Inshu Namdev is a graduating undergraduate student in the department of Aerospace Engineering. She talks about her experiences and journey at IIT Kanpur in her As We Leave.
Disclaimer:- The views presented below are the author’s own and are not in any manner representative of the views of Vox Populi as a body or IIT Kanpur in general. This is an informal account of the author’s experiences at IIT-K.
One day, you’ll leave this world behind
So, live a life you will remember
My father told me when I was just a child —
These are the nights that never die.
College time is the most valuable time in one’s life. These years lead you towards the next phase of your life. These years help you decide your future — whether you will go for a job or do a start-up or go for further studies. As crucial as these years are for your career, these years are also the years where you get the opportunity to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. These years play a vital role in helping you to find your purpose in life. There are many ups and downs in college life — a lot of happy and sad moments, and it’s okay, you don’t have to be strong all the time; you’re not a diwar made of ambuja cement. The way you deal with challenging situations defines your character — helps you to find the inner you. It assists in determining what kind of person you indeed are.
Many people waste these years pretending what they genuinely aren’t. This might make them happy to have a different image of theirs in people’s eyes. However, by doing so, they further stray from their true self. Your looks or how pretty you are, that’s all great but what matters is your work ethics, how you pick yourself up when you fall, how you deal with your trauma and issues, and how you talk with yourself.
Of all the people on the planet, you talk to yourself the most, make sure you are saying the right thing.
I also faced many issues in my college years but facing and dealing with those issues made me strong. I love to explore things a lot because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I tried many things in my first year — Drams, Volleyball, AUV, Robotics club, Electronics club, and much more. It was fun as well as exhaustive but a good kinda exhaustive. Doing something most of the time gave me a dopamine rush. However, in the end, I had to narrow down my choices a bit. I chose AUV and the Robotics club. I stayed with these two for the rest of my college life. When you see a model of yours that you spent days learning and implementing, finally start working — the feeling you experience at that time can not be defined in words. I enjoyed working with the AUV team, which helped me develop the skill set required to be a leader and a team player.
Had I got a chance to go back in time and change anything, I would not take that chance. I do not want any episode of my college life to change or not happen. These episodes are responsible for making me the person I am. I’ve enjoyed every single moment in these four years that I spent on campus.
Everyone is unique, and that’s their speciality. I’ve spent many days comparing myself with others to realise that we all are different — I don’t have what others have. Others don’t have what I have. Their way of approaching a problem is different from mine, which makes both of the ways unique.
If you are comparing your life or your creativity to someone else, you are insulting yourself.
I met many different people on campus. Few stayed in my life, and with a few, I’m not in touch anymore. I might suffer from memory loss, but I remember every incident that involved people I met on campus. I believe everyone comes into your life for a reason. They come to play a particular role and teach you specific things, then leave as soon as their part is done. However, the most important lesson that I learned from this is that the day you finally let go of the person you’ve been pointlessly holding onto is the day your life gets a whole lot better.
After all, your mental health is your biggest asset, like Mahindra Scorpio and some people are like Rohit Shetty — be aware of them.
It was in college only where I found the closest friends of mine. It is important to hold on to people who were always there for you in your ups and downs, who never left your side in your hard times, and who constantly criticised you when you were wrong. Also, people are scared to say stuff, and I’m not — that’s the reason why I only have five friends!! xD
College time is a beautiful time that would never return in your life. So, at last, I will only say that one should stop worrying about the future and live in the present — enjoy every fight, remember every painful event, memorise every happy moment, and most important – learn something from every incident.
I just want to say — Dream big, do not take a break. Keep working hard. It’s okay if someone is laughing at you or if someone is pulling your leg. Keep working hard. Accept and embrace all experiences. Keep looking at the sky and reach your goals. No matter what anyone else says because if you can’t protect yourself or dream for yourself, nobody else can!
Written by: Inshu Namdev
Edited by: Jiya Yadav, Aryan Pandeya
