A crisis could either be a danger or opportunity disguised as the danger. When I tried to recall all the crisis situations I’ve faced in life, one particular situation stood out from the rest of them. And I regard this as a fork-in-the-road situation during an important period of my life. One that not only tested me to the limits but also changed my life for the better.
College education is regarded highly by people. To the eyes of the struggling middle class in India, it stands as a symbol of hope. A way out of the cycle of saving and spending. A way to a better life.
But the irony is that college education has become more of a memory competition than anything enlightening. It is like a real-world game of Pacman, running behind marks and grades. This is the case for most colleges, and also the one I happened to attend.
During the final years of college, two paths unfolded before me. One is to be a good, obedient boy of a typical engineering college and to listen to whatever they said – clear the exams, crack the interview and get an IT job.
The other path though looked completely obscure, with everyone doubting my decisions. That is – To take an internship in something completely unrelated – writing, and then pursue a parallel freelancing career while studying. I also had to quit many exams secretly to follow this path.
I took the latter route. I never regretted it.
While most of my friends enjoyed public appreciation on their graduation and a risk-free IT career through placement, I was walked through a dark tunnel (not knowing where it would lead) with a heavy education debt on my head. Instinctively I knew this was what I should do, but not many people trusted my decisions.
I let behind my college life during the final year and pursued my own interests.
Today, As I look back at my decisions, I notice how in the heat of the battle, the critical decisions I have taken has changed my life. The path was indeed rewarding – Discovering our talents through experimentation, following our passion and developing the skills we love to develop instead of mindlessly gulping down books after books.
This experimentation with education is what I love to share through these blogs. In the next blog of this series, I’ll be writing about the demons I faced while walking in this dark tunnel and the magic spells that would banish them. Stay tuned.
[To be continued… ]
Best,
><(((º>
A Lonely Fish BLog 
Wow it’s great to do what you love to do
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