I'm an IITian. It's been two years now, infact. A direct result of cracking one of the toughest exams on the planet is that most of us quickly lose what (little) humility we may have once possessed, and end up developing inflated egos. We sure love it when people shower us with praises.
Before I joined IIT Kharagpur, I was not very worldly-wise. I was no better (or, perhaps, no worse) than a small kid with little knowledge of the mystic mechanisms that drive the cosmos. A kid whose mind constantly seeked ways to maneuver the baffling, busy streets of life. I figured, the best thing was to keep doing what my elders told me. And so I kept faith.
At that time, I had this grand image about the IITs. I had thought this would be a place with good students out to conquer the world with their brilliance. Students who would work with diligence towards their chosen goals. Students who would be taught the rocket science equivalents of their fields by smart professors with inch-thick spectacles. I could not have been more wrong, could I? Now that I'm here, I can't believe I used to be so naïve.
Things here are very different. We don't study at all (except when, um, the situation calls for it). We play around and have fun and watch movies all day long. We lie. We're far from being the "perfect" students I'd envisaged.
And still, we do good things. We bond with each other. We help each other out in times of need. We share joy and sadness. We think, innovate, create. We learn cool new stuff. We work towards our future visions, ones that drive each one of us, deep down. We realize that we always have a choice.
So I've changed. I've become more responsible and caring now. I have a great set of friends, and the best family in the world, and I realize how very important they all are to me. Isn't that really what anyone would want out of life? I believe the answer is a yes. I believe I've changed for the better, not for the worse.
And still, I wonder. Perhaps that is how growing up is.
P. S. : I decided I wanted to do something different this time around and not think much, so this post is little more than an amorphous heap of raw thoughts. But I like it much better this way - it comes freshly baked, straight from the heart, unadulterated.
Also, no mention of my good life here can go without a bow to my great teachers and friends at Bakliwal Tutorials, especially Mr. Vaibhav Bakliwal.
