“What do you get out of volunteering?”, he asked. Well, I’d get a certificate for my resume, I replied because that’s what he wanted to hear. He asked no further. Would i do it even if i didn’t get a certificate? Definitely.
At the school
“Is it a paid internship?” No. “Dude why are you doing it! Quit. You’ll get a better-paid internship if you work in xyz”
At work
“Okay team, we have to the work finished by today. We have to the prototype in 2 days.” (Hope they pay us for overtime, Mark mumbled.)
Every person is paid for what they do. A volunteer is paid with the satisfaction and pride of bringing about a change. An intern is paid with experience. A self-made pianist is paid with dopamine which floods him every time he perfects a melody.
Why do i love my JEE teachers of all the teachers i ever had? I wasn't the brightest mind in the class, didn't understand every word they said, even then, i have great respect for them as teachers. Why is that so? What differentiates them from the other teachers i had.
I think the probable reasons might be:
They had already accomplished what i was aspiring for. I believed in them because i knew they had done it.
They knew what they were talking about and had a deep understanding of their subject. Well some of them looked passionate towards their subjects, others didn't show much enthu, but in either case, they were good at what they did.
Friendly, Cool and Chill.
It might be because the syllabus was designed ingeniously or they just didn't mind going off topic - you take any problem(kind of) to them, they didn't say, 'It's out of syllabus'.
The sad part is i'm starting to believe what my mother always said about teachers - 'They landed up in the job because they weren't good enough for real jobs'. Even Sheldon thinks the same.
Even if a person finds his passion for teaching, to be a successful and inspiring teacher, he/she needs to be really good and it. He/She needs to understand the field as far as possible and also design and use techniques to convey the beauty of their art. Imagine you were taught maths by 3Blue1Brown while growing up. I bet you'd love Math more than your girlfriend. A teacher has the power to change the lives of their students and that could just cause a chain reaction that could change the world.
It's not easy when your mind fights with itself. Fragments of your past attacking your future, fogging your vision. It's so easy when you don't question. When you just do it because someone you care about said it's important. That it will pay off in the long run. You never questioned, never tried to drill down. But a time came when there was no someone. You were on your own. Still, there were voices leading you. Voices of fear, __, carving your way.
You know what they said is not wrong, but it's just not you. You don't wanna play it safe. You know what to do, but you are too afraid to lose. Drew's not helping either. He's just kept busy by the voices and when they fade for some time, he's happy. Gun pushes him to go after what he really wanted. He even takes the first few steps for the long ladder, but the voices are back again, dragging him down into the heard and the gravity of gear keeps him there.
Will he ever be brave enough to let go of the voices, will he be brave enough to find the whisper hidden in the heard or up the ladder saying come-on do it. Will be brave enough...?
Here are the top 20 words i've used on this blog since i started blogging.
Well, i didn't find anything out of the box, but still, it was a fun experiment!
They say, don't put your logic in Indian Movies(esp. South Indian ones).
When you see a sci-fi or some computer haking film, everyone dreams of being the hero/villain there. Cuz they are cool and then, life happens.
But do we need reality? Or is reality really reality?
A cliche in India is to get into a Science college and then Engineering for 4 years and then lost in a fucking job or the rest of your life... THE END!
Why do i see the best art circle in an Engineering college why is the majority trying for CAT and MS? You might argue, that they have the best technical event. Well yes, but a technical event is more about the right management. A true technical enthusiast is all about the fundamentals.
When you see a wire you are amazed by the electrons flowing through it. All those 0's and 1's flowing through when you see a cricket match. That's more thrilling than Kholi hitting a century. I''m not trying to judge my peers, but i'm just sad that they didn't get the platform they wanted at the right time. Why don't we keep a 'figure out your passion year' between 12th and college? Most people don't know what they want until 2nd year in Engg. later they fire out and the few flecks that really wanted to do engg are lost in the crowd.
Image a life where discussions are about whats inside a black hole, time travel, light, from the deepest and biggest secrets of the cosmos to the smallest of the atoms. There would be discussions about coming up with new ideas for solving real-life problems, not because it would look good on your resume, but because you'd really love it, you think it's beautiful and you'd like to make a change. There will be people working for passion than for money. For learning not for grades.
See i'm not saying that such a group needs to be a majority (that's an ideal case), but at least i'd be happy to find a single person in a fucking 3000 population sharing the same passion. I single person who's not here because of the society, who just smiles when people say no-no to studying what he loves, who might make fun of being an engineer just to get in a group, but deep down they know, they belonged here. Maybe there even might be someone just like that, hiding in the rocks with the fear of being called different or simply just too busy chatting about how they could crack a sexy network with his imaginary friend.
“You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”
— J.K. Rowling
P.S.: This post meant no offence to any profession. I've seen the best writers of my life and was fortunate enough to read their rough drafts and even completed works. Everyone is perfect the way they are. A picture looks perfect with different shades. Everyone thinks differently. The engineering college environment pushes you to think what you really want. Sometimes you find your talents when you are pressured into a mismatch and that's fine. It's great to have different ideas on the table. A great community with different thought process coming together in the best phase of their lives. I'm so thrilled when i see my peers performing so good in paintings, sketches, photography, drama! I love it and i truly respect it. You guys are really talented.
PPS: Not a pro writer, so please correct/ignore if i had made any mistakes, this post was written when my mind was arguing faster than my fingers. By the way... Merry Christmas 🎅🎄
