The course choosing dilemma is a common fever found rampantly among students standing on the threshold of Educational Institutions to get admissions into Programs of their choice. But this fever can be easily treated with a little effort carried out meticulously in a proper direction. Such an effort will bring amazing benefits. This dilemma reminds me of a famous poem written by a reputed poet Robert Frost "The Road not Taken". Like the situation in the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost where the speaker of the poem reaches a point of bifurcation that leads to two different paths – one seemed more frequented and the other, less. The speaker chooses the less frequented path and sets out along the road falsely consoling himself that he would take the other path later on which is not possible in life because one path leads on to the other. Later, he realizes with a sigh that his choice has made all the difference in his life.
The wavering mentality dates back from Genesis and so it's not surprising that youngsters' minds get tossed away amidst the stormy thoughts combined with fear, anxiety, skepticism led by unanswered questions. This mental state has a great semblance to Shakespeare's character Hamlet. Hamlet's famous dialogue "To be or not to be" portrays the dilemma which the character undergoes. The root of the problem lies in conflict within and will tend to have disastrous impact outside. When a person is caught in a storm of conflict, he will be in an indecisive state of mind to make choices in life, be it choice of course or job offers. Nevertheless, life is full of choices from the cradle to the grave.
It's human tendency to always sigh over the choices that we have made in life. But we can avert this catastrophic situation in our life by pondering deeply about the options at hand and indulging in a little research about the choices before us. Once the choice is made, it's better to move forward in that direction rather than take a U-turn to return to the starting point.
About the Author
Dr. K.C. Lalithambika is the Vice Principal and Associate Professor at Thiruthangal Nadar College, Chennai. She is an academician with a robust 28 years of experience in academic functions, which includes academic policy making, admission process, recruitment initiatives etc.