Halfway through university, here's what I would tell my younger self who would have been yet to start

It's been almost two years since I wrote on this blog. In fact, my last article was written in my first week of university. I've not written since then, probably because the reason for me starting this blog was because I did not have anything else to do during the first Lockdown in 2020 (in hindsight, should have probably prepped better for JEE). Anyway, since this is the first article I'm writing over the past two years of starting, here's what I would probably tell my younger self:

1) Trying too much, or trying too little- both don't completely close the door of regret. But the latter is probably harder to deal with. Simply because with the former, you always know that it wasn't because of lack of effort on your part. As stated earlier, I probably could have prepared for various entrance examinations better, particularly JEE, even though I did not have an interest in pursuing engineering, which takes me to the second point.

2) Don't pursue something just because everyone is after it, and more importantly, don't ignore something just because everyone is after it. When deciding on plans after school, being a science student, everyone's question to me was- "NEET or JEE?". Being the rebellious teenager that I was (and honestly, who wasn't?), I did not want to pursue either because everyone seemed to be doing that. Hence, even though I enjoyed Mathematics and Physics, I decided to not pursue engineering because it seemed too cliché. Now, even though I'm pursuing what I love, I've also realised that I enjoy programming, although I'm just getting started with it. Who knows what might have happened had I taken up Computer Science?

3) Your choice of University matters more for your growth as an individual rather than for your career plans (although your individual growth might play a role in that). While applying to various colleges, I was pretty clear that I would prefer to go away from the southern part of the country. Not because we don't have good colleges here, but because I believed that the exposure of moving away from home will help me, and even though I've only spent six months on campus, the kind of people I've met and interacted with has undoubtedly had a huge impact on me, and in hindsight, while looking at the other universities that accepted me, I believe that I've made the right decision with the one I chose.

4) People may not always agree with you, and that's okay as long as you’re willing to listen to them. Attending university means that you’re bound to come across people from a variety of cultural, economic, social and educational backgrounds. Naturally, there are bound to be differences of opinion. However, as long as you’re willing to listen to their POV, while still not allowing yourself to be a pushover, that’s all that matters. Don't be worried about whether they're willing to listen to you. That's their loss (or possible benefit). As long as you keep an open mind and think critically, you'll find more value in disagreements than agreements.

5) While you can't plan everything precisely, things always work themselves out in the end as long as you've made the effort to make the best possible decision. While deciding on what to pursue in university, I was horribly confused. I had an interest in every aspect of academic study, and it was certainly, as my old man said, a problem of plenty. However, I knew for certain that I enjoyed problem solving. Hence, I decided to pursue Mathematics, as studying Math could help me in almost every field known to mankind, in case I ever decided to leave it. It turns out my choice of university mattered as well, because after taking a couple of Economics Classes, I decided I wanted to study Economics, after never having studied it before joining college. As my University provides students the option to change their Major after their first year (subject to certain constraints), I decided to do that, and I'm so glad I did.