I come merely as a messenger to guide you through the holy transition to college. More specifically: engineering. Neither take my words to their credit, nor to their apparent authority. I am an enigma who is herself puzzled after having stepped inside this vicious world of mighty mathematics.

I hope you are all geared up for college. When the pictures of your seniors chilling out at college fill your Facebook and Instagram feeds, it makes you dream about the fancy college parties and the relaxing holidays. You are probably amazed upon hearing the plans of a 50 lakh future job that they flaunt. But let me tell you, there are ‘better’ conspiracies behind the scenes. 

You will definitely get into an infinite loop of assignments despite hundreds of all-nighters you pull. You submit one assignment and, almost instantly, get a series of new ones which almost seems to appear exponentially. Additionally, there are tests, midterms, boards, back papers, projects, practical, viva; it’s a tenacious, and continuous torture all the way. Although, as you struggle for a few semesters, you do get accustomed to  poor marks and back papers. You wouldn’t remember what subjects you took in a particular semester. You wouldn’t remember what assignments kept you oscillating on your chair all night long. Finally, when you are done with college, you realize that you have studied for 4 years i.e. almost 48 subjects, taken far too many exams yet still in doubt of any kind of precision in your plans and dreams.

Engineering can be specifically annoying for few initial semesters because no matter which field of engineering you want to pursue, you have to study and engage with the basics of almost all other fields. I wonder how the utility of applied mechanics is useful to an aspiring computer engineer or the craft of drawing to an electronics student. Either way, you are obliged to learn everything despite the fact that you wouldn’t really be using them anytime soon. Furthermore, if you think that rest of the semesters would be easy because they wouldn’t have subjects from other fields, my dear brothers and sisters, you better be prepared for a battle for the horn blows in the west and the enemies march with everything they have got.  

Engineering is a race. You compete to get in, then you run for good grades, deadlines, good placement. On top of that, the pressure to complete a year’s course in a semester add to the woes. Likewise, I cant help but mention the external practical exams where you sit for viva with a teacher who is not from your college. For the first time, this could make you nervous and embarrassed on failing to answer. However, after a few of such experiences, you’ll get the trick. It’s all about telling anything you know about the topic.

Also, ask an engineer to write an essay, you will get the same thing written ten times over with different diction. This art can be handy in case you have theory subjects and ofcourse the mighty ‘viva’.

Also, in case if you do get in, make sure to be friends with the Xerox guy. This way you won’t miss out on any notes because he knows your syllabus much better that any of your classmates do. Also, do not expect your friends to return anything you have lent them. You’ll be disappointed. That’s how engineering students, in my experience, are.

They do, however, support you till their last breath when it comes to missing classes and not doing assignments collectively. Once I was too lazy to read for a quiz that was supposed to be given next day in class. I called up a few friends and, shamelessly, said: “Guys, I haven’t read anything yet let’s miss the class so that I won’t be the only victim of the professor’s wrath”. Everything went as expected. In a matter of minutes the message was circulated to everyone and the next day only three people showed up in class: the ‘loyal to professors’ kinds. Needless to say, this stunt had been performed by stupid professionals who don’t care about their future. Hence don’t try this under any circumstances. 

In my opinion, engineering can be compared to ‘arranged marriages’. You get in, convinced, that this is the best you can get, with no idea about where it leads you to.

Sometimes life gets challenging and you are bound to regret, while sometimes you are grateful for the adventure it takes you through. It may be fruitful to some while some might fail. Likewise, similar to arranged marriages, when arranged without your full consent, you will have a strong family support. You will also occasionally get to hear your parents boasting about your ‘engineering’ to some annoyingly ‘concerned’ relatives. So, unless you fail miserably, you will always have your family backing you up.

From doing things that are despicable to creating ideas that can change the world, engineers dominate everything. They know what an unorganized life is and still are pretty decent at doing things at the last minute. They know the contrast of life. For instance, they know what is it like to struggle with back papers while getting the highest in the subject they love at the same time. Furthermore, they have an amazing capacity of adjusting with everything they are offered. ‘Flexibility’ is their word. They can sleep like dead for days but once introduced to a good tele series, they can broadcast a review of the whole series in a day or two. This is exactly why ‘because we are engineers’ is a  popular saying among these foot soldiers. 

Therefore, brave men and women, engineering is a roller coaster. It takes you up, drags you down, amuses and bores you and yet, despite that, you take back a lot of memories to cherish. Not to mention great stories you cling to for a lifetime. Times will always be hard no matter what and you will always have to push yourself. The idea that you can, by the fourth year, hold the capability to make this world a better place is an incentive far superior to anything you’ll ever get. Good things never come easy. A day before my second year exam, I was watching the movie ‘The Dark Knight’ by Christopher Nolan which changed my whole perspective about life. It’s the scene where one of the characters says “The night is darkest just before the dawn”. Have fun, laugh, miss classes, don’t do assignments, skip quizzes but never lose the incentive to make this world a better place. My best wishes to everyone out there. 

Anushka Subedi is final year engineering student in Delhi

 
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