Be Your Own Leader- Be Your Own MAKER!

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Adding It All Up

Adding It All Up

Dr. Ashok Chauhan founder president of Amity University, Prof. Balvinder Shukla (acting) vice chancellor, members of the faculty, parents and my dear graduates, I would like to thank all of you for being a part of the convocation ceremony.

So here we are. We’re leaving college. The question is where from here? Some students know the answer. Many of us claim to know exactly the next step to take, whether that step is an internship, a full-time job, or joining his/her father’s business. Others, like me, will tell you we have no idea. The big thing about the college is that we learn about our self. No matter whatever we decide, most of us will agree that Amity was a perfect place to foster our minds and bodies in this critical learning phase.

I’m a totally different person than I was coming in as a freshman four years ago. I hope I’m also a better one. I was moulded by my environment, by all my peers who are sitting here and watching me. I couldn’t have accomplished so much here without all of you. It was all of you who were my competition a very tough competition by the way, yet my backbone, my inspiration to work harder. It was all of you who made me the person I am today.

One thing that motivated me here throughout these four years was struggle. It was the second time that I left my home to do something different. I left home first for only nine days but leaving home for four years frightened me day in day out. Also the alienated feeling I had when I stepped in this University even on home soil had an greater effect. This led to many verbal as well as physical fights in first year of my college. At times I went home purposely to calm my mind. By the time I reached second year I managed to overcome some of this feeling but as you know home is home. No matter where you go the final place to go will be your home. There were up’s and down’s in third and fourth year but now I realised that it was something for my own good.

Struggle taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected. The knowledge that I gained from these setbacks helped me to climb one step up in my ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.

One advice I want to give you all is that not to feel regret of what you have done in the past because I have done a lot really stupid things like pulling the fire alarm in third year for which I was nearly suspended and was teased afterwards every time a fire alarm was raised, going to places of which I didn’t imagine ever to go there in my life, boarding the train without ticket in which Amity also played a big role etc. And now at this stage those things don’t bother me because what matters me that when I look back and imagine those things I feel glad that I have done those kind of stuffs.

Stepping into the world outside college will be like stepping onto a bus say around 9:30 am, the journey will be slow, it’s going to be crowded and above all more competitive. This degree that I have in my hand is nothing compared to all the memories that Amity has given, and I am sure you all feel the same. So thank you Amity for giving me opportunity to be part of this great University and these four years will surely occupy a decent space in my heart and will motivate me to do things for the greater good.

Thank you and God bless you all.

My Glorious years at Amity

It is not too late from the time I was grooving to the tunes of Neeraj Shridhar, enjoying the icy 'chuski' in the chilly night and working my brains out in the technical events that were a part of the yearly extravaganza - our very own Amity Youth Fest which concluded a couple of days back. One thing that was bothering me was that this was going to be my last fest at Amity. Time has passed in a flash, and my tenure at this amazing institution is coming to an end in a few month's time from today.

It was June, 2010, when I first visited Amity. The place was alien with an entirely different surrounding with a whole lot of new faces. I realized that I had to get used to the huge red buildings and the lush green lawns as I had to spend my four years here. Initially, I always used to find myself lost in the corridors of the buildings. It was a perfect 'bhool-bhulaiya' (maze). The E-block cafeteria 'Megabyte' had become my 'lunch-time' home but soon I explored the different areas of the campus, and today I have a blue-map of the whole campus embedded in my brain. I am certainly going to miss each and everything on the campus, which in true sense made Amity a home away from home.

I feel privileged to have been taught by the 'Einsteins' of the Physics department, the 'Ramanujans' from the Mathematics department and 'Schrodingers' of the Chemistry department. Frankly speaking, I didn't enjoy studying these subjects, but as they were a part of the curriculum , I had to. The first year we learnt everything but computers. I mean most of it was NOT computers. The second and the third years were when we actually studied the core subjects. That's when things became interesting. Java, Computer Organization, Operating System and Networking are the few of my most loved subjects. Term Papers, Minor Projects, Internships, Major Projects and a lot of micro projects were a part of the academics.

College = Friends. College life is incomplete without friends and Amity gave me a lot of 'amis', from the brainy and geeky to the mischievous, I was glad to have friends of all make. Being with friends transformed those teeny-weeny 5 minutes gap between the lectures to some of the funniest moments. Spending time with friends will be the most cherished memory. For the past few months, everyone has realized that we don't have much time before we go in different directions, and for that very reason, people have come close. I'm thankful that we are living in this age of social media as Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp will keep us glued to each other even after our course would end.

Apart from the degree and an offer letter, I will take a sac-full of memories that I will cherish for life. I am deeply indebted to each and every person - from the Vice Chancellor to the security guard -  in this amazing institution who have worked day in, day out to make my stay at Amity a memorable one.