Finally exams are over and the fall semester
came to an end...Sigh !!
I was missing my blog so badly, but really there
was no scope for me to find time for it. It was actually taxing. Overall, I had
sort of mixed feeling towards this whole study thing. It was stressful but
still I felt happy about doing all the hard work. This post dedicated to my
grad school. Oh btw, college is also called school here :)
I know I told in my last post, that I should
write about being in a grad school and at this time of year it seems so
obvious. My exams are over and I feel like sharing my experience as of now.
Before doing that, I want to say, thank you to Prof Stern, for all the support
and motivation. In case he is reading this, I want to tell him, he is the
coolest boss I ever had. Working with him is another experience, I would want
to tell. When he told me, he was following my blog.... I was so glad to hear
and nervous at the same time...lol. That’s another story. Gosh! sometimes I
have this mind flooded with talking points. I guess, I have become more
talkative in the recent past. And now that I realized, I am getting distracted,
so coming back to the point, which is the grad school. I will try my best, not
to bore people, but in case you are, I wont take the responsibility..haha.
Before deciding on going to school, many ideas
came to my mind, like why should I go for it, would I be able to do it, or
whether it would be worth it or not, whether I should work or study. Well, the
monstrous and monotonous questions, like what do I want to do in life, where do
I want to see myself 3-4 years down the line, etc. were in line too. My close
ones, used to ask me, why do u want to go for a grad school and I just knew one
thing. I wanted to go one step ahead in life and get more knowledge
and exposure to a totally new world.
Stepping into school after a 4-year leap was not
easy at first place but I gelled in just couple of days, without much effort.
Met a lot of nice and lovely people from my country and from other countries
too. Suddenly, I was so busy with homework, classes and work that I even forgot
that I was studying again after 4 years. It was fun in a different sort of way,
which I enjoyed. Sitting in a diverse class discussing Routing protocols felt
good. It wasn't boring at all. Doing group studies, discussing problems and
then working on them was exciting.
This school was very different from my undergrad
college. Even though its very flexible in terms of courses I can
choose, or what research area I want to work on or what major I want to
graduate in, there are few regulations that everyone has to take care of. One
of the important ones is that universities are against plagiarism and is
considered as a crime. For those, who are wondering what Plagiarism is-
it is the act of copying someone else's work. There are strong rules for it;
one can even be deported if caught for plagiarism. It’s fair and ethically
correct. In case, one wants to copy or rephrase, citation becomes
necessary. So has to be careful even while doing the homework !!
Initial two months passed by with just the
classes, homework, mid terms and work and then came the last one
month of this semester. I wasn't expecting it to be very relaxing but it
also didn't turn out to be calm either. It was a wearing month, all in for the
term projects and papers. While working late nights for many days, coffee was
the only companion. I am a tea person but the required caffeine to keep me wide
awake could only be harnessed from hot coffee. So yeah, 2am, 3am coffee breaks
were usual on all those days. Thinking of which, I remember the first day of
orientation, whenever I used to tell people working at the university, I
have classes to attend and few of them are very late in the evening after a gap
of around 7 hours, the very next thing I used to hear in an American accent was
'Oh you need a lot of caffeine for that' and I thought 'why so, I will be
fine'. America runs on coffee. I realized the importance of that sentence when
I used to be all drained out for a couple of classes in the evening, so
yes, you guessed right. I started taking cappuccinos, before those
classes. Sounds like a drug to me.. lol. Its a bad addiction or, in good words,
a medicine to keep your senses open. Well, I got over it as soon as the work
pressure was gone. So, good for me.
One interesting thing, I wanted to share, that
used to happen during my exam days. When I was bored of reading
research papers, I used to scribble some weirdo lines on papers and was
planning for what are the things I have to do after this semester is
over. Foresightedness, u know. Haha.. even I was amazed at those
thoughts. I was missing things I love to do in free time. I wanted to roam
around, cook some new delicacies, do shopping, travel, read, pamper myself and
do nothing for a while. Yeah, I actually missed all of this. Things were
getting piled up and holidays were nearing. So, what happens in winter break
wont stay with me, I should share after its over.
I know I worked a lot for my projects. There were ups and downs. On one hand, there was a day when I wanted to read, think about it and work more. While on the other hand, there were days when I wanted to just finish it off without giving much attention. I was pretty capricious though, changing minds so frequently. Whatever, I submitted my paper, gave my presentation, prof gave good comments, good grades and I was all elated. So it was worth putting all those efforts. I was so happy with what I did, all on my own. There is so much of self-learning there and no spoon feeding. Even though it was just a small part of the entire thing, it gave me a new level of self-confidence. Actually, a bit proud feeling from inside. Now I feel like a fully upgraded newer version of myself.
Hmm, it’s a long way to go, before I say,
"finally it’s done" and "I graduated with flying colors".
But I am looking forward to the real life learning, other than just the
courses. My feelings have changed from what they were, before going to the
school. Now I feel that 'Grad school is much more than just getting
ahead in life'. A lot to learn about yourself and what you are capable of.
And to those who have reached till this line,
appreciate your patience :). Thanks for reading.
Luv
#Neetu
