Where does trust come from?

I just love it when Seth Godin conveys a great thought in a succinct manner. Here is one of my favourites:

Reblogged from Seth Godin's blog :

Trust never comes from the good times and from the easy projects. We trust people because they showed up when it wasn't convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it. Every tough time and every pressured project is another opportunity to earn the trust of someone you care about.

Been there,done that!

If I am granted one wish, I would ask for a time-turner, like the one Hermione gets in Harry Potter which wonderfully enables her to experience two lives at once. On one hand, I love my life away from home and the sense of freedom and individuality that it brings, but on the other hand I crave for the familiarity and the sense of belonging that comes with home. Everyday , an unknown hand feeds me . I sleep in an unfamiliar bed and I wake up to realize that I am miles away from my home,where my heart really is. My dearest ones at home lead a different reel of life altogether. I hear stories, anecdotes but I am almost often not there to share their experiences. But then I realize...

Life is all about the “What ifs”. What if I had chosen the other University? What if I had a different childhood? What if I had gone on that exchange programme? But isn’t it wonderful to stop thinking, take all the opportunities that life brings,venture out of your comfort zone and look back and say “Been there, done that”?

Without all these,life becomes a routine, a wheel-spin that you wake up to every morning. I don’t know whether it’s just the thought of turning 21 in an hour or it’s just one of those routine midnight revelations. Through these 21 years, if there is one thing that I have learnt , it is that life is not about success or failure, the black or the white. It is the greyish area that threads the middle. Isn't it better to take chances, have a few scars and watch them heel rather than have a smooth skiing that whither in half of the time?

I say yes, yes to all the opportunities that life brings my way! Here's to a crazy adulthood!

Chronicles of my FYP Journey

Exactly a year ago, I chose my final year thesis project. As a naive junior year student, I wanted to take up a challenging research project and learn a lot. I was eager to enter the world of Professors, cutting-edge technology, warm research advisors and hours of journal reading, a world which seemed as if it had been forbidden to me for so long. So I mailed a Professor who had an "interesting" proposal that I was very eager to work under him. He *gladly* accepted me!

And so, it began : one year of FYP (Final Year Project) aka 'Face Your Problems' phase of my life. Due thanks to phdcomics , I decided to narrate my journey through these strips!

Phase 1: Literature Review aka The Latin World!

Phase 2 : FYP Monday Meetings aka TGIT(Thank God Its Tuesday) mode!

Phase 3 : Data collection mode aka The Tedious Days!

Phase 4 : No Results phase aka The Incognito Mode

Phase 5 : Stagnant Research aka Procrastination phase

Phase 6 : Panic Mode aka Successful Results phase!

Phase 7 : Thesis writing aka Sleepless nights

 

At the end of this report writing phase, I gave my report to my mom to proof read. She told me exactly this :

Phase 9 : Presentation and THE END!

My thesis submission is done. I just have my presentation to go. Fingers cross on that! I sure hope it doesn't go this way!

It has been quite the ride for the past 12 months. It has been such a bumpy ride that I have decided that research is not my idea of an adventurous journey. It does not help that my thesis supervisor is one of the most friendly advisors I have ever met. If anything, the only awesome lesson in this journey is to have a good mentor and to not give up! Anyway, its all done and all is well that ends well :)

I still have 3 exams to go and 4 more weeks for the end of an era that is University life. Another post on that later!

To end this post on a philosophical note,

"When you think you can, you can! When you think you can't you are right! :P "
 - A great physics Professor!

A sister's journey through life!

Having a younger sister is like having a best friend for life. Though I am the elder one, my biggest teachings in life are from my sister, a girl who looks more innocent than a puppy but with more wisdom that anybody her age. Born two years younger to me, she is the first person I turn to for any advice. Its not just because she has this amazing ability to listen to anything i have to say but also because she always tells me(ever so obnoxiously!) the truth I need to hear . She is the smartest, cutest and funniest little kiddo in the entire world and I just can’t believe she is turning 19!!

