"Oh wow beta, 96% in class 10th, ab engineer ya doctor?"
Even though the words might differ, the mindset of the society is the same when you top in class 10, the mindset, according to which if you have been a topper in school, then you are made to become either an engineer or a doctor!
And, thus, the child, without a single thought on 'What's my real passion?' , 'What do I really want to do with my life?', gets into this rat-race where thousands and lakhs of students are running, day and night, with a dream to get into IITs and AIIMS!
What is commendable about this phenomenon is that,students, from a very young age, become so determined that they don't think once to get in a 'dummy school', while their friends may be enjoying the school life for two more years. The next-level determined students decide to cut out not only on school life, but on EVERYTHING except books, and end up landing in Kota, the mecca of aspirants. It's crazy that these aspirants learn to handle pressure from a really young age, and dosen't matter they clear the exam or not, they are a prepared to face even bigger pressures in life.
What is bothering about it?
The perception that:
Either an IITian or a loser
It happens at times, when you start solving but get stuck somewhere, and then it comes to you that "IITian pen solve karne ke liye nahi, solution likhne ke liye uthate hai"(Kota Factory), and there erupts a feeling of worthlessness, that 'I'm not capable enough'. Thinking about the grandeur of the top institutions and the fear of being mocked if failed, one tends to believe that life is useless if you don't clear.
"Bacche do saal me kota se nikal jaate hai par Kota saalo-saal tak baccho se nahi nikalta"
~Jeetu Bhaiya
IIT definitely gives you a good start to your career, but remember, Sundar Pichai is an IITian, while Satya Nadella, a man handling a billion dollar company, is NOT. Many could not clear the exam, including Kalpana Chawla and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, and there are stories of those who even dropped out of IITs to pursue their calling, including, the business tycoon, Mukesh Ambani and the founder of Infosys, Narayan Murthy. If IIT would have been EVERYTHING, why are such people living a life every one is in awe of!? The shark-tank judges, the Cool Aman Gupta, Peyush Bansal and Namita Thapar too do not have 'expertise' as IITians, and still have their net-worth in crores!
So, after you complete your 10th, just sit down alone and think, Do you really want to take the engineering or doctor path or are there other skills, passions or dreams that you want to fulfill?
If the answer is no, you gotta learn so much in the next two years, just be sincere to your aim.
If the answer is yes, and you believe in two things:
- I can turn my passion into a career.
- Yourself. Then, go ahead because, as Robert Frost said in 'The Road Not Taken',
I shall be telling this with a sigh,
Somewhere ages and ages hence,
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
As the JEE results just came out, Congratulations if you've made it! And if you did not, congratulation! You have the entire world to explore! Your destiny is not confined to a mere result, it is decided by the fire within you, keep that burning! Hope and grind. IITs do not make great people, grit does! Just keep burning, the world will light with the fire within you!
Authored by: Deepti Jain