Purpose

My “why” is to live a fulfilling life where I get to explore the different possibilities / opportunities (often unconventional) that come my way; without feeling constrained by a set plan. I am someone who gets excited even by the mere prospect of change. And, my go-to quote is: “Whatever we are not changing, we are choosing!” (A line I live by.)

Disclaimer: Please don’t mistake this for being adventurous or living on the edge. Rather, my purpose translates to:

● Keeping an open mind to taking risks (thereby, minimizing long-term regrets)

● Being willing to take the road less traveled (not succumbing to fear of the unknown)

● Putting consistent effort & energy into improving various aspects of life (& work)

● Inspiring others to embrace change & be creative (by way of example)

● Seeking new pursuits or networks that can inspire me (& lend me different perspectives)

Values

My top 3 non-negotiable values are: Integrity, Humility & Empathy. I cannot imagine myself without each of these.

Integrity — The definition of integrity I identify most with is what I came across in a book, Dare to Lead: “Choosing courage over comfort; choosing what’s right over what’s fun, fast, or easy; and practicing your values, not just professing them.” What is right/wrong is subjective. However, most often, the decision is between “what is easy” and “what is right”. There’s no way I can escape my conscience if I do not choose what is “right”. It will haunt me for days (sometimes weeks and even months). Additionally, I am a strong believer of leading by example. I wouldn’t preach something I cannot practice myself.

Humility — There are times when I occasionally take pride in some of my achievements; however, that is merely to feel grateful for all the hurdles I have overcome. My default nature is one where I acknowledge how small we are in the grand scheme of things. Being humble keeps me grounded, helps me in handling stress, respecting the opinions of others, being open to feedback and knowing we can make mistakes and that we also have the gift of forgiveness.

Empathy — There’s nothing that frustrates me more than seeing someone react to a situation with an acute lack of empathy. Empathy is what makes us human. Without the ability to understand what another person is feeling or going through, we cannot sustain lasting relationships. As social beings, it is very important to develop empathy (and I have been a huge advocate for empathy even before it had become a buzz word).

Behavior Principles

I often describe myself as Curious, Creative & Compassionate.

Being curious makes one question things. Asking “why” has almost always helped me find meaning in the things we do. It helps me stay true to myself, rather than merely following a pattern/norm without knowing/understanding the underlying motivations. Add a bit of courage to curiosity and we can have remarkable results (such as challenging the status quo & coming up with an innovative idea).

Without creativity, life seems like a black and white movie (to me). Creativity is what adds color to life. It urges one to think about new ways to do an otherwise mundane/ordinary task. Also, creativity is what leads to innovation (I like to believe so)! And, creating value (be it incremental or radical) follows challenging the status quo.

But, what is the point of life without kindness? Creativity and curiosity won’t lead to anything worthwhile if we are not able to put it to help improve people’s lives. From understanding sympathy, to developing empathy, to eventually realizing why acting on it matters, I have evolved a lot over the last few years to the point where empathy leads to a desire to take action when seeing someone suffering / struggling.

Brand Promise: Curious, creative and compassionate with an instinct for innovation and an inherent urge to embrace change, challenge status quo and improve things for the better; thereby inspire people to do the same by way of example.

Brand Shapers

It would be difficult to come up with a list of all things that have influenced my personal leadership brand. However, my prominent brand shapers are:

Parents: My mother has played a huge role in helping me identify my non-negotiable values of integrity, humility and compassion. Being a teacher, she has always emphasized the importance of choosing right (over what’s easy). She has instilled in me a sense of humility & compassion; each time (in my younger days) when I have expressed dissatisfaction with whatever I had, she painted a picture of what real hardship & struggle would look like, helping me feel grateful for the privileges I have enjoyed (and continue to enjoy). My father has been a risk taker himself and has taught me how to remain optimistic even in the face of major let-downs. I have him to credit for my risk-taking nature and the urge to explore new avenues.

