From Dust to Dome:
A Journey of Discovering Selfhood

My childhood has always been about playing on the streets, getting dirty in dust and daydreaming about creating something different than the usual. By this I mean I hated doing what others do, what others wear, where others go and what others eat. I have always wanted to be different from everyone. I didn’t wanted to follow anyone, I wanted to create followers. And my this dream of becoming foreign has grown into a domelike desire that anything I wish to do, I would first make sure it’s not done before (as weird as it sounds)! The result of which, even while doing assignments, I google the topics not to get the information, but rather to make sure what is already written most of the times and what different would I write. So in my every assignments, I have tried to be as different and bizarre as I can. Though technical writing doesn’t allow us to be that flexible with our innovative skills, this class has changed my views on losing my creativity as I proceed towards my engineering career.

The first assignment was resume and cover letter. I thought resume and cover letters were supposed to be easy but I was wrong. I mean what’s a big deal, you just need to jot down the information about your education and experience right? But wait, you also need to think about your skills which are of two types: soft skills and hard skills. The case with me was even I didn’t knew what kind of hidden talents do I possess. Plus, it’s kind of bragging when you say that you are punctual, very dedicating and the whole other stuff which you know you are not. While in cover letters, about the one page story that we write on why we need this job, truth is that no one really cares about their career but rather everyone is just really passionate about not starving to death. So these assignments demand some formal technical words from you in exchange of the corporate experience (now I think I’m at a loss while declaring this). But seriously, I learned to condense my information into a more tempting package and throw out unnecessary information. I also came across some interesting stuff like two-part title and recognising our Purpose and Audience which helped me in other assignments as well.

Next came the interview report. This was a very cool project as we got the real-world corporate experience. We often don’t give much of a thought on how taking initiatives help us what we want to become. Here, we were left to approach a computer scientist to inquire about their journeys and to make connections for your future all on your own. At first, I was a little nervous while recording my interview. I was just rushing for questions that I have prepared and rotted perfectly in my mind. But then as it proceeded, I kind of felt at ease and found myself asking instantaneous questions and was really intrigued about the whole process. And then there were presentations where I got to hear 26 such interesting stories. It really flickered my interest in this class.

The lab reports were pretty tiring. Mostly because you just need to stick to a place and organise your study into a readable coherent literature which drains out all of your energy. The challenge in this report was to try not to fake your results. Because that is something which is very important in today’s age of misleading media content. Many times a study alter the wordings of the result to pursue an agenda but results don’t lie (until of course they aren’t skewed). So it is very necessary to stick through your experiment. I did a nice attempt but maybe complicated my study in a way, otherwise it went pretty well.

Here comes the proposal writing. The best part of it was collaborating in a group. We all managed our time in drafting our respective parts of the research accurately. I enjoyed the presentations but I wish I was a bit more prepared about my speech. I literally rushed through my part so that I can confuse my audience to get my way through it. If I get through it quickly, then people don’t have the time to analyse my theory, probe intelligent questions or oppose my ideology as I learned that if you can’t convince them, confuse them! (mayhem) I joke, I rushed because I wanted to give the time to my fellow classmates as I am a fan of listening rather than then speaking. And I rushed also because I was a little nervous which I realise I need to work on.

Technical description was pretty easy to get away with. You just need to gather the information about any innovation in your respective fields and present in the class. Presentations again! I clearly remember I was one of the four students who raised their hands about having no stage fear. And let me tell you that the other three did pretty well on their perceptions but I sucked at it. I had no clue why I told that but I did feared the attention. Maybe because I didn’t prepare for it even once as I had other exams and submissions to work on. But I loved hearing my fellow mates on their innovations. Although this was the very last assignment of the class, I felt like I messed up with citations in almost every projects (some things we just can’t get better at).

Wait, the assignments aren’t done yet. As a part of passing this subject, I am in the process of designing my portfolio and writing this self assessment which I believe I enjoyed the most as I got to relive this short piece of journey. From the day one, we have been hearing our respected professor Mr. B’s dialogue (as he would like to be called) about referring back to the old days when dinosaurs used to rule the world…( when comparing the things between present and past generation) and I honestly don’t remember the whole but I will definitely carry it with me forever. What else is that I really enjoyed this class (not trying to earn the brownie points) and this semester has amazed me. It made me appreciate time. What I regret is not doing somethings which I wished to do in the presentations but then again everything kept me so busy whole day that I had no time to think of any crap. I like being creative and this class got the best at it.

Now as you further keep yourself busy with my portfolio, please be obliged to know that while reading it, if you happen to catch something that looks like pun… then it probably is.