude. On the other hand a teacher’s role is so important because they influence your future passions. How do you balance it then? Finding right teachers as a mentor is perfect and having them as role models helps. Find yourself teachers who may be from the department, who might not be teaching you directly, but those who you have heard are good at explaining things. Have conversations with them, bring up subject topics you want their thoughts on, have communication levels opened and request if they might have the time to spare and share with groups of friends (this from a safety aspect, especially for women) Your teachers are a great supporting system if you can look beyond just having them as someone who you meet only for a few hours in a month. Your attitude towards them will set the trend for future progress as well. Many people unfortunately have pre-conceived notions of who or what their teachers are, before they even take their classes. Stop that and find out for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised.
• Make use of resources that are available in your college and university. Libraries are a good source for research. Take advantage of it. When you read, search the internet further to see if any changes have been made since its publication. This sets you on the motion for a whole new challenge. If you can’t find information in your colleges, use public libraries too.
• Attend seminars and symposiums that are conducted on the subjects you are interested. Don’t wait to be invited, call and find out if you can attend or what can you do to get passes to attend. Attend industry related fairs and ask questions. File away information for future use. It doesn’t matter how far you have to travel, you must take advantage of this. You might not lear n many new things but believe me you will go away with at least something to agree or disagree with, and perchance get to know others who are in the same field and thus you set a track for future networking.
• Visit Museums and galleries. The education you learn in these places will humble you and create new thoughts. Join as members in these places or ask for information to be sent to you about upcoming events and do attend them.
• Start networking right from the beginning by working and volunteering in similar industries or charity organizations. Networking is a very important key to building a future and it is never too early to start.
• Share your knowledge with others in the same field but in different institutes as well, to see their school of thought. If things are taught differently, bring it up in your classes for discussions. Remember not to criticize your teacher outright by questioning their methods, but giving them a chance to explain why they do what they do. Criticism should not be in public, as unfortunately you may mark yourself as a target for recrimination. If you disagree with something have a solid reason to back it up. Often it’s not what you say but how you say it, that matters.
• Call up companies and industries in your related field of study if you might do a tour of their premises at their convenience, as you would like to do reports or are interested in someday working for them. Believe me practical knowledge you will learn is very different from theory. It might be a good opportunity to do holiday internships for free or low salaries. Keep in mind you are doing this to learn and not to earn at that point.
• Read newspapers, periodicals and books to garner extra knowledge. Then discuss it with personal friends and students at school too. Don’t just say you read it and leave it at that. Form opinions, ask opinions and initiate healthy discussions. One of the things I hear often from employers is that our people are fabulous employees but often lack the spirit of initiation. This is a very important issue if we want to change people’s perception of us as followers and not leaders.
• Encourage your creativity, in any subject. Remember creativity is not in the arts alone but any one who can think out of the box and make a thought or action work, has creativity.
• Master the English language, both written and colloquial. This is the language that the world uses to discuss and transact. Stop using SMS language and shortcuts (except on phones) to express yourselves, especially when you are supposed to write formally. You can come across as someone who is not serious and take things too casual to a person who has not had a chance to see your work to prove it differently. Being formal is still considered being well brought up.
• Learn to be different and appreciate differences as well. Nothing is more boring then having the same thing being repeated all the time. When we speak of being different, learn to accommodate the guidelines or rules, your superiors and institutions have set.
• Every day when you are back in your personal space review what you learnt for the day, repeat again for the week and again for the month. This helps you keep track of things you need to complete, have understood and also those you need to further pursue. Many have a bit of waiting till the last minute before making an attempt to prepare for their exams, all you are doing is putting unnecessary stress on yourselves. In this case a routine is predictable and may be boring, but it also sets discipline. Alongside this, good time management is very important. Be punctual and diligent in all you do
• As sad as it is to say this, get yourself away from people who try to always distract you from your studies. A true friend will encourage you and help you to focus on things that are important for you to become successful. A selfish person will think only for themselves and ask you to become a lackey by indirectly distracting you with activities which hamper your growth holistically. There are many who because they themselves cannot complete certain goals, drag other people down with them by being domineering and sarcastic in their attitude but the worse are those who pretend to befriend you and will always be there to lure you into unnecessary pleasures frequently. Everyone should learn what is going on in life today, because they certainly help you grow as a human being, but until you are mature enough to make the right choices, even if it may be difficult, ask a family member or trusted mentor to help you make the choice and learn to make good choices by weighing the pros and cons of it. You cheat yourself when you make excuses for wrong choices.
