Hi
I really feel obliged to warn every one of you that the point of view that I have put forth is extremely strong and many of you (in fact, possibly all of you) are likely to disagree with what I'm saying at some level. However, please respect the fact that this is a personal opinion and I am just taking the liberty to express it publicly. That is what Democracy is all about anyway, right?
The basic point I am making here is, that a Graduation degree and the education for the same, is a waste of time, at least the way it happens in Indian Universities. It is something that is forced upon students so that they can turn into money-making machines or at least produce enough cash at the end of the day to have a decent living. Students aren't pursuing Engineering because they're passionate about it. Most of the BMM crowds are hardly Media-savvy. There can be so many more examples. So Graduation is basically this compulsory little task tagged onto the backs of students because there is no other way.
Now the system is right in its own place for majority of people. But what I wish to put forth is, that if there are students who are well aware of their passion and know what they wish to dedicate their lives to, they should be allowed to nurture that one area, without having to succumb to the imposition of getting a degree. The reason I feel so strongly about this is because I will always maintain that the 3 years that I gave to BMM took away from me a lot of time that I could have wholly devoted to Music. Now that I have taken up Music full time and know the kind of possibilities that exist, I regret not having started this 3 years ago. 3 years is a long time and if it was Music and Singing that I always wanted to end up doing, fails me why I graduated in a Media based course.
Primarily, I did it to keep everyone at home happy. I come from a family of people with Post Graduate degrees and "12th Pass" would just seem horribly incomplete. The reason my family wanted me to graduate, though, is so that I could have a "back-up plan." Now here's the thing. With all due respect to that protective intention, when you are a 100% sure about taking one thing up, you shouldn't want a back-up plan. Midways should not be allowed in life, you know. A back-up plan is like abusing the Faith that I actually should have put into Music long ago. Whatever it is that makes your blood pump, whatever it is that makes you laugh and cry, deserves all your attention, all your effort and all your time; Undivided, and uncompromised.
So if you are clueless about what you wanna do in life, then sure, graduate in whatever you think would be the right course for you. But please don't do it because of other reasons like earning well later. That approach is so messed up. I mean, you start something with money on your mind, you've just chosen the wrong path. It only gets worse along the way. Do what you wish to do. If you give it all your determination, nothing would be able to stop you from achieving what you see yourself achieving. Human potential is immense and doesn't need the assurances and the securities of a degree in your hand.
In fact, why on earth aren't there more options to graduate? Why are there not enough good courses in the Arts? Music, Painting, Dancing... Most good colleges that train you in these faculties are abroad. Not enough options here in India, sadly.
Having said everything that I have though, I would like to say that my College years were amazing. I made some great friends, met a lot of lovely people, ended up learning a hell lot of new things just by deciding to go with the flow. But then I do realise that all this would have happened even if I had taken up full time Music all those years ago. On the other hand, I would have devoted all my resources to the one thing that matters the most to me and would have discovered and accomplished a lot more than I have today. But at the end of the day, there are no regrets. There never are. Like they say, never regret something that was exactly what you needed at one time. Well, I think I needed a "back-up plan" at one time.
Better late than never, though. I'm glad I'm not doing a desk job and I'm glad that the direction I've chosen has nothing to do with my BMM degree, which by the way, I'm still awaiting. It is a gamble, I know. I may not earn as well as some of my engineer friends 5 years down the line, but that's okay. For some of us, being content with what we're doing is far more important. The fact that I am finally where my heart is elates me beyond reason, beyond logic, beyond everything rational. It makes this really endearing warmth consume me; warmth that the security of a degree could never provide. So yes, if you do know what you want to do in life and are absolutely sure about it, give it a shot; a shot, devoid of compromises. Leap! Run! Dance! Celebrate! Life is more valuable than we make it look like. :)
Now the system is right in its own place for majority of people. But what I wish to put forth is, that if there are students who are well aware of their passion and know what they wish to dedicate their lives to, they should be allowed to nurture that one area, without having to succumb to the imposition of getting a degree. The reason I feel so strongly about this is because I will always maintain that the 3 years that I gave to BMM took away from me a lot of time that I could have wholly devoted to Music. Now that I have taken up Music full time and know the kind of possibilities that exist, I regret not having started this 3 years ago. 3 years is a long time and if it was Music and Singing that I always wanted to end up doing, fails me why I graduated in a Media based course.
Primarily, I did it to keep everyone at home happy. I come from a family of people with Post Graduate degrees and "12th Pass" would just seem horribly incomplete. The reason my family wanted me to graduate, though, is so that I could have a "back-up plan." Now here's the thing. With all due respect to that protective intention, when you are a 100% sure about taking one thing up, you shouldn't want a back-up plan. Midways should not be allowed in life, you know. A back-up plan is like abusing the Faith that I actually should have put into Music long ago. Whatever it is that makes your blood pump, whatever it is that makes you laugh and cry, deserves all your attention, all your effort and all your time; Undivided, and uncompromised.
So if you are clueless about what you wanna do in life, then sure, graduate in whatever you think would be the right course for you. But please don't do it because of other reasons like earning well later. That approach is so messed up. I mean, you start something with money on your mind, you've just chosen the wrong path. It only gets worse along the way. Do what you wish to do. If you give it all your determination, nothing would be able to stop you from achieving what you see yourself achieving. Human potential is immense and doesn't need the assurances and the securities of a degree in your hand.
In fact, why on earth aren't there more options to graduate? Why are there not enough good courses in the Arts? Music, Painting, Dancing... Most good colleges that train you in these faculties are abroad. Not enough options here in India, sadly.
Having said everything that I have though, I would like to say that my College years were amazing. I made some great friends, met a lot of lovely people, ended up learning a hell lot of new things just by deciding to go with the flow. But then I do realise that all this would have happened even if I had taken up full time Music all those years ago. On the other hand, I would have devoted all my resources to the one thing that matters the most to me and would have discovered and accomplished a lot more than I have today. But at the end of the day, there are no regrets. There never are. Like they say, never regret something that was exactly what you needed at one time. Well, I think I needed a "back-up plan" at one time.
Better late than never, though. I'm glad I'm not doing a desk job and I'm glad that the direction I've chosen has nothing to do with my BMM degree, which by the way, I'm still awaiting. It is a gamble, I know. I may not earn as well as some of my engineer friends 5 years down the line, but that's okay. For some of us, being content with what we're doing is far more important. The fact that I am finally where my heart is elates me beyond reason, beyond logic, beyond everything rational. It makes this really endearing warmth consume me; warmth that the security of a degree could never provide. So yes, if you do know what you want to do in life and are absolutely sure about it, give it a shot; a shot, devoid of compromises. Leap! Run! Dance! Celebrate! Life is more valuable than we make it look like. :)
