10 things to keep in mind during undergraduate college days.

DISCLAIMER: This post is solely my thoughts and views. No one is forced to agree to any of the pointers. Friendly and constructive discussions are welcome.

I am assuming the audience for this post are newly joined undergraduates or students hoping to join college soon.This post is dedicated to juniors who seek my advice on college life and how to go about it.

1. Develop a lifestyle.Try to be organized. Set small goals and targets. Not just for academics but for your overall day-to-day activities. Involve yourself in any outdoor activities. Be it sports or volunteering. 

                               

2. In your first year explore all that the university has to offer you. Don't restrict your inner self. Let yourself loose. Streamline yourself in the following years. Its better to try than to feel guilty later on.

3. Dont expect the professors and university to provide you with all the learning you need. Ask for it. If you can't get the resources in campus, try online resources. MOOCs such as edx, coursera, udacity are great platforms. Give it a shot. During vacations, take up interesting projects and internships. Internships provide you with practical learning, which you will not be able to get in the university. Internships and projects look good in your CV too. 

4. Articulate your thoughts. Learn to write. Blog or keep a personal diary. Or just a folder with stick-it notes to yourself. It will be a great gift to your 40 year old self.

5. Do what you love. Participate in events, because you enjoy it. Not because its going to look good in your resume. 

6. Make good friends. The kind of ones that would skip a party to volunteer as audience for your boring presentation. These are the guys who will remain in your life even after graduation.

7. Take all your courses seriously. Work hard on projects and lab assignments, however silly they may seem. Trust me, this is where most of your learning comes from. Well, a good CGPA as a by-product doesn't hurt either.

8. Before consulting your class 'geek' for help, try to play around with the problem you face. Break stuff. And fix them.

9. Research the subject electives before you choose them. Do not blindly follow the herd. There are times when learning something you love is better than acing an easy class, that didn't really teach you much. I would thumbs up a B grade where you learnt your way through the problem than a A+ wherein you did not put any effort in.

10. Write letters to your family. It means alot to them. Talking on phone once in a day or week is good. But, the  feeling of receiving a well-written letter from kids is a different experience (which all parents deserve). Write to them about your new interests, your learnings, your friends. They will love it.

For more practical advice, I would recommend you to read  Penelope's advice to new college graduates. She speaks about very important pointers to be Job Ready as soon as you complete your degree course. I would love to hear from you guys and help you with your decisions, if you do need help. Please donot hesitate to write to me. Take care. 

My weekend trip to Manipal

NOTE: This post is not a travelogue. The travelogue is coming up soon in my next post. :)

Midway through my internship at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, I got an opportunity to visit my alma-mater, MIT Manipal. It was a weekend I was eagerly waiting for since I had left college on 25th December, 2015. 

Manipal, is a small university town, bubbling with enthusiasm and filled with youthful energy. It is about 8 hours drive on roads from Bangalore. Manipal, is a place quite dear to my heart and the experience she has given me so far, is beyond what I can articulate. 

The purpose for the trip was my mid-term evaluation of the final semester internship. Though, i hardly spent an hour on it. The weekend was one of my last visits to manipal, and I had planned on making the best of the three days I would be spending there.

My to-do list for the weekend, looked something like this.

1. Meet all my dear friends who where visiting college too.
2. Go out with my girls for one last time.
3. Have breakfast at our usual place.
4. Visit Manipal Lake and the Kapu Beach Light house.
5. Speak to professors and thank them for all their help and kindness.
6. Talk to hostel wardens and Akkas and big them farewell
7. Spend time with friends and have a good old chat.
8. Meet juniors and try to inspire them and to help them with their queries, and well check-up on them :P
9. Go on a run-away trip to GOA or Gokarna. Something of the Zindagi milegi na dobara types.
10. Go for one last party and dance away. 

What I ended up doing was this.

1. Met my good old friends.
2. Had a surprise birthday party with my girls and dinner at a descent restaurant. All of us decked up for the occasion.
3. Had breakfast and dinner cooked by my dear friend.
4. Did not visit the lake or the lighthouse. But, spent an entire day at Delta beach.
5. Spoke to a few professors and had a friendly chat about the world out there. 
6. Met hostel akkas. Not all of them. The Akka's were new now.
7. Spent quality time with a few besties and had girl chats.
8. Met juniors. Not sure about the inspiration part.
9. Did not go on a run-away trip. We decided to laze at my friends apartment instead.
10. Couldn't attend a party and dance. But, had a gala time at the apartment after and before my so called 'surprise' bday cake, which i was very much aware of. :D

The major highlight of the trip was I had FUN. Though  I had a few emotional times, the trip was essential in a way that it helped me realize how much I had grown in the last three months. I realized the important roles my friends and lecturers had played in my life. It was a throwback to all those wonderful undergraduate days. 

And for the record, my presentation went well. Received good reviews and appreciation from my internal Professor and the panel. The 'Magic Wand' worked this time too, as my friend describes it as.