BEING A NERDASAURUS: PART I

"Well I have quite recently joined fsc and previously I was an O level student. The thing is I took the decision of joining fsc myself, with no parents pressure,but now I have no idea where my life is moving. I was an intelligent student , if not a genius but really hardworking. But instead of things being in my favor they are turning against me. I have lost my eagerness and yearn to learn , now i m working for marks. Im not even working hard myself , i know it but i have no idea what to do. My thought are jumbled up and i have no studying strategy. I have no idea how to study , and have no hold on my books at all. The books seems to be a baffling maze"

BEING A NERDASAURUS
PART I

-Unsa Athar

I am writing this article in response to an e-mail  received for the [AsK]emunited section for I felt the issue mentioned needs to be addressed in the form of a blog.

There are two doors. Three, maybe.  You are not sure what is beyond those doors. You  can only anticipate.  You have to choose one. After a lot of thinking and analyses you succeed in making a choice. Taking thy Lord’s name, you turn the knob and step inside the world beyond.

Inside is nothing but darkness.  You get this feeling that you certainly made the right choice but simultaneously you feel so out of the place, like you do not belong here.  What to do now?

If you have ever felt the same you might want to keep reading this article aka a sad attempt to bring hope in the lives of hopeless students like me. Otherwise please navigate away. Thank you.

Okay so where were we? Ah, the door and the dark room. There is a simple solution. I know it and You know it because Dumbledore came up with the solution.

Turn on the light, peeps!

But where in the Lord’s name is the *tooooooooon* switch board!!!!!

How to find the switch board?  This is the part of the game where we have to give our energies and this is the part where success and failure is determined. Once the light is on, everyone can find the object one is looking for. Whoever finds the light, wins.

The analogy I used was to explain easily a simple fact. The key to success is orientation of the mind the enlightenment of the heart, the peace of the soul, the light that’ll illuminate everything.

The education system that prevails in our system fails to educate us.  We turn our kids into idiots with minds teeming with information which does them nothing good except for maybe making them pass their examination.  For sensitive minds who have a tendency to be affected by problems more than others, this education system is torturous. Depression, anxiety disorders, behaviour abnormalities all our the result of the stressful environment we have created for our students. The brilliant minds are changed to what they call in urdu ‘bhoosa.’ Tahreem says she has lost the eagerness and yearn to learn because all she does now is study to get marks.  This is what FSc usually does to the talented hardworking students.

I cannot suggest a solution to the problem. I cannot come up with a new education system because that is something beyond the capacity of my little neurons which have already reached  the end of their physiological age.  But as a positive contribution towards bringing a change a in the system, I can come up with a coping mechanism. I can try to help all the baffled, helpeless students out there.

1.     .  Believe in yourself.

First things first, always believe in your capabilities. You are a human being, a human being capable of things beyond imagination.  You may not be the prettiest person or the smartest or the most athletic one but you are something. You are better than many. You are different from others. You possess different skills and talents. Your mechanism work differently and beautifully. So stop comparing yourself with others and start looking for your own spark, your own methodology to deal with life.  You can do wonders, like others, but in your own unique way.

2.  Prioritize.

Divide all the components of your life in a priority pie chart. Life is not supposed to be lived with divisions and rules, I agree, but to enjoy life to the fullest in a wild way you still need an oriented state of mind. Happiness can neither be found in freedom nor in chains. Happiness is a state of mind which can be achieved if you learn to design and re-arrange your priority pie-chart according to the circumstances.

The ideal (according to me) priority chart look somewhat like this

3.Patience my child, patience.

Be patient with yourself and others. Life is not necessarily supposed to turn out the way you planned it. Patience is the only lifeline in such crises. Do not punish yourself.  Yes, people often do that. They love to play the blame game and when they find no one to put the burden on they start blaming themselves and punish themselves emotionally and sometimes even physically.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. BREAAATHE.  Your hardwork will bear fruit. If not today, it will someday. Keep Faith alive. I know it is easy said done but take my word for it, show some patience and you shall get results sooner than expected.

4. Dig out the positive side of you.

Just when you thought things could not go any more wrong, life says ‘Gotcha, baby’ and slams in your face stuff worse than your worst imaginations. Rings a bell? I am sure we all have gone through that phase.  To cope with it, you need to search for the positivity hidden in every situation. Look for a lesson in every set back. Look at the rock that you stumbled upon, memorise its colour and shape to avoid future mishaps. Try to look for the silver lining. When you genuinely try to look for something good in the maze of nothingness  your mind will intrinsically navigate your thought process to the pretty side of the picture.

  

After absorbing these basic principles, next you need to organize your study methodologies and find a strategy that suits you the best.

I’ll be talking about the specific study methodologies in part II of this series soon In Shaa Allah. Remember me in your prayers.