Do not give up your dreams before you have attempted to completely analyze where you went wrong and tried all avenues to fix it. If in that pursuit, you realize that you have made a wrong choice and you seriously do not see yourself completing it, then be brave and make the change before it is too late and you make a disaster of your future. Reassess what you want to be in the future, set your goals on track and work hard to pursue it. Create your own paths by being focused and understanding what works for you. No individual is identical even in their thoughts if one is to be honest, but that is what is unique and make us potentials for success. We just have to find that push within us and drive ourselves towards our goal. No one is too old or too young to try new ventures so giving up before we even begin would be terribly sad. Set yourself a target and learn to see the big picture, but also remember that actually filling in the details is what makes the picture complete. Most importantly, be positive and determined and remember that having a healthy lifestyle is often the key to becoming a success.
(The writer is the Managing Director of the people channel, Nagaland—a human resource development agency. The writer can be contacted at nagamero@gmail.com)
Note: This is the unedited version of an article written for Interweave, a quarterly magazine of the Naga Students Union Delhi)
As we proceed along, we make mistakes and grumble about why a certain subject is too hard or why we should have taken something else. I’d like you to take a moment and analyze what is it that is really holding you back from reaching your goals in a manner you think is right? Is it because you took up a course just because another friend is taking it, or someone mentioned it as the future, even if you have never heard of it and don’t really know how you will use it upon completing your studies, or yet because you were told it was the easiest and you were only trying to get a degree or better still you wanted to leave home and experience living outside, away from restrictions and questions and be independent? How many of you have answered yes to even a single one of them? Now how many of you have taken up courses after researching what it is, where you should go, how much would it cost and how will you fund it, what should you do with it after completion, where could you work and the most important question of all, IS IT FOR YOU?
Many of you like me may have always waited for someone else to plan your future especially in your teens and this believe me is universal and happens in every household, maybe the degree just varies. Thankfully, in my case, that changed the minute I learnt there is a wider world to explore and many new things to learn if I worked with integrity and was honest with myself. But when you have reached an age where you consider yourself an adult and are making decisions that shape your future, remember that you and you alone are responsible for what happens to you, what dreams you pursue, how to stay on track and how to achieve those dreams. A dream is an idea sown in the depths of your mind and just like a seed sown in a field, that has to be fed and protected from the elements to bear fruit, so too your dream has to be nurtured correctly, with knowledge you need to progress and also the right environment to help you stay focused and protected. And I say protected because many young people who are starting college life are literally thrown into the big bad world without a crash course on what you should be doing to beat a system that is plaguing you with so many distractions, from relationships to activities be they in educational establishments, community activities, religious establishments, media overdose, flattering predators, part time work pressure and the list just goes on.
As a person who till the age of 18 years was completely sheltered, it was a huge culture shock when I first moved away from home. Maybe some of the mistakes I made honed me be a better person, but suffice it to say I wished I had people who I could talk to, who could have helped me make better decisions and choices. And yet I don’t regret those mistakes as I learnt valuable lessons from the mistakes I made. It made me determined to rise above them and set a goal to make something of my life. I constantly made mistakes even after that and continue to do so till today and each time, I come away learning and discovering new things about myself. Some I am very proud of and then there are some, I am not so happy about. I mention this because I want you as students to understand that when you think you have taken up a course that you find is a challenge, you have to especially work harder to master it. Your mistakes will help you to hopefully not repeat the same ones again and instead of throwing in the towel whenever you face a challenge or make an error, be determined to motivate and challenge yourself to correct it and come out successfully in the following attempts. These words of course are nothing new, we have heard about the try and try again quotes, that failure is a stepping stone to success and such others and although you know this and have enough people overwhelming you with these quotes, at the risk of sounding clichéd I repeat it.
There are certain things I’d like to share which might reinforce your attempts at fulfilling your dreams.
• Firstly, make the right choice. Ask yourselves why you chose it and what do you know about the subject? What can you do to learn more about the subject? In these times of modern technology, you have at the tip of your fingers, access to portals of knowledge about anything and everything under the sun. If you know people who are studying it already, ask them what made them choose it, what did they enjoy about it and what are the challenges they face? Never accept monosyllabic answers but always ask them to elaborate and give examples. Now honestly compare their answers with yours and see if these are things you face and can work with.
• Once you have made a choice, how do you stay focused on the subject? I have always found that having a subject taught by an interesting teacher helps me learn more, probably because I want to make a good impression on the teacher. But honestly, setting yourself a goal because you want someone else to be impressed no matter who that might be, is not the right attitude. On the other hand a teacher’s role is so important because they influence your future passions. How do you balance it then? Finding right teachers as a mentor is perfect and having them as role models helps. Find yourself teachers who may be from the department, who might not be teaching you directly, but those who you have heard are good at explaining things. Have conversations with them, bring up subject topics you want their thoughts on, have communication levels opened and request if they might have the time to spare and share with groups of friends (this from a safety aspect, especially for women) Your teachers are a great supporting system if you can look beyond just having them as someone who you meet only for a few hours in a month. Your attitude towards them will set the trend for future progress as well. Many people unfortunately have pre-conceived notions of who or what their teachers are, before they even take their classes. Stop that and find out for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised.
