Disclaimer: This blog is not an original entry but as the author has said one should have enough humility to accept good work by others. So here is what the Admission Officer of MIT (Masecheussets Institute of Technology) wrote to the batch of 2010. Without bullshitting anymore have a go. I am sure almost everyone reading this can relate to this.
P.S. My views as usual in the brackets succeeding the stars. The views have been formed in just the four months in a hostel. And it does relate big time.
Things you should do in college!
Dear Class of 2010,
This will be my last entry written specifically for you; beginning with the launch of our new site in early September, I'll begin focusing on the future class of 2011. I hope that you guys won't be strangers; stay in touch either in person (come visit us!) or online (please drop by the blogs from time to time and say hi).
As you begin your college experience, and I prepare for my 10-year college reunion, I thought I'd leave you with the things that, in retrospect, I think are important as you navigate the next four years. I hope that some of them are helpful.
Here it goes...
- Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them. (*4 years!! I can see changes in them in 4 months. Infact I can see changes in myself)
- Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
(*Something that one doesnt do very easily. There are loads of people who havent called me. Not that I have acted otherwise.) - In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever - just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they'll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.
(* This is something that I cant comment upon, but I will anyway. I think songs like these will remind of "stuff" that we do)
Akon - Takin it off, when people are on a high.
Imran Khan - Bewafaa, when the mood is not good
K.K. - Yaaron Dosti, when its all emotional and senti) - Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.
(* Something that I can only dream of since on weekdays I am in college at these times and on weekends I sleep till 2pm, so this doesnt make sense. What I would advice is just plain sleep and then wake up look around and sleep again. Keep repeating the process till you are done for the week. Now you can work.) - Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you're nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.
(* What the hell does one do when he works the best in the day time? Work in college? Not possible dude, especially when you have stupid people showing off their no-knowledge and calling themselves proffessors) - If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don't let people tell you that you "should be more organized" or that you "should plan better." Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure - so I always procrastinated... and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). ;-) Use the freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experiment and see what works best for you.
(* Yeah works wonders. I will boast now, I score among the good marks in the class without doing anything till an hour or two past mid-night. This includes EVERYTHING, from a one page article review to 40 page moot memo/project) - At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn't do so well on the final, but I haven't thought about psych since 1993. I've thought about the experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son's godfather) at least once a month ever since.
(* Surely there would be more to come in the next 4 and half years of my hostel life but as of now I remember playing NFS on LAN til 7 in the morning with the closest friends of mine and the next day we had an exam that held real weightage) - Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they can learn from you too - in fact, that's part of the reason they chose to be professors.
(* Bloody professors are professors because they absolutely had no idea what they studied in years. Tip: Dont be friends with them. Just let them feel you are friends with them.) - Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn't count.)
(* Naah, why ever be lonely when you can have friends like the ones I have in the hostel. These include every person who has been mentioned in the blog earlier) - Go on dates. Don't feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.
(* Yeah, obviously.. You can go on a date with a friend. That does have a pure feeling. And double and triple dates are more fun. :P
Actually what this means is there are loads of restaurants which offer couples a special offer so go as two people and then act..
Arre Ramesh.. Arre Suresh
:P) - Don't date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.
(* Trust me there will be loads of them, and I really dont wanna get into this) - When your friends' parents visit, include them. You'll get free food, etc., and you'll help them to feel like they're cool, hangin' with the hip college kids.
(* Totally agree with the food part. Feeling cool is restricted to a very few parents. Most will just find you annoying) - In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.
(* Too boring for me. I mean thats so old school. I mean what is the difference in a hand written letter and an email? the only difference is you can do it quick. Wasnt it centuries back when they said "time is money"? How Hippocritic is this?) - Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be asking yourself, "what can I learn from this person?" More of your education will come from this than from any classroom.
(* I would suggest keep thinking what they can learn from me. Atleast that way you wont get a complex and you will also learn what part of your characteristic you sholdhighlight to be cool." - All-nighters are entirely overrated.
(* Shit I thought it wasnt. And the fact that I pull it almost everyday is cool. Well actually I pull all nighters but my days make up cuz I am asleep most of the times during the day). - For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with your college experience. If you don't want to date anyone else, that's totally fine! What's not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of defining experiences because you're on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.
(* Woohoo.. As if the ones who need confidence would get confidence out of this. People who believe it will work cuz its a ond that strong, will mak it work. For those who are confused enough to not believe in the strength of it. Trust me it wont work) - Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over email. (IM does not count as "in person.") Often someone's facial expressions will tell you more than his/her words.
(* Aha I see, he asks me to not trust my friends. Yeah meeting them is fine but not to check out if they are lying or if they are truthful. Cuz if they are friends then they wont be lying, atleast not unless its good for you.) - Take risks.
(* This might be misinterpretated to wrong kind of risks. Bad advice) - Don't be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed bathrooms. The thrill is over in about 2 seconds.
(* Is he out of his mind???????
Not that we have it here in India, but still 2 seconds??) - Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)
(* True, though week days dont mean work. Still saturday is something to look forward to. And its much stronger than it used to be during school days) - Welcome failure into your lives. It's how we grow. What matters is not that you failed, but that you recovered.
