When Interests Transition
“I have an elder brother who tried really hard to get into IIT but could not. My dad was quite upset with him. In fact, he was always upset with me too because, he was a Math genius and I was not. I really wanted to get into IIT and in order to do that, I needed to go through 2 years of rigorous learning.
For the first two months, tuition classes were a drag. It was a sudden transition. Moreover, I was not used to that amount of study load, nobody is. However, because of the teaching methods and the environment of the class, I eventually started enjoying it .
Initially, I started out to prove a point to my father, then it transitioned to a phase where I just started loving the subjects so much that, I did not care what I was studying or how much I was studying.
I was pretty disappointed when the results were declared. My rank was 2094. I remember before the counseling sessions, my dad told me that with this rank, I will not be able to get any decent branch or college. But after I got Aerospace Engineering in IIT Kharagpur, his words were: “Well done, son.” I felt a sense of satisfaction at that moment. I think you have to know a person long enough to know what they mean when they say something, right?
Once you get into an IIT, you get a tag associated with you. People start giving you that extra respect and attention. I remember the first time I went home after 2 months of college, It was exciting. All my relatives and friends came home because I was back from ‘IIT’. I felt a sense of happiness and pride that day. But eventually, these feelings fade and you come back to reality. Also, once you are inside the college, the respect is not valid anymore because everyone is an IITian there.
I do not know how it is with the other IITs but in Kharagpur, they would do anything to push you to the maximum of your ability, They make you holistic and change you as a person. In my case, I faced a point where I would have deviated or flourished, but I somehow managed to be on the edge of it, not falling on either side and that actually helped.”
-Jeetesh Gulani | AIR 2094 | Aerospace Engineer | IIT Kharagpur
If you like this story, visit Prepathon’s Facebook Page and hit ‘ Like’ to get more such stories in your news feed. https://www.facebook.com/Prepathon/
