Advice, hindsight, and a little honesty for the ones just starting out.
We asked 100 people for life-changing advice for the freshies.
No, we didn’t.
But we did ask people from our department (both current students and alumni) for what we hope is useful advice. As members of the editorial desk, reading through what our friends wrote made us laugh, cry and quietly muse all at the same time. What we have curated below is not advice on what to do while you are in insti, but our two cents on how you can navigate it.
Carve your Own Path, Find your Own Niche:
Our department is a hub of interdisciplinarity in the humanities. It offers a variety of courses, which makes it tempting to try a little bit of everything out. Lest you lose yourselves in the world of academia, make sure to chart out and navigate your own path of interests. Surely, there is a course or branch of study that interests you more than others. Immerse yourselves in it, do additional courses (and electives of course) in the discipline you love, look for research or internship opportunities in it.
But while you are on this journey, our friends also caution that you chart your own course, and define your own pace. Your classmates may have different aims, different achievements and might appear to be closer to achieving their goals than you are. But constantly comparing yourself with them will not get you closer to your own goal, focusing on the path you’ve charted out however will. IITM is a place for solo levelling; do what you want confidently and carefully.
“If you ever feel overwhelmed by the rush around you, remind yourself that you don’t have to run someone else’s race. Take it at your own pace, protect your peace, and remember that your worth is not defined by a CV or grades.”
Explore the Fun at Insti Beyond Academics:
Insti has a very interesting social ecosystem. As HS students, the way our academics are structured is very different from other techies’ academic lives. But that isn’t necessarily the case with our social lives. Positions of Responsibilities (PORs) are open to all members of insti. If you so choose, you will have the chance to work with the organizing teams across clubs and cells (like Sangam, IAR Council, E-Cell, etc). You will get a chance to work with students across insti, and maybe even end up finding your best friends!
In fact, our friends have some specific suggestions about how you can explore:
“Go out of your way to say hi to people around you, take a seat at movie screenings at OAT, write poetry whenever possible…….”
“Bunk some classes, ask that cute gal/guy that you have had your eyes on for a while now for a cup of coffee at CCD (or at Usha, if you’re broke), and make a mental note of skipping dinner at least thrice a week to go out with your friends and have food at Zaitoon or Bihari Dhaba or Sangeetha.”
“The catalog of physical copies (at the IITM library) has a lot of hidden gems. Explore. Be a proper human being and explore, have experiences good and bad. You will grow up, and that’s sometimes just enough.”
Let Ambition Guide, Not Blind You
Getting into insti, immersing ourselves in what our department offers, and moving on into the real world is often prominently fuelled by one thing: ambition. Both our friends (and seniors who have graduated) talk about ambition as something to be handled with balance. On the one hand, if ambition does not dominate you, you should not be blind to the network of opportunities insti offers. PORs, internships, additional courses, guest lectures, clubs, communities, events, competitions, and many more are what keeps insti buzzing. There’s a lot in insti to fuel that ambition even more.
But you should also remember not to let such ambition and pride shield you from other opportunities. Some may not seem great (or fit for an IITian) at the beginning, but it might blossom into something bigger that you never saw coming. In fact, one of our friends says
“Stay humble. I’ve seen plenty of talented people miss out on opportunities just because they came off as arrogant or entitled. Contact your HSS seniors who have graduated, ask them about off-campus opportunities, about potential PhD prospects- their insights would help you to find moments of solace during this process called ‘finding a decent job’.”
Break the Norm, Find Yourself
We started this off with a form, asking members of the department about things they had wished they were told as freshies. What was given to us as musings, rants and experiences, we’ve condensed it into words of advice. We feel it would only be right, that we leave you with words of wisdom from our end as well.
Don’t despair that everything is too uncertain and that people around you can’t understand your decisions. Insti is all about being unique (in fact you are here because you are unique). Deviating from the norm is meant to be the norm here. Yes, you have to carve your own path, but don’t lose yourself to exceeding expectations and unrealistic standards. Appreciate what you have and what you create for yourself here. Don’t yearn for something to the point of despair, because you might just find that you’ve always had something even more special with you all along. What you have is beautiful in its own way, and it will only grow as such.
Edited by Samhita Y
Design by Neenu Elza
Article 19 