The petals of a reflective journey

                                                         For Your Amigos Foundation, Authored by Jijo Joseph

The first long train journey in my life has a flashback. The clueless mission of a teenager towards education isn’t new to us. The momentary pursuit of dreams is what I did in my life. After the completion of the higher secondary examination, it was a kind of dilemma that irritated me, yeah actually annoyed, in choosing the degree course. But I made a plan, the first plan in my life, for the next seven years. That was a period when I planned to be a graduate in English Literature, Postgraduate in English, then Ph.D., crack the NET exam and become a college professor. So, I chose English Literature in my degree; the sophisticated bifurcation happened in my life, which led me through the indulging Shakespearian monologues and dramatization of the pontifical characters amid the profound spectators. 

I enjoyed a lot, experienced a lot, gained a new version of life. I experienced the feeling of bunking classes, college romances, breakups, new relationships, campus fight. Soon the three years became my memories. The next phase of education was about to start as I planned before. I opted for MA English in different universities, colleges in different parts of India. There it happened, my train journey to Andhra Pradesh. I booked my ticket to Anantapur, where I wrote the entrance examination for Central University. The unknown place, people, language, and many more. I found many of the kind and smiling faces there. I remember the person who drove his bike for me to the exam center, another person who rented his lodge room at the lowest price to support me, the person who guided me to a better restaurant and many other helping hands. The exam was easy, and gave me more hope. The return journey was a bit troublesome as I traveled in the second-class compartment.

Since the results would take another few weeks, I gathered my thoughts on other plans, including a student visa abroad. I started preparing IELTS. Considering the expenses, I dropped it, though. When the result of my entrance exam came, I scored 4th rank, but other external hindrances pressurized me to leave the possibilities of literature behind. I thought about something trending then; a Master of Social Work degree. Something new to me. I got admission in Bengaluru. I was thrilled—the rocking Bengaluru…. I didn’t think further, not even money, college, no further plan. This was my life experiences and I think that I lacked a lot in my educational and institutional life. Maybe that was my learning from these situations.

  The lack of exposure to good examples! 

I lacked a role model in my school life. So, I couldn’t plan to choose my educational options. All I remember is to study hard to pass the exam and score enough to get admission for the next phase of education. The schools and colleges should be given a proper idea about the courses that students can opt for higher studies. An article by Jaideep Gupta published in Entrepreneur India quoted that 1 in 3 students are unsatisfied in their courses and that is half a million university students. This shows the importance of Career Counselling in educational institutions. It is equally important to know what to study and this realization help to choose the right field of education and the right role in a career.

The right 'education'

I had faced many ‘crucial turning points’ in my life. When I was in the 10^th standard it was a crucial turning point, again in 12^th and again in degree. Every public exam became more or less like a pressure cooker for students. The marks securing in the exam are only needed for the admission. There are many alternatives in every phase of education and all we need to know the possibilities to reach an interesting profile in the future. In our life, we came across many doctors and some are good and some not. It may be because of their lack of interest in professions which hinders them to perform well. Sometimes the parents compel their children to choose various programs and by the end of the day, it will become a burden. It should be understood that not only the knowledge from textbooks but also the life experience will count in the future.

Give our best

I planned myself in different streams of education one after another but there was no link in between. It is important to give our best in every situation of life and I could give that surety in my life. I never knew where will reach at the end but the obligation led me through the various life experiences. The social work program gave me a wonderful gift; life experiences. I came across different people; I went for various fieldwork exposures; all I have seen where the unexpected guests in my life. I witnessed the dark part of life depicted in the pages of books I read before. I understood that I have the role of a protagonist who is a social worker in the drama of my life. I believed that what I gained in my life and what I am right now might be the result of what I went through.

 As the journey continues, the clarity gets enhanced 

I thought, why I have been roaming around in search of myself? Why it happened now? I realized that I could do something through social work. I was confused about whether the past years of my education were purely meaningless. But the truth I realized that I was being moulded for years to create the exact shape of me. It was my experience in the life and knowledge I gained in different fields of education. The students should be given proper guidance in their career and their commitment to the desired field will help them to succeed in life. There is a purpose in life, every situation, everyone we met, everywhere we traveled, everything we learned. Everything so far happened had a reason in our life, and that will be the answer to a successful career in our life.