Over Confidence and Failure - part three

As I mentioned previously I was not doing any tutorials in my first semester mainly due to my familiarity with the subjects. That arrogance really back stabbed me to barely score decent in my first semester.  I contemplated scoring really very well before my exams but I flunked. I categorized my failure due to over confidence and poor judgement over the pattern of NTU scoring. This failure put me into the dark days of my life since I usually been one of the top performers in my schools throughout I could not digest the poor grades. I was totally depressed for a week or so. Moreover, the depression was aggravated by my loneliness in NTU since I was pursuing Entrepreneurship minor during semester break.  I wanted a solid come back with good grades. So, I put myself into the art of reclusion and seclusion.

In the hindsight, those are some of the worst mistakes of my life. I should not have secluded myself from the main stream NTU population since I missed some real good experience of networking and guidance. I realized later that sound career decisions are usually made through networking. It is usually networking which opens the boundless opportunities of high flying jobs. Reflecting on my failures, I consider poor planning and time management are main reasons. My over confidence was the natural product of self esteem I gained from being one of few privileged  blokes from Cuddalore old town to pursue UG in NTU. I became philosophical to realize that failures teach more lessons than success so I changed my mindset to tackle any kind of situations in my life.

At the same time, my first year is not completely about failures but also new dimension of learning in my life. I met people from all over world, learned their cultures and tried to learn languages, experienced international cuisine. More interestingly, my education has become more analytical than rote learning which I was used to for more than 16 years of my life. I don't deny that rote learning happens in NTU but still better than my experience in Indian system. Through failures and mistakes, I was able to understand my interests and more importantly my strengths and weakness. That path of my life gave ample opportunities to develop myself as a good team player and leader. I have participated and also won several competitions during my first years with people from diverse cultures and different backgrounds. So, I consider this might be a beginning of new era in my life towards education.

For part one - Click here
For Part two - Click here