We are buying suits, we are renting cars, we are tuning our guitars and shining our shoes .......... who's we? and what the hell am I talking about??? I am talking of the batch of Spring 2006 graduating in 2 weeks. :) Yes! Thats me and my friends Deepak, Vineela, Gautam and Nirupa. This blog is dedicated to them and in general to the spirit of friendship that ties fellow batch mates together. And while I may narrate the rest of this blog in first person, may the reader bear in mind that these experiences relate equally in some form or the other to every Indian student who goes through a Masters in a U.S. university.
I was a kid when I joined Engineering - which essentially - as far as Bombay University is concerned - is a furnace that by the end of it makes you rock hard and completely shock resistant. It is more a character building life style than a technical education. And so when I graduated with my bachelors, I thought I had gone through all hardships that could possibly exist in the world. It is only now that I realize how wrong I was - and how much did my Masters teach me..
I changed in ways and via means that I didn't think were possible. Like any good painting, my Masters was filled with every shade of color and mood possible, an experience so rich and vibrant that it fills me with immense pleasure just to think of all that happened.
In the course of my graduate studies.....
I have .... grown academically ... been challenged constantly and forced to develop new skills .... in terms of sheer technical range, my Masters put me in a completely different stratosphere as compared to my Bachelors.
I have helped and saved a friend ........ and watched a student resurrected from the ruins to move on to a settled life. Watched it with silent pride and a satisfaction that puts a smile on my face even today.
I have gone stark mad and angry over silly things .... Yelled at a friend ..... and calmed down to realize my mistake... then gone back and apologized.
I have wandered the streets of Logan at ungodly hours .... completely drunk and senseless on a Sunday ..... and had my personal best for running a healthy mile on the next....
I have beaten and got thrashed at birthday parties.. have set my own personal record of puking over vodka .... and also have put many a drunken friends to bed.
Have had endless hours of hot tea and light conversations .... on almost every set of steps that the town had to offer....
I have had my arrogance, my pride, my plutonic ego and my cockiness broken through by a woman, who didn't even have to argue. I have learnt and understood what love means ......... and have had myself helplessly carried by a power I had never faced before .... I have played with fire and gotten burnt .... I have smashed myself against a will stronger than mine and had myself shattered .... shattered and rebuilt again.
I have tasted the shame of defeat and the ecstasy of victory .... and have been made to introspect ... deep and wide ... to find my true limits ... and to redefine myself - and have learnt to still, hold my head high.
I have been betrayed and had my faith in friendship questioned .... then I have been helped and had my faith restored....
I have spent nights listening to a friend blabbering senseless agony over a broken heart .... and told myself .... I would never do that .... and then have caught myself irresistibly tempted to do the same ....
I have met people of higher intelligence and found a way to compete. I have learnt to admire and respect much more than I ever did.
And strangely, half way across the globe and several time zones apart ... I have come to know my own country like never before.
I have enjoyed delicious moments of limelight on stage ... and contrary to my own belief have caught myself loving it... I have endured months and months together of financial suffocation ... and have learnt to truly understand and enjoy what money means...
I have successfully defended my thesis - and hopefully made a contribution to the scientific community...
I have etched my initials in a place I will never reveal... :P I have made my contributions ... and done my bit.
I have found myself miles and miles away from where I started ... and have realized sometimes just going on with the journey ... is perhaps the best choice ....
In some way or another .... these experiences are true of every student who leaves his/her beloved home to come here ... like fellow soldiers who have survived a long battle .... the ties that I have forged with my batch mates are ties that I will treasure the rest of my life!
And, so in a span of two weeks when I am going to walk down with my cap and gown .... and then toss my tassel high in the sky.... I would have celebrated ....... well - a true education.
- Sanket
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