College life! Ah! That blissful feeling that most of us experience, when we reminisce those amazing days. But it wasn’t always fun and games during our college days, was it? For some, including me, it wasn’t all hunky-dory. But one thing we all often forget to analyse and accept is that EVERYTHING has a SILVER LINING and mine was the amazing initiatives that I undertook whilst studying.
I decided to revisit this chapter of my life when I recently read about the protests in IIT Madras over the poor quality of food that was served to the students and decided to share with my own experiences on HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF HEARD or HOW TO TAKE INITIATIVES during your college life.
POPULARITY — For a
rocking college life?
Well, becoming popular is PERCEIVED as a NECESSITY by most students and honestly, I do agree that it’s an important thing. But it’s not the only thing. The reason I begin by emphasising this important point is because of the numerous college-going adolescents who have either developed low confidence and/or low self-esteem issues, some form of identity crisis or slipped into a depression due to it.
Hence, here are my two simple MANTRAS that shall make you popular with the RIGHT PEOPLE and become a STRONG VOICE!
1. Just be human
The one thing that had made me hugely successful in getting things done or enjoy SPECIAL ATTENTION from staff and lecturers was that I’d treat everyone with utmost GENUINE RESPECT and REMEMBER THEIR NAMES, especially the ones who were considered insignificant. I’m referring to the security guard, the cleaning staff, gardeners and bus drivers.
The bonus outcome: The popularity with the staff automatically made me quite popular with the lecturers which in turn made me appear very influential to my classmates, which automatically made me popular but also the go-to guy in case anyone needed help or any kind of assistance. It really didn’t matter whether I could actually help out or not, but I was in the loop with almost everyone.
How does this help in making yourself heard? Well, you’re in the right spot. To act as an intermediary between the students and the management and also to be able to INITIATE the process of CHANGE with the students using your popularity.
2. Initiate, initiate and initiate!
We all adore, adorn and love leaders. The main ingredient to becoming one is to be a person who takes initiative. It might be a small activity to full-fledged planning of an event. Volunteer and take initiative. It has a lot of advantages. It not only teaches you practical skills but will also give the REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE of understanding and handling the different DYNAMICS that MATTER. Once you take initiative, you’ll also be the person who will be noticed and that in turn will enable you to organise events and bring together people for a cause.
These are not just some things I conjured up, they have been tried and tested by me and I really hope that it shall enable you to start your LEADERSHIP JOURNEY. Today! All I hope is that you will STAND UP FOR THE RIGHT CAUSES and ensure that my efforts here don't end up as a lost cause.