• Make use of resources that are available in your college and university. Libraries are a good source for research. Take advantage of it. When you read, search the internet further to see if any changes have been made since its publication. This sets you on the motion for a whole new challenge. If you can’t find information in your colleges, use public libraries too.
• Attend seminars and symposiums that are conducted on the subjects you are interested. Don’t wait to be invited, call and find out if you can attend or what can you do to get passes to attend. Attend industry related fairs and ask questions. File away information for future use. It doesn’t matter how far you have to travel, you must take advantage of this. You might not lear n many new things but believe me you will go away with at least something to agree or disagree with, and perchance get to know others who are in the same field and thus you set a track for future networking.
• Visit Museums and galleries. The education you learn in these places will humble you and create new thoughts. Join as members in these places or ask for information to be sent to you about upcoming events and do attend them.
• Start networking right from the beginning by working and volunteering in similar industries or charity organizations. Networking is a very important key to building a future and it is never too early to start.
• Share your knowledge with others in the same field but in different institutes as well, to see their school of thought. If things are taught differently, bring it up in your classes for discussions. Remember not to criticize your teacher outright by questioning their methods, but giving them a chance to explain why they do what they do. Criticism should not be in public, as unfortunately you may mark yourself as a target for recrimination. If you disagree with something have a solid reason to back it up. Often it’s not what you say but how you say it, that matters.
• Call up companies and industries in your related field of study if you might do a tour of their premises at their convenience, as you would like to do reports or are interested in someday working for them. Believe me practical knowledge you will learn is very different from theory. It might be a good opportunity to do holiday internships for free or low salaries. Keep in mind you are doing this to learn and not to earn at that point.
• Read newspapers, periodicals and books to garner extra knowledge. Then discuss it with personal friends and students at school too. Don’t just say you read it and leave it at that. Form opinions, ask opinions and initiate healthy discussions. One of the things I hear often from employers is that our people are fabulous employees but often lack the spirit of initiation. This is a very important issue if we want to change people’s perception of us as followers and not leaders.
• Encourage your creativity, in any subject. Remember creativity is not in the arts alone but any one who can think out of the box and make a thought or action work, has creativity.
• Master the English language, both written and colloquial. This is the language that the world uses to discuss and transact. Stop using SMS language and shortcuts (except on phones) to express yourselves, especially when you are supposed to write formally. You can come across as someone who is not serious and take things too casual to a person who has not had a chance to see your work to prove it differently. Being formal is still considered being well brought up.
• Learn to be different and appreciate differences as well. Nothing is more boring then having the same thing being repeated all the time. When we speak of being different, learn to accommodate the guidelines or rules, your superiors and institutions have set.
• Every day when you are back in your personal space review what you learnt for the day, repeat again for the week and again for the month. This helps you keep track of things you need to complete, have understood and also those you need to further pursue. Many have a bit of waiting till the last minute before making an attempt to prepare for their exams, all you are doing is putting unnecessary stress on yourselves. In this case a routine is predictable and may be boring, but it also sets discipline. Alongside this, good time management is very important. Be punctual and diligent in all you do
• As sad as it is to say this, get yourself away from people who try to always distract you from your studies. A true friend will encourage you and help you to focus on things that are important for you to become successful. A selfish person will think only for themselves and ask you to become a lackey by indirectly distracting you with activities which hamper your growth holistically. There are many who because they themselves cannot complete certain goals, drag other people down with them by being domineering and sarcastic in their attitude but the worse are those who pretend to befriend you and will always be there to lure you into unnecessary pleasures frequently. Everyone should learn what is going on in life today, because they certainly help you grow as a human being, but until you are mature enough to make the right choices, even if it may be difficult, ask a family member or trusted mentor to help you make the choice and learn to make good choices by weighing the pros and cons of it. You cheat yourself when you make excuses for wrong choices.
Do not give up your dreams before you have attempted to completely analyze where you went wrong and tried all avenues to fix it. If in that pursuit, you realize that you have made a wrong choice and you seriously do not see yourself completing it, then be brave and make the change before it is too late and you make a disaster of your future. Reassess what you want to be in the future, set your goals on track and work hard to pursue it. Create your own paths by being focused and understanding what works for you. No individual is identical even in their thoughts if one is to be honest, but that is what is unique and make us potentials for success. We just have to find that push within us and drive ourselves towards our goal. No one is too old or too young to try new ventures so giving up before we even begin would be terribly sad. Set yourself a target and learn to see the big picture, but also remember that actually filling in the details is what makes the picture complete. Most importantly, be positive and determined and remember that having a healthy lifestyle is often the key to becoming a success.
(The writer is the Managing Director of the people channel, Nagaland—a human resource development agency. The writer can be contacted at nagamero@gmail.com)
Note: This is the unedited version of an article written for Interweave, a quarterly magazine of the Naga Students Union Delhi)