The growing up phase

One of my first memories with little sis was in kindergarten when she used to quietly slip into a nap in the back seat of our auto. I remember her tiny and sleepy most of the time, almost the opposite of what she is now. At that age, I took upon my job as an elder sibling very seriously ; I made her imitate everything I did, literally forced her to play with me when she was too young to understand the rules, gave her an old ragged doll while I took the new pink fluffy one. I was always the mischievous brat while she was(still is) my faithful sidekick. She was the Robin to my batman, the pinky to my brain and the Joey to my Chandler. I used to come up with these crazy ideas and she used to be my testbed, be it eye makeup, revolutionary hair-dos or silly little stories about the world in general. She used to dutifully execute every role i wanted her to. She was the selfless cutie who would give up her nice red crayon for me even if she only gets the ugly black one. She was the only person in the world I could appear cool and grown-up with. Bad school days were made up by having lunch with her under the school banyan tree. We shared everything from dresses to tv shows( those Pogo days!) . At school, it was the cutest thing to see her scurrying for me in a huge crowd while I conveniently chose to ignore her (snorty cool sis eh?).Yet, I clapped the loudest when she won debates or when she came first in class. I used to look out for her when she was not looking to make sure she was ok. I still remember the day when she fell on the ground and her head started bleeding. I was shivering with fear and I immediately took her in an auto to home by myself, the bravest act I have ever done! Thankfully it was just a minor cut and the mini coconut tree that grew in its place was a source of joy and fun to all of us :P 

The mature phase

The dynamics of our relationship completely changed after I started NUS(which I chose to join because of her!). Now we don't fight as often as we used to. Yes, we still argue over the silliest of things: about how clumsy she is or how quick tempered i am. But its back to love doves in 2 min. She sends me the most touching letters that makes me shed truckload of tears. I miss sharing with her the tiny details about my life here. Our career paths are as different as night and day.She is growing up into a pretty young office-going lady managing tough clients! And I am still a student wading through academic projects! Due thanks to the creators of gtalk and whatsapp, we manage to share some funny moments together. Every time we talk, there’s always so much to share and so little time at hand. I miss her and I wish she were here with me. But these things are meant to be. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and the vacations longer! ;)

For many, the elder sister is the role model. But for me, my younger sister is and always will be my greatest role model. The conviction with which she approaches life is unmatched! She is the kind of sister who knows me more than I know about myself. She is the friend who will risk her life to save mine. She is the one person who can take one look at my face and understand my mood. She is the mentor who can give me the best advice for all my problems. She is the one bestie who can crack a joke at how sad my life is and still get away with it :D 

Wherever we go and whatever we do with our lives,she will always be the first person I think of when I close my eyes. Happy 19th Sanju! I can’t thank you enough for being my best critic, my all-time bestie and my laughing buddy !

P.S : Our journey together!

On being a copycat!

Sam Walton , CEO of Walmart once said : "Most everything i have done,I have copied from someone else".  

I related to this statement a lot. Almost every choice of mine , be it career paths, travel destinations, movie picks or even culinary options, have been influenced by the honest opinions expressed by a multitude of people I have had the good fortune of meeting. These people have been acquaintances, professors, friends, relatives or even taxi-drivers. These people somehow came into my life, told me their story and changed my life forever. I feel indebted to such people.

Those who give their honest opinions, express their constructive criticisms, narrate their true experiences and the lessons they learnt from each of them are the ones who change people's lives everyday. Precedents set by people gives one the much-needed confidence to go ahead and do something.

It's funny how you can touch people's lives just by sharing your experiences. It takes successful people more than 10 years of hard work to become an overnight success. Half of them are willing to walk us through the toil,the other half just attribute it good luck and move on. Just focus on the lives of the first half. May be some incident will strike a chord with you,and change your life and the way you live!