A Wonderful Experience!:)

Hello Everyone!!:)

Well, it has been a long break to be honest and a lot has changed since I last updated my blog.

For starters, I'm eighteen!! ADULT,they say!!

So let’s go back in time! I finished my 10th grade from St. Mary’s School with 96%. Seems a lot, doesn't it? — But I was just one of the many with similar grades.  Ahh, this number game and mad rat race for marks!!

We had our farewell, an emotional occasion. Leaving the place we once called home. Leaving the place where I spent eight whole years.Leaving the place where I made friends that will last forever. Bidding goodbyes to your friends who you may not see for a while. Something that I wasn't used to, something that no one was used to! But that's the reality of it and we had to move on.

After my boards, I enrolled myself for  IIT coaching classes, the most happening thing today right? Anyone and everyone you meet is like "Arrey bhai main bhi IIT ke liye prepare kar raha hoon!". Strange but true.

Well I had been going for foundation classes since my 8th grade!! Of course I wasn't serious about it that time. It was only after my 10th grade , when I had an option to leave out Biology or Mathematics, did I really give it a thought! Where did my interest lie? Hard question. I thought about it for over a minute. Maths it was. Topic close. And here I was. Preparing for IIT — one of the toughest exams, they say.

....the first lecture that I attended! Absolute disaster! I was shocked by the kind of people surrounding me. Absolutely brilliant minds. New words. New terminologies. I wasn't used to this. Most of what we did till the 10th grade involved mugging!! — An art that we "Maryites"  had mastered! And here I was preparing for an exam, the whole essence of which was built on concepts. I had to change my mentality.I had to change my approach towards studying.  And the sooner, the better.

Slowly and gradually I changed. From mugging information to understanding concepts. Just when I started to feel good about what I was doing, we had our first class test. Catastrophic! Everything in the paper seemed alien to me! Weird, right? So, what exactly went wrong? This is when I realized another important thing. Knowing concepts is one thing. But solving problems is an entirely different game. A harder game. I spoke to a senior and asked  him for advice. Solve , Solve and Solve. Practice as many problems as you can, he said.

So in that first one month, not only did I pick up several new things but most importantly I learnt how to learn. This seemed to be getting complicated.

Time passed by..but I realized that I still wasn't performing well. Was I not studying enough?

Was I too distracted? Apparently none of the above were reasons for my dismal performances. I wasn't motivated enough. Getting into an IIT didn't appeal to me. I was probably studying for the sake of it. Not good. I told myself, "What was the point of working hard, if I don't want to go all the way?" Bas. That was it. I had this strong desire to crack it. I wanted to prove myself. Not to anyone, but to myself.

This realization came to me a bit late, maybe towards the end of my 11th grade. The timing wasn't important. The realization was. That was the turning point in my IIT preparation. So MOTIVATION plus HARD WORK was the key. I had cracked the mantra. Now time to act!

Even though I knew what needed to be done, it wasn't an easy job. Sometimes the topics  studied were hard. Sometimes there was too much work. Pressure. Stress...and what not!

Sometimes you just need to be patient. Let the storm pass. Hold on. Handling the pressure was the key.

We finished our curriculum in November 2014, five months before the JEE MAIN — the first of two stages to get into the IITs. Finishing it well in advance was important because we had our 12th grade exams coming up in two months time and none of us had opened our college textbooks. The PCM syllabus was similar but again I had to shift to mugging. Another transition. I had to start spending a lot of time on college studies, something that I didn't expect. But I did all that was required and went confidently into the exams. They were a great success!:)

After my 12th grade exams, I had three weeks before my JEE MAIN. I was confused. I didn't know what my approach in these last three weeks should be. I thought of revising all the topics. A big challenge. But I felt it was necessary.

...one day before the exam! Scary! Pressure situation! I was nervous. Scared that I might not do well. But it was my family that supported me. Brought back my confidence. I had worked hard. There was no reason for me not doing well.

The next morning I woke up confident. Went and gave the paper without any pressure of performing.  I scored 231 out of 360. I was delighted!:)

But now was the main battle. JEE ADVANCED. Tougher battle. But I was prepared. Problems would just be a bit harder.Concepts remained the same.The exam was two months away. We had to keep on working towards our goal. Working hard. Keep on persisting. The next two months passed quickly.

And the final day arrived! 24th MAY! The day that would decide our future! I went in fearless.

We got our papers. I was shocked to see the paper pattern!! It was NOT Student Friendly. I freaked out. But I told myself that everyone would be in the same situation. And if I handled the pressure and didn't worry about under-performing, I would do well.

I cleared the exam with an AIR 3232. I was happy:) My efforts had paid off. Maybe I won't get into the college I want or the branch that I desired but what I gained from this two year experience is something that the rank does not indicate. I became a better person. Learned to take risks. Be fearless. Be patient.

I know of someone who I believe deserved a better rank than me but was unlucky. Maybe this system is not the best one to judge a student. Our hard-work boils down to ONE DAY. Scary thought. But that's what it is and we must accept it. Looking at the bigger picture, we all gain a lot from this experience. So that's something to be happy about in itself!!:)

So irrespective of our ranks, we should consider ourselves lucky that we could prepare for this brilliant exam!!:)

Cheers!:)

- Mihir