People who are engineers or engineering students warned me about what it will be like if I pursue the same course. I was young and innocent, preparing myself with what my future degree holds. They told that it will be a challenging career path and that it will not be as rewarding as it seems to be. I listened.
Then came engineering college. With all those opinions in mind, I braved through my engineering course term after term. All they said were true indeed – having to burn midnight candles to memorize formulas, pulling all-nighters for reports and projects, taking exams with zero sleep just to study for it, and attending class with terror professors, among others are regular lifestyles – but I managed to turn those into challenges I can overcome instead of hurdles I couldn’t get through. I looked at those as opportunities of growth as an engineer because I recognize that it is part of the process. And also because I know that this is I want, and this is who I am going to be regardless of what I am faced with. I have to get through everything.
Someone who is weak at heart wouldn’t survive long in engineering school. It takes more than just the ability to learn the application of maths and physics to the betterment of mankind, but also the capacity to shrug off the difficulties and focus on the ambition. One cannot easily give up because things are hard. Every single thing worth having has to be worked on and earned, and that includes being able to practice engineering. That’s what I exactly bore in mind to be able to get into this stage where I am just a diploma away in becoming an engineer.
I focused on the fun parts as well. Engineering students are a cool bunch – having almost the same wavelength as mine, my classmates are the ones who make it light for me in between classes. Some of my engineering professors are witty too that makes the engineering experience a lot bearable. I also get to work on cool projects that pump up my curiosity with how things work. Those are the things where I dwelled on and not on the undesirable things that kept me on moving forward.
Some would condemn me for saying this but I definitely mean it: engineering is the best thing that ever happened to me. Despite and in spite of every terrible experience I had in engineering college, I can still say that. Why wouldn’t I say that anyway? I am living my dream and things are going well for me. It’s all about the right attitude!