Teachers: It was the teachers at my school who saw some kind of potential in me and helped mold my leadership skills. My earliest leadership role(s) dates back to being the House Vice-Captain and then the Captain (in 9th & 10th grades). I am not sure what my they saw in me, but if it were not for them, I would have never appreciated great leadership (that early on). Right from the early school days, they helped me understand how being a leader can help bring positive change. Hence, when I went to college, unlike most engineering students who focused only on the technical learning, I went on to engage with organizations like IEEE, trying to do more than what was required by the curriculum.

IEEE Computer Society: It was during my first year of undergrad that I became a member of IEEE. In my second year, I met some amazing student leaders at the Computer Society Student Chapter at my University. Despite being from another department, they were very welcoming and gave me opportunities to volunteer with IEEE CS. I started off as a graphic design volunteer, attended conferences & leadership summits, won scholarships, took on leadership roles at various levels, the latest being chairing the Global Student & Young Professional Committee and serving on the IEEE Computer Society’s MGA Board. My biggest takeaway volunteering with the IEEE CS has been the opportunity to get experience with leadership, interacting with experienced technology leaders from diverse perspectives, and to grow as a person because of it! I also got introduced to the concept of servant leadership by my favorite IEEE CS President (Dr.Forrest Shull), whom I had the opportunity to interview twice during 2021. Each interview in itself had been a great learning opportunity as I could get candid answers to all the questions [Published Interview 1, Interview 2]. He is by far the best leader I have seen within IEEE; someone I look up to and would love to take leadership lessons from. He has the magic to get people passionate about a cause, instill in them a deep sense of ownership, sincerity and commitment towards the unified goal.

Living my Brand Promise

Given my Personal Leadership Brand is majorly themed around curiosity, creativity and exploring (unconventional) possibilities, I have:

1) Taken calculated risks such as job hopping (from a core instrumentation engineer role within industrial automation industry to travel — leisure — hospitality industry, that too at the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic).

2) Pursued leadership opportunities within IEEE Computer Society (a technical society that caters to computing professionals, despite being from an Electronics & Instrumentation background).

3) Explored (still exploring) various I&E courses outside of Pratt School (as that’s a new found area of interest for me); also providing support and advice to students with similar interests.

My PLB is still evolving, and I am looking forward to trying new things, jumping into areas that interest me, hoping I would be able to add value, create impact, inspire & be inspired.

What’s really important for me right now, would be making sure that I am pushing myself to do good work and being able to take advantage of where I am, learning from peers.

I would also like to look into ways to amplify the things I currently advocate for (Example: Enhancing customer experience). I am sure that EGRMGMT 540 would help me master leadership & management skills, while staying rooted in my values. I would also like to apply the methodologies taught in class within another team I would be leading this semester (i.e. the MEM IDEA — Innovation Design Entrepreneurship Applications Club), not only to help solidify the concepts we learn but also to create a positive & enriching environment for the cabinet members of the club, where they feel heard, supported, encouraged and empowered.

The days stretched into weeks, weeks into months and gradually a year had gone by. I had completed one year of living in Mumbai — the City of Dreams!

Moving to this city was some kind of a dream come true for me — though I wouldn’t say it had been a serious dream (that I was pursuing). It was just like the instant attraction you experience for a “wow” character from a web series! You know they don’t belong with you; you completely understand that you are never going to meet someone like that in real life. But, alas! Thanks to fate, that person presents right in front of you! And your world just gets better, because, in your mind you have already gotten into a fling!

Yes, it came at a cost! Anything exciting does!

For me, saying “yes” to Mumbai meant saying “no” to pursuing a serious dream — a career possibility I was passionate about (two years ago)! It also meant a risk-free & safe career option that was backed by all my well wishers. Though it would have been a better idea to give it some more time & deeper introspection, I saw myself nodding a “yes” that completely resonated with everyone who thought it would be the “best” thing for me!

Back then, I saw only two options, “yes” or “no”. But, today, I know, we don’t have to choose between “Black” and “White”, when there can be infinite variations of grey! Only I was kind of reluctant to pursue the less conventional options that meant more research, creativity & hard work. Yes, I took what looked like the “easier” of the options. (Note : It felt like the most rational thing to do!)

