#13 ENGICO

Well, this is actually an article I wrote for my college Magazine.. Its just about what I learnt through the four years of my engineering :)

What I learnt in GEC

I still remember the day in applied chemistry class when we were all staring out of the window looking at the BE’s posing for their photoshoot. Our ma’am said to us, “Don’t worry. Four years will fly just like that & you will be standing there instead”. And true to that, the four years that I spent in GEC just zoomed past me. The journey has been one heck of a roller coaster! I grew up tremendously in these four years! When I joined GEC, it was the first time, I was separated from my group of close friends I’d been with throughout school. I was on my own, it was time to make new friends and get out of the comfort zone. There was no group of protective friends anymore! It was all about the decisions I make for myself. And I made them, loads of them actually. Some I regret, some I am proud of, some changed things drastically, but in the end, it all beautifully worked out. A glance behind and I learnt ..

·         Remember that you are in GEC to become an engineer. Fix your goals for engineering first ( min % each sem, final goal of higher studies or job & requirements for the same) and work sincerely towards these. Otherwise you will surely repent at the end of four years.

·         Prioritize everything at hand. Otherwise you’ll always be left discontent and complaining for lack of time.

·         And yeah, most importantly, know that engineering is a four year degree course. SO remember that you have four years to complete it. Don’t extend your stay unless and otherwise necessary. It will have repercussions later.

·         Respect your teachers. You owe it to them.

·         Smile and talk nicely to everybody. Nobody will mind it. You’d be surprised how warmly everybody responds to it.

·         Treat everyone with respect. Everybody is playing their small role around you to keep the balance going!

·         I have to admit, I have never been a good judge of people. I have almost always blindly trusted people to be nice going by their face value. And painfully did I realise that there are always certainly two faces. And honestly, it’s a sad truth but, THAT is the smarter way of leading life.

·         I realised that being frank and direct makes you sound rude and arrogant. Human beings are automatically attracted to the people who say sweeter things than the ones who say more real painful things. So if you can’t handle the backlash from people, avoid criticising them.

·         Most of the times, it’s best to keep your opinion about people to yourself. You never know which one backfires and comes to haunt you when! So Speak less, listen more and you will be a happier person.

·         Be nice to everybody. Irrespective of how they are. It will hurt your conscience if you hurt someone knowingly. However if you do good, it will just make you feel nice about yourself and boost your self confidence! And trust me, someday, people will open up to your niceness.

·         Do not always give into everybody’s demands. Just because you are nice and honest, it doesn’t mean people have a right to exploit you. Learn to  say NO when your heart and brain are both opposing something.

·         It’s always lonely at the top. Your peers are also your competitors so it is but natural for them to get envious to see you grow your way to the top. Loads of people may seem to hate you for reasons even they can’t list out. Live with it!

·         Do not seek power, recognition and respect without being worthy of it. Do what you love, love what you do, and others will automatically love the way you work! Always lead by example!

·         While working in a team, understand the people you are working with well. If you want to lead, you need to know whom you are trying to lead. Try to understand what each of them wants, mix and match it with your final goal and assign work accordingly.

·         You can’t completely please everybody, but you don’t have to completely displease somebody either. Learn to work a way around things and people. It will take you far.

·         If you are travelling along the GEC slope in a vehicle and have empty space, ALWAYS give LIFT to people stranded at either ends. This is your moral duty!!!!

·         Admit your mistake when it is. And ask for forgiveness. It doesn’t make you a small person. It just makes you mature and teaches you what’s wrong and what shouldn’t be repeated.

·         Be observant. Learn from other people’s mistakes because trust me, there really is not enough time to commit them all yourself and then take your lesson from them.

·         It is often the small things that matter. People remember the small gestures of love and the small mistakes that you do. So pay attention to the details.

·         College will offer you various opportunities to showcase your numerous talents. Grab them with both hands and make most of it!

·         Final year project is your one shot chance at doing something creative and applying your engineering mind to it. So work on it from the start. Do not treat it like a formality to be completed for grades sake. The amount of knowledge you will gain through this, not just about engineering but team work too, is an addition to your life’s meaningful lessons.

As for me, our final year project was quite lucrative too ;)

·         A friend once told me “It’s important to earn people, money will always come in some way”. I know it’s more comforting to cry in a BMW than cry on the streets. But in both cases, it’s most comforting to cry on somebody’s shoulder! J

·         Do something more than just studying the academics during your four years. Leave a mark behind, preferably a good one J

·         Do not pick up silly fights on social networking sites publicly. Remember most people are just enjoying the mud slinging at the cost of your dignity.

·         Remember that nobody can put you down unless you permit them to do so. Learn to differentiate between people whose opinions matter to you and whose don’t. And please, use your better sense of judgement for this. Otherwise it’ll just be one blind man guiding another.

·         Take part in TECHFESTS, and in the technical competitions I mean. It is here that you will realise that a lot of your textbook knowledge is practically applicable and you will enjoy learning! Besides, it generates a lot of moolaah that you can use for your own stuff.

·         Stay back sometimes beyond 5pm. Enjoy the beautiful, serene GEC campus. Go to the boundaries of the campus and explore them. On that note, take part in atleast one treasure hunt around the campus! It is awesome fun and you will realise how well you know GEC.

·         Eat at Umesh, Raj, canteen, Backzhop – it builds your immunity and is light on the pocket!

·         Go to inter collegiate cultural fests atleast once. Sing aloud the GEC slogan atleast once! It’s the kind of fun you can have only during college.

·         Attend TANDAV, Dandiya night, Dahi Handi, Ganesh Visarjan, Holi in college. This will add beautiful colourful memories to your Engico diary.

·         Help your classmates and friends in all way you can. During internals and vivas included. Share your notes, assignments and tips. Knowledge definitely increases by sharing.

·         Talk to your seniors, you’ll get to learn a lot from them. Talk to your juniors, share what you learnt with them, guide them.

·         Stay in the GEC hostels atleast for a day. You have to experience hostel life atleast once!

·         And lastly, balance out your life. Do not do any one thing in excess. Plan your activities, divide your time and try to maintain that equilibrium!

·         Good Luck! Make every moment in GEC count! Starting from NOW!