Life at University never gets old. Every time, I happen to visit, I get a full fresh experience. That is why I think people refer to college or University days as a one-time best moment ever. The vibe has been the same and University is right now gaining students after a week-long self-acclaimed holiday. I don’t have any idea about how their exams went, but it seems they[all the other students] don’t care much. This is why I love to be here and I wish this applies everywhere even in my country. The definition “Exams come and go but good memories never happen twice,” applies here without any doubt.
I don’t know what our future holds for us but when I listen to my friends, they all say that life is hard. It is good only if we can work on top of our might. They share their dreams of how life will change if they obtain good packages and get placed at renowned companies. Sometimes, when I hear them talking about their opportunities, it just gives me goosebumps and feels that life is very hard to live. But, when I bring this into my life, I cannot find anything here unless fun and ignorance. Attending many classes, taking back benches and wondering what are we being taught seems very funny sometimes. Scrolling through socials, and doing some last-minute assignments during what I may call “teaching,” is going on seems there is no purpose of being here. That’s why, sometimes I still wonder, “What engineering is.” And if you are one like me, don’t worry, I can assure you that there are many more still trying to get that essence.
We are being told that “Engineering,” is when concepts and principles are brought to practical use to solve the problems of humanity and make our life easier. But, whenever, I visit any labs, students are meant to observe what lab technicians are doing. Just watching and recording some numbers without knowing what the experiment is really about seems to cringe. Sometimes, instead of engineering, we get counselled about life careers. When I am saying this, I am not blaming but just explaining what reality is as I feel that it is going out of the box from what we are expected to be doing.
If we say engineering is all about having fun, then it is not quite true. When the date sheet [what people call here instead of examination timetable] is published, we can just expect two exams on the same day once or twice. When looking through the prescribed syllabus, there starts tension at the last moment. Having no idea about what are we being taught in the class, all concepts seem to alien in front of us. And what is more nerve-racking is when we have to study from research papers( as no sources are available such as YouTube playlists or recommended books). That just makes us confused and on the verge of leaving if there is an option. Not to forget about getting the sheets back, what to expect is bad when input is already low. We have developed some resistance to high grades and I bet getting low scores has become part of engineering life. And I know, most people who have done it will agree with the reality.
One of the interesting things that I have observed is YouTube. The topic of concepts which we partially remember being taught in the class seems to be very difficult to grab. But, when watching the same concept through YouTube videos, even if they teach by pointing at some notes, it seems to understand something. I don’t know what the mantra is between the two. I can’t still get the reason may be because of some tricks they use to happen that miracle or due to pressure near exam times that is making it to understand. Believe it or not, it works like a miracle and we have done almost all offline exams relying on videos. That’s why, YouTube is an essential platform for confused undergraduate students like us[but there are some exceptions and when I tell that, I meant it].
Life passes persistently, whether you are good at something or not. Whether there are exams or not or you are becoming a responsible man or not. Both good times and bad times fly like a dream that happened one night. Therefore, I think it is the best way to follow the same reality rather than make some trouble. That is what actual engineering life looks like. I wish you all success and luck if you are already one or aspired to become one.
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