Mystory@Swati Singh: How I made the most of my college years

Mystory@Swati Singh

I was in a great dilemma while choosing my stream for 11th standard. But it was actually quite easy for me as I was sure that Science is not my cup of tea and neither can I substitute it as my cup of coffee!

And my school didn't offer Arts, so I was left with Commerce as my option and I went ahead with it becoming the school topper at the end.

I still remember my family mocking at me and suggesting me to opt for Arts as it would be easy and I could pass my years making drawings.

My college admission journey

After my school, I filled the form for BCom, BA Economics, Math and English. I was quite sure here as well that I won't take up BCom as this was the popular choice of many students and I didn't want to follow the herd. My inner self was tilted towards English as by then I developed a writer in me and would like to see myself in that stream but life always takes you towards the unplanned.

Somedays later I met a professor at Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) who was known to my family. He persuaded me to take Economics as choosing English might have led me further into my imaginary world, taking me away from the real, practical world! By then we had FYUP in DU so I thought of opting for English in my second year and go with Economics till then as research was also my interest area.

Basically, I applied for Delhi University colleges and BMS course (Bachelor of Management Studies) at that time. I prepared on my own for the entrance but somehow couldn't clear it. Probably I was quite happy with my school result and took the entrance exam lightly. Besides I was getting many colleges in South Campus.

I opted for Maitreyi College where I was getting BCom. And with the second cut off, I was much relieved to shift to Economics. I probably would have got SRCC in the second cut off provided I would have scored better. My main focus was to get into North Campus but I missed Daulat Ram by 0.25 percentage points. But as they say, everything happens for good.

My college experience

My college life was more than what I expected it to be. It had many twists and turns making me a better person at each step.

My first year was about exploring Delhi more. I roamed around with many of my friends to the places like Bhooli bhatiyari, Ugrasen ki Baoli, Bangla Sahib etc. I was also trying to explore extra-curricular activities, which I finally got into in my second year.

I started my 4th semester with joining Placement cell. Later, I did one MUN and was dedicating much of my time to studies after a low score setback in my first year. Albeit score was much lower in my 2nd year than 1st year. What an irony!

Later I was trying my hand at MUNs and did nearly 9 more in a span of about 2 and a half months. It helped me evolve my communication skills and connected me more with the social space.

It was this stage of my life and this social connect that brought in me a sense of challenge to exceed in my professional space. I was seeing people connecting with many institutions, societies and bringing a change to the society, developing a much respectable space for themselves and leading in some of their core areas. After introspecting, I realized that I stood nowhere in the bunch of these witty and life changing people. This thought made me move ahead in my life despite many challenges.

After that I did three internships in two months, i.e. with The Hindu as a journalist, BRICS International Forum as research and development intern, and Delhi Youth Forum as content writer and in project management department. Besides this, I was auditioning for Debate Society in my college for all three years but couldn't be a part of it, while I was winning some decent positions in other simulation and debate platforms.

Later in my 5th semester I started my own society named Competitive Forum, the knowledge society of Maitreyi College which brought the idea of having group discussions on current affairs on a weekly basis. Fortunately, I received a huge positive response for it and was able to organise a two-day academic event in the same semester with some eminent panelists coming for the discussion.

My thirst for exceeding and learning wasn’t quenched and I started with another society in my 6th semester named Research Club under Economics Department with due backing by my Head of Department. And now this society is organising some great seminars with World Bank and companies like Forrester.

My entire college journey was about observing, learning, challenging and exceeding. The whole experience made me a very patient and positive person. At some time when people were opposing my moves, my determination and optimistic attitude eventually got them to be on my side later.

It was all about believing and taking chances and that makes someone exceptional.

About the Author:

I am a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate with Economics (Hons). I am a civil services aspirant right now. I like pencil painting and writing poetic stories. I’m also interested in Research and Journalism. Both are poles apart in terms of degree required but at the same time share the same ideology of knowing what is unknown, of testing things beyond a common man's reach and communicating with those who are left out.