My plan to unplan...

Seventh semester in all engineer's life is a crucial moment, they say. There is this extreme and unbearable pressure from peers, parents, unknown, yet always there to give advice, relatives, friends who are waiting to get treat and all those we meet along the sidewalks, corridors, washrooms, buses, hostel floors, basically everyone in town. Everyone is interested in your future plans, most of them aren't even going to be a part of it.

So, how do we tackle this stress and enjoy the last, probably not for some, years of student life?

So, when I was wondering the same thing on my bus ride couple of days back, I had this weird thought. "What am I going to do with my life?". "How do I see myself in the next 5 years". The thought was immediately followed by,  "Why do I need to plan the next 5 years of my life?". Things never happen the way we want it to happen. I aimed for medicine but ended up in SSN. Many aimed for so many other things but ended up doing something completely different. I decided planning does nothing to change the fate. Hard work does, but the amount of work to put in is mountainous.

So I came up with this thought of planning to unplan. I tried to remember all the things that I wanted to do in life. Imagined myself in all those fields, nothing seemed perfect, nothing seemed achievable, everything was blur and dreamlike. Confused and perplexed like the usual me, I wanted to forget everything. So I made it up a point to forego all plans. No plans, anymore. Short-term goals, fine. But no long term goals. Baby steps at a time. That too seems scary when people around you talk about companies and masters and entrepreneurship and jobs and marriage! But, be determined to not get sucked into this vicious cycle of false promises of future. We all know nothing is concrete. Change is the only constant thing, yet we plan and get disappointed. We constantly try to fit in. Give it up and let it go.

Don't let your life become a series of usual questions like:

"Baby born?"

"Is it walking?"

"Which school?"

"Learning arts and craft?"

"What your 10th result?"

"What's your 12th result?"

"Which college?"

"Which company?"

"Which country?"

"When is your marriage?"

"Daughter or son?"

"When is your retirement?"

"What disease, now?"

"Is he/she dead?"

And a few articles in the newspaper. And the end. Is this what life is all about?