Knowledge is Great – Therefore keep learning and acquire knowledge till you breathe.

This is my entry to the contest “Knowledge is Great” sponsored by British Council and conducted by Indiblogger.

               In the year 2009 one of my talented friends said that there are a lot of lucrative universities in United Kingdom (UK) and as of now there might be the shortage of talented people over there. At that time, I was not serious about it and I threw a tantrum that it is the western part of the world and therefore it lacks in talent. At this silly answer by me, my friend calmly said that don’t forget that those people were the one’s who ruled our country for more than 2 centuries in the past. He also added that in future, UK will be known as the best place to acquire knowledge and if we are lucky to find a job over there then there would be no other better place in rest of the world. At this point, I uttered unknowingly and instantly that we must acquire best knowledge over there and use it for the betterment of our society irrespective of the country which we belong. My friend said yes but for that purpose we will have to head towards UK and prior to that we will have to score good marks in the IELTS which is the basic necessity to get admission in UK.

               In this way, I discussed it with my parents and they did not even say supporting words like try your best. Well the obvious reason behind this was they were hoping that as I have completed my post graduation, I should find a suitable job here in India and discard this plan of studying further. At that point of time, I thought that I had asked my parents to allot me the precious thing of the world and that was to study further and that too in the western country like England where the climate is uncertain at most of the times. Any how, my parents gave me the fees to apply for IELTS exam in December 2009 and I scored 6.5 out of 9.0 band score. I saw it online and intimated this news to my friend who left for job few days before. My parents were not happy not because my IELTS score but because my friend chose to leave here itself and do a job rather than studying ahead in UK.

               I asked my friend as well as my parents that what I should do the next. At this moment my friend said let us find if any of our friends or mutual friends are doing a job in UK after studying over there and if we get positive results, then no one could stop us. In this way, the very next day, I found my school friend (via social networking website Facebook) who was studying in UK and he said that it is not that easy to study here and get a job after completing the study. He added that this is the reality and you don’t feel it till you are away from your country. At this point I informed this school friend that I am also applying for further studies in UK and my IELTS score is 6.5. He said well you have scored good marks and he added that the cost of studying in UK is truly immense and he advised me to come to UK only if my financial condition was above average.

               Interestingly, I found my financial condition average and my parents were also convinced with my decision to study further in UK. Now it was the time of action and I certainly feared to fly away from my country not because of the cost of education but because of recession. I thought for a while and figured out that only few post graduates in India are able to find a handsome job and the main reason behind this was recession. The next day, I also saw news in newspaper that the recession has hit all parts of world and it was not a good situation for overseas students. I discussed this matter with my parents and they too were fearful but they said that now it is you who needs to take a decision about studying further in UK or living here in India with whatever you earn. At this point, I took a deep breath and said that It is better to enjoy recession rather than increasing the expenditures. My parents were happy not because I had decided cut down my study in UK plan but because I would be living with them here in India.  

              By the way, I was going to apply for Masters Degree in the field of Computer Science. And that was the only subject I had decided to opt for if I would have been studying in UK. Till date, I have felt that my decision to refrain from studying overseas was right according to the circumstances that appear in front of me. But still there is a feeling that If I would have been to UK then what would I have had preferred? I remember that during IELTS preparation my teacher used to insist me and other students to watch BBC TV channels so as to increase the vocabulary as well as acquire the proper ascent. So following is the new list of my subject of choice, what it would be, at which place in UK and the reason behind it.

               First choice: Oxford Brookes University.

               Study Course: Automotive Engineering M.Sc. - September 2014.

               Where: Oxfordshire.

               

               Why: The reason behind this course is that it relates to automotive section. This would help me to be a part of TV show like Top Gear. I used to watch the famous TV program Top Gear which was being hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.      

               Second choice: University of Exeter.

               Study Course: M.Sc. by Research in Biosciences

               Where: Streatham.

               

     

Why: The only reason for which I would study the above mentioned study course is that because this University of Exeter has offered a Ph.D degree to Steve Backshall. I saw him in various TV shows like Deadly 60, Venom Hunter, BBC’s Expedition Borneo and many more. I was fascinated by watching his show Venom Hunter where he took the challenge and faced it bravely. Another interesting episode of Steve was Expedition Borneo where he had to climb a mountain without any safety harness and it was a very tough challenge. Also at that time his walkie-talkie was not working due to bad weather and he had only one assistant to help him reach the top of Mount Kuli. His adventure spirit truly inspires us to give our best in any situation of our life.