(Let me not forget to thank everyone who had a say in getting me to make this crucial career decision — the decision of taking up a core engineer role in a “dream” company!)

From “I am not cut out for this role” to “it’s too early to quit” to “no harm in trying” to “I am starting to adjust” to “it’s not as bad as I thought” to “it’s manageable” to “it can even be interesting” — I saw myself going through different phases!

From hating certain things to hating to like the very same things, the first year of corporate life saw me adapt a lot!

Like most of the graduates entering the 9–5 job routine, my life too took the monotonous route. Pairing up a “dull” week at office (doing what it took to pull through the working hours), with an “amazing” weekend exploring the City (I had grown very fond of), became the equation that helped maintain the equilibrium!

And yes, it was no longer a fling! My affliction towards Mumbai had grown into a serious full fledged “bonding” by then! The very thing that kept me going!

To be continued….

Disclaimer : I am writing this blog, not because I think this can be helpful; but, to conform to a “silly” decision I made while going through a very “tricky” (to say the least)HR round of an interview!

— -

The telephonic interview kickstarted with the 2 HRs introducing themselves. And the typical question followed.

Describe yourself.

Pretty much easy there: I am Megha Ben. Currently doing my final year B.Tech in Applied Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering at College of Engineering Trivandrum, Kerala.

I have been an active volunteer of the IEEE for the last 3 years. And I am currently serving as the Regional Student Ambassador for IEEE Computer Society at Region 10 — Asia Pacific. I have a keen interest in graphic design. I am an ambivert who mostly goes around clicking pictures and I enjoy the most in my own company!

My answer would have gone like this^^

After couple of questions around Industry4.0 & LinkedIn, they gradually moved into the resume. Well, it’s quite a stupid thing to do to use the following resume while sitting for a core — instrumentation company:

But, I did take that risk. (To be honest, it was the same resume I used while applying for graphic designer roles. Yes, there were few edits. Still, it was never the kind of resume one should use while applying for a technical — engineering role.)

Risk #1 : Softwares : Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office (no mention of anything like Matlab or KiKad)

Risk#2 : Only 2 lines to describe the main and mini projects (which won’t even come around 7% of the whole single page resume space)

And as expected the HRs too got curious about the “Adobe Creative Suite” line. And I got the opportunity to express my love for graphic designing (Though they didn’t seem to believe me at the point that the resume too had been my own photoshop design :p)

Slowly we move to the “10+ Leadership roles” part and I start enlightening them on the largest technical society under IEEE — The IEEE Computer Society. (Yes, they seemed indifferent. Or rather, they didn’t seem interested in knowing more.)

They cut me short and throw me the question that mattered : Why CompanyX? I say the few “great” things I know about CompanyX. But, that does not make them happy. I am asked the specifics of products they launch and how they make life easier for people (specific to Kerala), which I am rather unaware of. I do try, putting together some answer. (the best part about the interview being that, I am sitting in front of my laptop and the call is audio alone. So I can Google :p) But, nothing ever seemed satisfactory to my HRs and I could clearly get the feeling that they were trying to keep it like that!

Things got even more messy when they started asking GK questions (least expected). But, somehow, I did manage to answer correctly. But, that too didn’t go well with the HRs. :| It only got them commenting : “We get a feeling that your answers are superficial. It lacks depth.”

After 15 minutes into the telephonic interview, a real dynamic question happened.

TrickyPhase#1

HR1: On a scale of 10, where do you rate your performance for today’s interview?

Me: I would give myself a 7 or a 6.

HR1(angry tone): How come? I wouldn’t even give you anything beyond 3/10! Tell me how you put yourself a 7 and I will tell you how you won’t get beyond a 3.

……that I believe was a massive attack to ruin my self esteem…..

Me: Would you like me to explain my reasoning first? Or would you like to go first?

……and asking a question always bought you more time to think….

HR1: Go ahead!

Me: I started off by taking out points from 10/10.

I cannot give a 10 because I myself am not fully satisfied with most of my answers.