(* As if there is someone who hasnt heard this before in his life) - Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s), purely for the fun of it.
(* Thank you, thats an awesome idea. Really should be tried. But not once you are new to the college no more. You might jus get into a hell lot of trouble.) - It's important to think about the future, but it's more important to be present in the now. You won't get the most out of college if you think of it as a stepping stone.
(* This is again an old ghisa pita dialogue so i reserve my comments) - When you're living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much a waste of your time and a waste of your parents' money. If you're going to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a "valuable social experience."
(* Would agree to anything thats got to do with friends.) - Don't be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don't take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don't let it define your college experience.
(* Yeah whatever. Isnt this sounding like a cool parent. Cool but a parent?) - Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.
(* Being a voracious reader, I have to agree with this and its a good idea, that I am gonna folllow. Because finding time to read books is not realistic for people like me. And if it is for you then please get a life :P.) - Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment and skip to the good part.
(* Good advice. Follow it if you get what it means. It took me time) - Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.
(* Yeah like the experience of getting caught by a teacher while mocking him/her. It does make you feel that you are now a different person in your eyes and tha only hard work can save your ass.) - No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded. You're going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can't imagine, across all fronts. You can't learn if you're closed off.
(* General advice that I think holds good everywhere and something that I hope is certainly not required to be told to our generation) - If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it's work doesn't mean it has to suck.
(* True, how guys wish they could be the watchmen in the girls hostel...) - Don't always lead. It's good to follow sometimes.
(* Its actually just good to follow people very closely. Coming second is quite good. And all you need to do is follow well. But you would rather not blame me for this stupid advice, if it fails you. Because following is a talent given to a few. - Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I didn't take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive space, so you have no excuse.
(* I believe in the idea of looking back at my life when I am old and I love photography, so I have been doing this already. For those who arent doing this please start doing it right away.) - Your health and safety are more important than anything.
(* Boriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg............) - Ask for help. Often.
(* Strange guy. Sounds cool at times and strange at the very next moment. Asking for help should be whenever required. What does often mean? Keep a time frame of when you last asked someone for help and keep up the frequency?) - Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.
(* A "whatever" piece of advice. Keep it if you want to.) - In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now, so secretly revel in how hot you are before it's too late.
(* Goes out to the girls. Guys dont think about how hot they are. If you are a guy and at the moment ridiculing what I just said, then you are GAY) - In the long run, where you go to college doesn't matter as much as what you do with the opportunities you're given there. The MIT name on your resume won't mean much if that's the only thing on your resume. As a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique opportunities that no one else will ever have - don't waste them.
(* Goes to everyone in a college. College is a good platform. Do whatever you want to do with it. Listen to his advice if you want to make a bright future for yourself. And I am serious this time.
Okay I am not. Do whatever you want to. Its your life) - On the flip side, don't try to do everything. Balance = well-being.
(* Ah I see back to being cool or uncool or whatever he is trying to make of his image) - Make perspective a priority. If you're too close to something to have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.
(* This doesnt work when a hot girl/guy is giving you "THE" looks and you ask your friends about it. Trust me you wont get the go ahead signals. Beacuse personal interests are always there. :P) - Eat badly sometimes. It's the last time in your life when you can do this without feeling guilty about it.
(* What he means is: Wherever you are, the mess food would be bad enough. Go for a change, eat good food outside.) - Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It builds character.
(* Excludes those who are already asses. They clearly show it off without having to try. - Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.
(* I solemnly swear I will try this out. On second thoughts, maybe not.) - If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually know better than you do.
(* Two possibilities. 1: The person is a crush of almost all of your friends. 2: She is a demanding "girl". {Just kidding. No sexist comments}) - Don't be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.
(* Pizza of any kind is fine by me. Does one even think about the toppping before eating a pizza? Not unless one is a vegetarian like me. But then I can eat any veg pizza with a lot of cheese.) - Explore the campus thoroughly. Don't get caught.
(* If you get caught, then keep shortcuts in your mind to escape quickly) - Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you're no longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.
(* Too good to be true. Frankly speaking no subject can be interesting forever. Ask the subject professors. The idea that they would teach a subject because they loved it is ancient history to them. They have had enough of it.) - Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.
(* Certain that its not a local brand that the guy is using. They are permanent in no way. And as to what the guy was saying above, get as many tattoos done as possible. If you daont want them later just scratch them with new ink. Looks cool. I think) - Don't make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.
(* I will just advice you to follow it so as to not make it clear that I have no idea what prefrosh means.) - Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to describe how quickly they pass.
(* Very true. That is beacuse when times are good they pass real quick. And life here is lovely and it flies away. Only one thing I would want to change is something that is the dream of every hostelite.. No college just hostel) - This is the only time in your lives when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day.
(* Easy for you to say. I would do anything to not do whatever I have to do right now. Just like you dont want to do your work right now and instead go back to your college life. Caught in cross examination.)
All said and done, moral of the story is, live life, king size. College is the time when you are neither a kid nor an adult so you can practically do whatever you want to and apply the adult or young logic (whichever suits your case at that point of time) and get away with it all. So its your time to make it huge.
LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST.
BUCKCHOD
LOCK AND LOAD
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