It was a fine Sunday evening. Dusk had just set in. Dark clouds were ominously hovering in the sky. A slight humidity made the weather a bit prickly. Occasionally, a short burst of breeze rode past my face reminding me that normally at that time I used to be at my home seated by my laptop listening to my favorite songs or reading my favorite book. But in my mind I was thinking that day was different and was forever written as a part of my life which will be always remembered and cherished. Because that day was a first of something which had to eventually form my future.
There is something exhilarating associated with college life. The freedom, the sense of responsibility and maturity, the best and the most enjoyable moments spent with your friends unlike any other time in your life, the thrills of bunking and being crazy about a visit to canteen and of course knowing fully well that you have chosen a career path of your choice. And when you reach the end of your chosen professional course, there comes the opportunity knocking at your door asking you to show yourself and your prowess in the real world where there is a huge demand of talent and perfectionists. Well, yeah I am referring to the process known as campus placement. These placement drives not only provide you with job but introduce you to a world where you can be what you want to be based upon your academic skills and this is the precise moment to realize your long held dream from childhood - that dream varies from person to person but everything begins from there. And, will I be left out of all this ? Nah, and that is what happened on that fine Sunday evening.
I have already expressed my thoughts in my previous post about my grand reason to come to Chennai and join my current college. I had mentioned something about placements and I too had mentioned about my enthusiasm towards this very chance at the beginning of my course. But, just as the usual trend, I became a youth from a teenager and forgot everything that I had resolved to do but just went with the flow of enjoying my life more and automatically abstained from going near the textbooks and worry about exams. Oh come on life is much more than just that. So, there started my journey and I never thought about placements at all until the end when I had no other choice. As the companies came one by one and as I literally got rejected in the same manner, a heavy feeling constantly started accompanying me reminding me of my stupidity to be careless since the beginning and my conscience chastised me for not being sincere and falling in the devil's trap by ignoring my more important responsibility,which, if I had taken care of, could lead me into a more blissful state without straining too hard or worrying incessantly. But, upon thinking about it now (you seem to get more polite with yourself once the mission gets accomplished and forgive yourself in a way that was not even imaginable earlier) I realize that it is nothing but the usual unpleasant nagging of your subconscious before something needs to to be done for sure. This is the case with every student during placements. If you don't get in soon and especially when you see your friends and other classmates getting in before you, it seems to you that you will never get placed and that your future is bleak. But, hold on, after all you are a qualified person and that is why you are here today. If not now then some time later. These words are supposed to be soothing but don't find place even in small recesses of your mind under that heavy weight and you naturally become a pessimist against your own wishes. During one of such processes, I managed to reach till the interview part of at least one company and after getting rejected even for that, the familiar sinking feeling hit me hard and left me hopeless. I was on the verge of tears because may be I had dared to be way too optimistic and had resolved about one thing that nothing at all can be predicted out of these placement drives. Normally, it is ninety percent your intelligence that works and ten percent is your luck supporting you but here the ratio is discouragingly a bit modified - it is fifty percent your skills and knowledge and the other fifty percent is your luck standing in your way smirking at you with a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Success and failure are like two sides of the same coin. It was proved to me refreshingly on that Sunday evening of 23rd September, 2012. A well known company named IBM was visiting our campus starting from Friday of that weekend. I don't know about my friends, but there was almost no excitement at all in my mind towards it but I had to force as well as constantly remind myself that I just had to try doing whatever I could do without raising my hopes at all as I was afraid of doing just that - a very contradictory arrangement for my mind who is used to predicting results based upon its performance and those turn out to be exactly how I expected. I never cared to even think what IBM was about as a company. At that time also, I just knew it as a company with its logo on several of the computers and laptops that I had seen and that's all. That is what the interesting thing about these placement processes is - at one instant you don't know or care to know anything about the visiting company and at the next instant that company becomes your everything and you go gaga at the mere mention of it !! So, I sat for the first written test round like an hopeless fellow grinning at the IBM people arranging for the tests like a poor person with minimal means looks with awe and longing at the rich enjoying all kinds of luxuries of modern life. With a highly time constrained and challenging written test, I took a sigh of relief after finally finishing it and completing my responsibility as of now. Results of that round almost came at midnight that day and I nonchalantly checked the list. Not surprisingly, my name was there. Well, I said not surprisingly since I had cleared similar first rounds earlier too but was always kicked out in the second part that is interviews. So, careful not to raise my hopes, I prepared myself to be at college the next day earlier in the morning which happened to be a Saturday against all my wishes because weekend is not a time when you feel like facing a place called college and that too at a time when I was supposed to be enjoying myself in my dreams. I reached college fifteen minutes late and managed to peek through the large crowd gathered at the teeming auditorium at the presentation slides being given by IBM people dressed immaculately in professional attire. My sleepy mind didn't register any awe but I was just eager to accomplish the mission for which I had come that day and retire back to home and to my normal life not wanting to think in any hopeful way. Then came the second round of fifteen minutes checking our skills in summarizing a given passage in six sentences and after what seemed like ages I was once again ushered in for the next phase that was group discussion. That too proceeded with a snail's pace and not until eight that night I came to know that I had to once again be at college the next day for the final and the most dreadful interview round. Still, not wanting to raise any hopes, I once again grudgingly prepared myself to face one more harrowing day with an equally harrowing round.
The next day, people around me were discussing the possible questions but I had no guts in me to face even that and sat in a corner desolately waiting for my turn. Just like the previous day, after what seemed such a never before experienced long period spent waiting for my turn under humid weather and uncomfortable surroundings, finally my turn came which left me fidgeting nervously minutes before the interview. This was the round which finally made me cheerful and hopeful as just two minutes later the final declaration to be remembered by me my entire lifetime was given out - that I am selected. Still, not believing any such thing I went in a daze to the auditorium where I was supposed to submit my documents and other formalities and after some time only the realization sank deep in the recesses of my subconscious making me feel like doing just one thing - rush and hug all the IBM people who had come to our campus.
This was the moment. A moment that belonged to me. This is what is called delight. All of my five years of college life concluded at this final moment. A moment that reminds you of all the important elements in your life - your parents and God. A moment that you can never ever forget because it brings a divine happiness on your parent's face and nothing, absolutely nothing can be as blissful as that. This is the moment when you feel that you are blessed and you are floating and soaring high above in the sky among the fluffy clouds.
A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders that very moment and not only me but my selected classmates were also gushing with joy. This was such a memorable moment and such memories along with the sad and distressed ones make what is called life.
I do not know what my future will be and what I am going to do after becoming an employee of IBM but for now I can be proud at the fact that I did what I was supposed to do as a student and fervently wish that I prove to be a very good asset to the organization and stay happy with my work.
PS: These two days were the longest days of my life and if you are wondering whether I would like to party or not then let me say that I am partying since that day and would like to dance at the tunes of only one song - The Gangnam Style !!!