I cannot give a 9 as you feel my answers are superficial.

I cannot give an 8 as I am taking a while to answer your questions.

And not a 7 because I made you feel I won’t get more than a 3! Hence, a 6!

Now, can you please tell me how you put those 3 points?

…..of course, I am good at asking questions. But the HR was even more good at getting away without answering! ….

TrickyPhase#2

HR2: We can see that you have been very good at handling leadership roles. But, this being an interview for a technical role, why haven’t you mentioned your projects? Don’t you think it’s necessary to mention your academic projects?

Me: I do have mentioned them. Towards the bottom end of the page….

HR2(interrupts me) : But, why have you given it such a less space. Why allocate so much space for the other things?

Me: Main and Mini projects are questions that are asked to any candidate. Even if I don’t mention it, I am sure it will be discussed at some point in the interview. But, unless I mention the “extra” things I have done that differentiates me from the rest of them, no one is going to ask me about those accomplishments. Hence, I thought I would structure my resume like this.

HR1: Still, this being a technical role, projects are expected to be “elaborate points” and should not have been limited to just 2 lines.

Me: Sure! I will take this as a learning. One page resumes seemed good to me. But, next time I design my resume, I will surely keep this in mind and add one more page so that I can give adequate space to elaborate about my academic projects!

TrickyQuestion#1

HR1 : You seem to have served in a lot of leadership roles. Can you tell us one instance where you were a “team player”? Not the leader, but a team player working under a leader? You may think for a while and then give an answer.

He gave me 2 minutes to think. I started to think of such an instance. I would rate the HRs at a 10! For, they seemed to fully analyze me and ask the tricky questions. Had they asked me a simple question like what I did during my role as the CSSR of Kerala or CS Chapter Secretary of CET, it would have been super easy for me. Instance as a “team player”, was difficult! It did get me thinking if I wasn’t a good team player. But, soon an IEEE instance from December 2015 helped. That sort of saved me! (at least got me to the next TrickyQuestion :p)

TrickyQuestion#2

HR2: You have handled roles at a national level and higher ups. Have you managed something at a classroom scale?

I could see they expected a resounding “No”, because they seemed to foster the notion that I was “born” into “Leadership Roles” that too, “Leadership Roles at national/higher levels”. But, I disappointed them with a “Yes”. In year one, I had been the Class Representative! #SmallAchievement

TrickyQuestion#3

HR1 : We can really see that you are pretty mature in your approach. But, we do get a feeling that, you might make others around you feel inferior! Like, I don’t think you will have any friends! Am I correct?

Seriously? What would have made the HRs think like that? These people are really good at their job. Are they right in their judgement?

Do I make people feel inferior? Am I an “insufferable know it all”?

Well, I will find these answers another day. For today, I decided to answer “them” and not “my own conscience”!

Me: No. I don’t think I make people feel inferior. On the contrary, there are many instances where people have expressed how much they liked working with me. So, I don’t think I make people around me feel inferior. When it comes to friends, I do have 4–5 of them. And I don’t believe in having “more”. The few ones, who are there, they are good. That’s all that matters.

Finally they seemed to give in a little bit. Or would it have been the ticking clock that helped them reach the final question!? It should be the time constraint! We had already crossed the 30 minutes.

HR1: Do you have any question for us?

….of course, I had many questions to shoot at them. And mostly people being interviewed ask things around the role being offered, the locations were postings happened, the kind of work that was involved. But, those questions never seemed any relevant to me. When they give you an opportunity to ask, you should ask them the questions that are least expected. But, that was not the reason I asked the following question -

Me: How are the CompanyX designs made? Who is the one who decides the color scheme and all?

….and that was the graphic designer in me being vocal. And for the first time, the HRs seemed clueless. They had not really got the question!

HR1: I really didn’t get you.

…and I repeat….

Me: I found the website really good! The shade of green and orange matches pretty well. I was asking who are the ones behind the website? Who decides the design of templates and other collaterals?

