Dissertation : Work in Progress (?)

With just a few days left to submit my (atleast) 15,000 words dissertation; I am (but, of course) stressed... because as always, I have been waiting until the last minute to actually  start my work. (though I have been giving my supervisor the impression that I have been putting in all hours of my life in this project...Or so I hope?) With the deadline fast approaching and my work (very) slowly progressing, it is a miracle how have I not hit the panic button yet.
For the people who may be even mildly interested in what is my research topic, I shall enlighten you today. For those who are not.. well then, you must still read, because , honestly, you also know you are just procrastinating from your work when you came across this blog, why not spend a few minutes and know what is it about?
(For those who are actually not  procrastinating, my apologies, you may now continue to your work; because the following might not be terribly important for you anyway...)

So I shall try to put down this journey of my  research project (so far) as succinctly as possible.

 (Just a random thought : I have a tendency to be the most creative when I have overwhelming amounts of work.. case in point: the post I wrote during exams! Wasn't that the best piece of writing you ever read or what!

OK. You don't need to tell me you don't agree with that.
 Because it was indeed the best piece of writing humankind has ever witnessed in the history of the world!

Just a slight exaggeration. Never mind, because , "Within every elaborate lie lies a kernel of truth.." ~Someone

Yes I just googled it to put in the blog to make it seem like I can fit in quotes whenever I like 'cos ofcourse I am well read and I remember every quote of every book I have ever read and I can put in a quote anywhere and everywhere just to make it sound like I am so smart.

and that  is how you increase the word-count ,people!

Sorry, this has been one huge bracket comment. I tend to deviate!)

So, yes, to the serious matter of my thesis so far.

Once upon a time there was a young woman who was very much passionate about doing something worthwhile in her life. (Apparently writing a blog twice a year does not count! I know I was shocked to learn that too..!) Anyway, she had no idea how to proceed to do the same. It must have been destiny then, that she enrolled in a graduate program in social statistics, one that demanded her to do an engaging project at the end.

It was a summer's evening in late April when the class was told they need to start thinking about their thesis and potential topics, and start meeting potential supervisors to discuss the validity of their project. Naturally, everyone was thrown off track and were infuriated at this bit of information.  "Don't they know that we have approximately a million deadlines and exams coming up in less than a month? They actually expect us to think?"
But the world doesn't work our way, because even though they had a million deadlines, they had also been given a million years to do it. (They must be really lazy students to not work until the last minute...)

Anyhow, this young woman was also perturbed. She hadn't even started thinking about her dissertation, and now she was suddenly expected to meet professors and discuss her research goals with them; there just wasn't enough time for everything!

However, there is the Law of Productivity ( which I firmly believe in, and it is not at all made up) which states : "The level of productivity of a person shall be constant (and low) ; unless and until the amount of time left to complete the said work approaches zero, after which the productivity increases exponentially"
In other words, productivity is inversely proportional to time.

Which means that, even though the young woman knew there was no time, she wasn't aware of the law of productivity, and she did manage to meet her deadlines and study for exams and think up of her research topic. ( with a little help from her friends...)

And thus, she finished her exams, submitted all the assignments by the deadlines, and sat down to work for her project.

Or she thought she did.

You see, she pretended to work, because let's be honest, she had no clue what she was supposed to be doing in the research project. She had never done anything like that ever before. It was too daunting a task...and there was so much time! She would figure it out..
So, after a lot of pretend-work (and also a bit of actual work) she eventually convinced herself that she had been working very, very hard. (and I agree. Pretend-work isn't easy you know. All that pretension! It's tiring!)  Her belief spread to the extent that when there was little time left , she thought - "Oh, I have been working so hard the past few months, I really deserve a break!"


Which is how this post came into existence.






Notes:
1. Sorry for the shameless bit of advertising there ! But, that's how promotions work don't they?
2. The above story is a complete fictional account, believe me. (Ofcourse I don't pretend-work!)
3. For someone actually interested, my thesis is titled : "Determinants of child health in the context of gender inequality : A study in rural Haryana and Kerela "

(This is a working title. And please don't ask me further questions about it since I happen to know not a lot.)

Exam Time is here again!

Here I am, updating this blog after months again..(In my defence, I have been busy with assignments, courseworks and exams.... Ah, the 'perks' of being a Masters Student) and while my exams are still going on I decide to procrastinate, and what better way to do this by writing!( because of course, updating my blog is waaay more important than trying to think about the Bayesian Statistics exam I have in a day.) 

While trying to think of an interesting anecdote I can write about, I draw a blank. Is there absolutely nothing worth sharing or writing about? 

