Faith (a.k.a how to get into a top 10 university)

Most of us find ourselves too often backed up against a corner, contemplating what are we doing with our lives. Whether our actions and choices have truly been our own, or are they just providence. Are things what they seem to be, or is it just our filter bubble showing us things the way we want to see them. I know this feeling of self doubt where you are unsure of everything. I have been there many times, too many times in the past couple of months than I care for. Today I am here to tell you that things have a funny way of working themselves out. If you keep your head down and focus on your work at the same time have compassion for people around you, things do work out. Missing a few parties, working sincerely when slacking off seemed enticing, working on your research project when rest of the college was busy mugging up for the exams, is not too big a price to pay for ending up in a top 10 university (for AI) in the World. 

During one of my internships, one of my mentors who is now at JPL gave me a piece of advice that has really stuck with me: 

Do good work. Thats more important. Enjoy your time, but do good work. Great work.Very few manage to get good opportunities. Use it well.

Look at your mentors and the people you admire and firmly believe that you will get there too one day. It is only a function of your hard work. You will have that lifestyle, you will have that success both personal and professional, it is just a matter of time and faith. Faith in yourself, in your hard work and gratitude for the opportunities that you have been lucky enough to have. 

Gratitude and humility are very important traits to have. They make the journey a whole lot easier. Be humble and apologize when you screw up. Do good upon the world and that good will find its way back to you, karma is real. Trust people, as Randy Pausch put it 'if you wait long enough, people will surprise you'. If you are disappointed in someone, you have just not given them enough time.

You can't get there alone. Having an amazing support system in your family is an amazing asset to have. It is very important to have a space, it can be with family or friends, where you can discuss things without being judged. A space where you do not bring your pride and ego, a place where you listen to feedback instead of coming up with excuses for your shortcomings, a place where you identify your weakness and come up with ways to work on it. It is a difficult process. Whenever I spoke to one particular mentor of mine my self confidence would go for a toss, his feedback was brutal things were only compounded by the fact that he was out there achieving so much. But that is the kind of feedback which helped me the most. You will find hordes of people who will be willing to tell you how great you are, only a limited few will give you real actionable feedback. Treasure them.

Trust me, one day, and that day is not far away, you will look back at your journey, at your struggles, on all those occasions where you could have taken the easier way out, when almost everyone around you took the easier way out. You will look back and you will be proud. 

I am UMass Proud!