….and that question, I believe, made all the difference! Suddenly, I could see a total change of tone from the HR1. He seemed super energetic. But, this time, it wasn’t the #attack mode! From this point, things started looking #real!…

HR1 : So that’s where your interest lie! That’s what we were trying to understand for a while! I clearly don’t know who designed the website or who does the other designs. We are a global company headquartered in Germany, designs mostly happen from there. I am sorry, I cannot give you a clear answer. But, do you really think a core engineering role where you need to “get your hands dirty” suits you?

….and I realized I shouldn’t have given them a hint as to where my true interests lay. But, then, I needed to give a convincing answer. And I told them how I liked subjects that had to do with biomedical instrumentation/equipments. CompanyX also happens to be a leading manufacturer of biomedical equipments, in fact they have another wing totally dedicated for this…

Me: Yes! I have always had a liking for biomedical field. Every time we are given a choice between two electives, I have always selected the one aligned to Biomedical field. It’s something I find interesting and really like exploring!

…but the answer backfired…

HR1: But, we are not recruiting for our Healthcare wing. The role here is more aligned to industrial automation not biomedical equipments. Are you still interested?

….34 minutes into the call, I didn’t want everything to go in vain. Hence, I replied …

Me: I “still” am interested.

The call was nearing an end. HR1 seemed friendlier than ever. And he confessed, most of the questions being asked are framed in a way as to see how the person being interviewed reacts. And that they never really meant to be “rude”, but, it had to be kept the way it had been.

…but, all didn’t seem well….

HR1: We clearly got a feel that you are quite different from the others and you like keeping it that way. Don’t you?

Me: Not really. I like to learn things together but, I always strive to do a bit more than what others do/want to do. That’s what I do differently.

Mutual thanks are exchanged and the call gets disconnected!

A very “happening” telephonic interview had ended!

This is how Day 1 — Saturday looked like :

Krypto — The first event of IEEE Computer Society MACE Student Chapter!

To be frank, I would say it was a late invite. But, there are times when you often find yourself saying “yes” to certain things even when you know how much difficult a time-crunch situation it would put you in. This too had been one such instance.

Making it to this college on Saturday morning meant I would only get to sleep a little less than 3 hours (after landing in Kochi early morning around 1:40 am — reaching home around 3 am — waking up at 6am). It also meant that I would have to cancel attending a wedding that had been added to my weekend plan a couple of days before the invite had come.

After quite a bit of confusion over which one to pick, (as being present at both was quite impossible) I could suddenly see myself justifying my act of saying yes to MACE! (Hehe, deep inside, I am an IEEE CS volunteer first, anything else, afterwards. I do have a soft corner for anything that has got to do with IEEE Computer Society :p )

So, I said a “Yes” and picked the 10:00 am to 11:00 am slot. The topic was one of my regular ones, “Finding and Cracking Opportunities!” (hence, required very little — read “zero” preparation). I was to be picked up by couple of volunteers around 8:15 am near my home. They showed up on time (that was a wonderful start) and we embarked on the close to 70 mins + journey.

Mostly, it’s difficult to “maintain” an interesting conversation running all through the journey. But, somehow, we were able to accomplish that! After a small stop to grab some quick breakfast (which gave me ample opportunity to click photos for my insta story) we reached the venue pretty much on time!

The hospitality was spot on! (That’s the least I can say.) After being greeted by Mr.Deepak Antony, (the chair of the newly formed IEEE Computer Society Student Branch Chapter) and having a small chat with the Branch Counselor of IEEE SB MACE, I was served with another round of coffee and biscuits.

The first talk of the day was already ON and I could hear Ms.Aathira Marayil sharing her volunteering experience and perspective on “The Art of Volunteering”. I am sure it would have been truly insightful (sadly I couldn’t listen fully, as I was making few final edits in my own slide deck.)

Let me not go into the finer details of my session (as it would be so too much to capture on a Medium Blog :p ). In case if you are interested, you can have a look at the deck of slides in the following link : https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/MeghaBen/how-to-crack-scholarship-opportunities

I would say, the audience were appreciably good and quite interactive. I could feel my energy levels resonating with them!