I could write about the recently concluded Indian Elections; but I do not want to inadvertently take sides and then end up in debates over the internet. After all, defending your stance is not an easy job! 

(Although I would love to write something about our Congress Vice President,  the 'prince' of India,  how must he be feeling after seeing the party suffer its worst defeat ever? Going by his expressions on the Result Day, however, I do not think he even realized that the Congress has lost by that big a margin) 

Yes! Stalling the readers for a few minutes has worked, because now I am about to share with you something no one would have ever before. Something that will, believe me, will change your life ..

And now, imagine some drum rolls please, if you will...

Life as a student at a British University

No,  this isn't my University. Wish it was though!

What? Do I hear you thinking that this is not at all something that has never been shared with you before? That there are countless blogs/articles/video blogs/pictures (did I miss out anything?) with the exact same title, and all of which you have read/seen and you might as well consider yourself to be an expert on the subject. 

(In case you do not fall in the category above, well , good for me!) 

However, dear readers, please bear with me, because my experiences as a student at a British University are definitely not something you must have read about before. 

First, for those who don't know me, (because I like to believe that there are many people who don't know me, reading my blog) a brief introduction . Formally, I am a Statistics student (yes I love data, no I do not know how that data can affect your life decisions) studying at the University of Southampton, UK. I have completed a Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of Delhi in India... but these things do not define me. I am a person who loves writing, loves reading, loves eating (but hates cooking!). Some find me friendly, some find me reserved, and I agree I am both...

In short, I am just like any other person, trying to find her way in this world.. 

Life as a student at a British University is everything I imagined it would be, and more. I thought the professors here would be very knowledgeable, very enthusiastic, very keen. Turns out, that's something you can't generalize. There are all sorts of people everywhere, and I have some amazing professors here, but there are some who could care less about the students and the modules. As a student you are expected to be very independent and have the ability to work things out on your own. This came as  a rude shock to me, because , well , in India we had always been offered things on a platter. ('We're spoon-feeding you!' was something my professors always said, and then still  continued to do that.) However, studies are less rigorous here than expected (which is not to say that I am not completely swamped with work!) You are not expected to memorise things, just understand and apply the concepts. Again, this was a rude shock to the Delhi University graduate who is writing this, as in her undergraduate days she only understood and applied concepts that were 'important' (which translates as: This is definitely coming in the exam, just learn this bit and you are good to go) 

The universities are very hi-tech here, and essentially all work you do is on a computer. Now while this is very convenient, it also has some major disadvantages. There are so many options to procrastinate when you are studying on your computer! (Case in point: now) There are just so many times a student will resist the temptations before thinking 'oh, facebook for just 5 minutes, before I continue my work in the other window' , or , 'I can chat with friends on facebook, watch a football match , read the news, and study at the same time! Of course I can!'; and since all of these options are now on the computer, there is no shame associated with not studying, because, after all, you have your work/study notes open in the other window. Of course I'm studying, how dare you suggest otherwise!

One thing that I have realized here is how community driven our society is. All Indians I have met here are very helpful and friendly, and there is a sense of belonging when we're all together; and I believe it is the same with students from other communities. While it is true that people can relate more to people from their own country/region, I never imagined I would make more Indian friends in the UK than I ever did in India.. (yes, that's only partly true; but I am a statistician..I can manipulate numbers to prove my statements!)

 The University Interchange. I spend a lot of time waiting for buses here

Oh and how can I not talk about food. I don't think this has anything to do with being in a British University though, I think it must be universally true. Everything is either too expensive, too unsuited to my tastes.. or sometimes just too raw.(Imagine, having to cook your own food! The horror! ) There come times when you have some benevolent friends who sometimes cook for you; and then you can't thank god enough for sending them into your life. 

Then there are times when you learn to get by with whatever limited cooking abilities you have, and find comfort in your own cooked food. I have never felt more accomplished than when I managed to successfully make a proper meal for myself; which just makes me feel I can do anything and everything if I can cook. Bring it on! I am ready! 

To see the good side of things, there are often some really ground breaking researches going on in the university which inspire feelings of awe; and if you're lucky, one of your professors might be the ones doing such awe-striking work. Seeing such inspiring people in close quarters makes you humble and grateful for having such opportunities. The options provided for learning are immense! I have met such a plethora of people , and I have learnt so much about the world. I now know little things such as everyday cultures and traditions that can probably be never learnt through any amount of reading. Sometimes you just need to experience things, because no piece of writing can ever truly justify the experiences of a lifetime!

(I realize this didn’t really change your life. I can't believe you believed that....)