The final stretch of my master’s, the culmination of all hopes! The time when everybody wishes it will be done soon and that we do not have to study anymore, but with the sadness of realizing that we have to be accountable for a lot more as we go onward, and cannot be as laid back as we have been. I remember that I came here with aspirations to pursue PhD as well after my Master’s, but these two years (almost) have proven to be eye-opening in every sense, revealing how much harder I should try to be able to dream of continuing my studies, at the least.
My mother happened to tell me a while ago that she read my horoscope and that my ‘time’ is not good. Whether I believe it or not, it was suggesting that I had the stars to blame for not getting all that I really want, like a job and good grades. Turns out I was not that unlucky though. I did get to attend a concert for the first time ever, because of a friend who could not be back in LA in time for it. It was held in a football stadium in which we were quite far off from the stage. That did not hamper the verve in the air. Little did I know that Coldplay would go on stage only two hours after the slated start-time. What I liked the best was how there was not a single moment throughout the two hours when we experienced a dip in the vivacity. After the concert at which they played most of their popular songs, we were left wanting more. I now ponder whether he was referring to astrology when he sang “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you…” Maybe they are not shining bright enough after all.
Soon after my first class in this semester, I was in a quandary, whether to continue at my on-campus job or not. Without much ado, I quit my job the next day, showing up at work and announcing that I will not be working anymore. It was an unemotional “last day”, with a few hugs and compliments thrown in. I would have liked to let everybody I worked with know that they were very considerate of me and played a huge role in making life here that much easier. I hope to go back there soon, with the news that I have a real job.
Now a little bit about our professor this time, who has six children with a seventh one on the way and refers to that as his ‘special skill’. I am awestruck by his reproof of all that we have been told is right till now. I adore how cheeky he is, going through the lecture slides only to show how all the theory is not going to help us when we have to get work done. It is refreshing to listen to someone who has made unimpeded choices like choosing the least paying job, because that would mean the least amount of work. This course is going to be a little bit about computer networks and a whole lot of life lessons.
Two weeks into his course and I have already submitted five assignments. Hectic that it is, I hardly have time to interact with anybody apart from my classmates. My teammates who have a natural flair for silly jokes and timely puns at which I cannot stop laughing, should keep me entertained and motivated till the end of this year.
The anecdotes from my roommate’s childhood should add to that too. The funniest one was that when she went to her school the first time with her parents to be interviewed and the Sister there asked her to read time from the clock, she turned towards her mother and said, “Look, they don’t even know how to read the time!” Another one was that when she was getting back home and realized that she had lost one earring (gold, mind you), she simply removed the other one and threw it away hoping that her mother would not realise that she had lost anything. We were wondering how we never stop doing such things, but learn to mask them better as we grow older. Is this what they mean when they say, keep the child in you alive?