With really witty questions being asked, I knew I had made the right decision by saying “yes” to this invite!

Post the session we gathered for taking a group snap with the volunteers who had put together the first event of IEEE CS MACE SBC.

After savoring another round of pastries, we set out to walk around and see the campus. Special thanks to the volunteers who took us around showing us every single “vibe-spot” within the campus! :)

Note : I have this not-so-wierd habit of clicking photos wherever I go, be it college, beach or office :p

Though I know Instagram would be a better platform to post the photos, I would like to tap my whole MACE day in this blog. Hence, here goes, few of my clicks :

Post a sumptuous lunch we set out on our return journey; this time we were a group of 5 (not just 3). After various rounds of interesting discussion on topics ranging from “The declining demand of Engineering in the state” to “Marriage — Life post marriage”, I was dropped back from the very same point I was picked.

Highlight: The photos of the event was shared even before each one of us reached home (Now, that’s rare :p )

How can I not mention the lovely momento! My favourite one till date :

(Just like we have a viewer’s verdict over a movie/ reader’s verdict over a book, let me introduce this new concept!)

The Speaker’s Verdict: Krypto was a neatly planned event. Seamless execution coupled with spot on hospitality is something I always admire. Given that this was the first event of IEEE CS MACE SBC, the chapter has a long way to go. And I am pretty positive that they would walk that extra mile!

The best part, I believe, was the post event followup. We do get “Thank you” mails. But, rarely do we get follow up mails asking how things could be improved. And I simply love sharing my ideas on running CS student chapters in the more effective ways! :)

Numbers don’t matter as much as how you handle the ones you have!

My advise to any IEEE CS Volunteer in a leadership role, (i.e. one who is in a position to impact how an IEEE CS Member perceives his/her membership) will run this way :

Every single week, try asking yourself the following question :

What did I or my team do this week to ensure that each of the “x” members find their CS membership valuable? What more can my team and I do to ensure that all the “x” members will continue their membership next year?

Thanking Mr.Alan Anto for connecting me to IEEE MACE CS SBC. Thanking Mr.Deepak Antony and his team for the invite and stellar hospitality! Kudos to IEEE CS MACE Team for pulling off the first event of the newly formed Chapter. I am immensely glad that I could make it to there on that Saturday!

Looking forward to seeing more initiatives coming up from the chapter! And always eager to help :p

In a fast paced world where people don’t even find time to enjoy a meal — savoring each bite - slowly (not worrying about finishing last), it’s quite difficult to find someone who can make time, reserve energy and put in consistent efforts towards immaterial things like : helping someone, knowing things in detail, completeing tasks with perfection and error free!

But, once in a while we do come across people like that! And they help you (at times, even when you are reluctant to ask for it.) They jump in every time they notice you are facing a problem (even when they could have easily ignored). They always look out to see if things are running smooth at your end (even if it has got nothing to do with them).

They try enlightening you in detail, — from scratch (even if it means spending precious time). They share important links/information with you (even when they could have easily kept it to themselves). They share with you tips on how to be more systematic (even though that would be like sharing their own trade secret)!

It’s rare! But, we do come across such people who are down to earth, modest, simple yet unique in the extend of sincerity that’s ingrained in them.

And it doesn’t take much time for you to reach that stage where you feel indebted to them for all the help they have rendered!

You know, there’s nothing you can do in return for them. All you can say is “Thank you”!

Actually, that’s where we get it wrong!

There’s something we can do beyond being grateful : We can always pay it forward!

And I will! Else, it will remain an unsettled debt!

After sloshing each character back and forth in my mind, a good 99.99% of all the characters I have ever analyzed emerged “inherently good”!

Recently, something made me rethink. And that’s probably what prompted me into writing this!

Assumption : You are working on a 9–5 job at a leading multinational. You are part of a 10 member team handling a specific focus area. You are not the boss. You are an individual contributor.

Now, let’s start by answering few questions!

Ever had a colleague at work whom you have never seen getting angry or frustrated? One who always maintained a smiling face and a positive air? One who never said “no” for an answer? One who always made time to clear your doubts?

May be, yes! (Cause, those were the beginner level questions. Let me increase the difficulty level in steps :p)

A colleague who never shyed away from complementing a good attire? One who initiated a conversation by bringing in a subject anyone could talk about? One who advised you to go home on time? One who gave you suggestions on what to buy when you were going home for the long holidays?

One who told you the positive side about things you considered quite challenging? One who told you how important networking @ workplace was? One who almost always shared only the good things about others? One who always took visible efforts to make any newcomer feel included? One who offered biscuits had you skipped your breakfast? One who ensured to check on everyone (in the team) while going for lunch?

The colleague who communicated plans even before it came over e-mail? The colleague who used to discuss cooking recipes/ embroidery works? (may be he/she thought you enjoyed discussing it :p) The colleague who encouraged you to learn the language that majority at the workplace spoke? The colleague who tried cracking jokes (even if it wasn’t very funny :P )?

Well, looks a bit too ideal to be real. Right? ;) You might be thinking : “No one can be as good as this”! May be you would like to tell me that even if you know such a colleague, it might be the kind of person who is “faking” it!

Because, people can only be “inherently” good. They can’t be “in real” good. At least, not on all aspects. There should be somewhere he/she is lagging behind. Correct?

I am definitely not “that person”. And I don’t think I can ever become “that person”. May be, one could give it a shot. It may take extraordinary patience, tremendous efforts and years of practice. But, it’s possible. For, I have seen that person. And I know one thing for sure, none of it was ever “fake”!

Because, over time, the “goodness” gets ingrained in your being! It develops into your very character!

Would it be easy to get to that level?

~May be not!

Would you like to have that person in your team?

~Definitely yes!

Would you be interested in being that person?

~Is it worth the effort?

I agree it’s pretty ironic. But, I would like to have that person back in our team! Cause, we already miss him!

Disclaimer : I don’t know if every other team within a corporate has a colleague similar in traits to the one I tried describing over the length and breadth of this piece of writing. In case if your team has got one, you can consider yourself immensely lucky (for he is rare to find). And in case if you are “that person”, let me dedicate this piece of writing to you!

To that person:

Thank you for always being approachable. Thank you for being the most friendly person in the team. Thank you for being inclusive. Thank you for all the numerous little things I may have (unknowningly / deliberately) missed out mentioning here!

And yes, thank you for being more of a friend and less of a colleague! :)

“Toil for 2 more years. Get into a decent college. Enjoy life afterwards.”

Yes, it was dad. Or was it mom? Or both? Well, they have said it. Not once, but often. And here you are with a preplanned mindset of how life post school ought to be. Yes, we have imagined college to be an abode of liberty, where one can let his imagination go wild……or so we have been made to think.

There I was. Happy and excited. Who wouldn’t be? Of the 1lakh plus students who write the Kerala entrance exam , only an elite few makes it to the top Govt. College in the state! Thanks to their parents’ prayers. They boast. They have the right to. Or shall we say, “only” they have the right to take credit for our achievements? And suddenly the whole family (whole family = extended family with all those uncles and aunties, whom you have never met) skips not even a single chance to glorify your feat. All are happy (expect of course the parents of kids who scored less in the entrance exam)- Dad is proud, mom is elated, grandparents are on cloud nine, younger ones are already hero worshipping you and what not! All of a sudden, you become the superstar of the family (until somebody else cracks your record :p). And you walk in, into this dome of freedom. Yes, you have entered this “No more mamma’s kid” phase. Oh, yeah, from now on , no one is going to tell you what to do or what not to……..you decide….you take the sole responsibility of your activities……(or so you think).

You make new friends, try developing on your skills and ultimately fail in putting up a “new” you. But trust me, two weeks into college, you are enjoying this thing: College Life!

At this juncture, if someone asks you: “Where the hell is the difference?”, you may not be able to say much. May be, one can say the “NO uniform” , “YES mobile phone” and “Attendance at the end of each hour” points. But if the question happens to be a 20 mark essay question; you are screwed. There isn’t much you can craft (at this point in college life).

Soon the “Know the Political History” game begins. You get to know it has begun when the SENIORS start organising various programs for the FRESHERS (and these come in 2s: if one happens on a Thursday, a better one will be in store for Friday). With that you may score a 5/20 for that essay question. But mind it, these very insignificant things will seem significant when the “election time” dawns :p

Then comes the Festival Season. This is the time when you get to meet the immediate seniors from your home department. They first appear to announce how they are planning something “HUGE” for the department, and how, we as “First Years” can help make it a “HIT” (or in our own CET-tongue, “KIDILAM” )! We pool in the resources, plan, replan and execute something entirely different. But, at the end of the day , one gets this #OutOfTheSchool — wala feeling. It might have happened for the first time. But you are glad that it happened. Yes, you call it EPIC! You shout it at all those people who had gone home a day prior to the celebrations. Now, if you are one of those gifted guys with the “answer drafting” skill, you are sure to manage a 15/20(provided the valuation is extra liberal).

But the best is yet to come. Let us keep that aside and talk about the academic life. To say the least, it is mostly side-lined. But, it is equally essential! After all, we are students and students are meant to study! And every class has got these few “bujis” who do everything picture perfect (even when the whole class is busy with nothingness). They are a real relief to all those “last minute assignment doers” (It’s a widely found species here). Thanks to the bujis : even the “permanently absent guy” gets to submit his assignment on time! But class tests are a different story altogether : Few come well prepared, some just brush up the portions, many not even read the notes but book their seats near a “padippi”(and scores more than him. How?We may never know! ). Some copy, some #IntegrityFreaks don’t. At the end of the tale, “Testpapers are conducted for the students, not for the teacher. It’s up to you to make it useful” — typical dialogue by the teacher(who sees a kid peep into another’s answer paper).

All the home assignments coupled with the record writing keeps every single soul busy! Record Writing: Its an art. It lets you free from other burdens like doing the daily portions. And the diagrams, one is even ready to hire a professional(mostly girls with better drawing skills) to draw those and in return they demand a “ Milkshake treat” which the poor lad is only happy to entertain :p And then comes the #MassBunk. Everyone plans it. No one executes it. But when the series test nears, people do manage it (or rather,there is no alternative). And once again, the “Pre-BoardExam” phase unfolds(in miniature). All the nearby Xerox shops surge with business. Thanks to the bujis once again, for their lecture notes go viral on WhatsApp. People approach them for combined study and all those last minute favors. All online activities remain FROZEN for a while. Alas, one wonders if the “24 HourOnline” folks have lost their phones. It is experimentally proven that “Last minute learning can do no good”, but engineering students are an exception! For us, only last minute learning works. (Lets not discuss the marks over here!!)

How the hell can one score 20/20 without mentioning the elections?! The vital difference between school and college is the College Election and more importantly the campaigning that happens prior to it. 2 days into campaigning, one gets damn bored of hearing the same old manifestoes. But they never do stop. Its as if they want us to write an essay on each candidate. By the day of election, each candidate is a homely figure! Eww, what a smile! We may know them better than their own parents (with the “sincere” video uploads from the opposite party enthusiasts)!And post elections, the results come, and a UNION is born!!*celebration time*. But the candidates who lost the election seem the happiest! Quite a lesson to learn from them.

Now, you have all the resources to craft a 20 mark essay. But ultimately, it’s the same old story :

“Toil for 4 more years. Earn a job. Enjoy life afterwards!”

Well, it’s a never ending loop. You are never going to enjoy life “afterwards”. So, its better to take one day at a time. Ambitions never end , expectations never die, disappointments are commonplace. One can never reach the destination and then enjoy life! For, life is what’s happening right now!

Misconceptions!

How can they still make you believe it’s where you reach that matters?

It’s the journey that matters; not the destination! Enjoy the journey, for you may never reach the so called #Destination. That way you wouldn’t regret this “all so spiced up yet boring” life!