The final day...

A girl sat next to me in the bus on the last day of my college, and she was interested in the books I was carrying. I explained that they are project documentations and she happened to start conversation about the opportunities at college. I gave her every piece of advice I had and encouraged her to strive for excellence. I felt fantastic after having such an excellent time in college. 

One last pic....

When I entered my college, the rooms were locked, so we had to wait. During that time, one of my friends informed me that the viva external has a PhD and 22 years of teaching experience. After researching the professor's accomplishments, we were all concerned about the number of questions we may get during the viva. Wait, did you just picture a man? If so, adjust your appearance; she looks great with goggles.

Our viva started shortly after the other teams' did. I entered the lab realizing the external professor had previously worked at our college and she is a singer too. In my freshman year of undergrad, I just so happened to catch her perform. We wished her and started our introduction. She asked about the project and our team started to explain. Then one of my teammates began describing every detail by referring to the actor as "he" rather than the role. For instance: My teammate employed "he" to play the part of the borrower.

 The external interrupted asking if the project works for only male? Such a question caught us off guard, so we responded that it is appropriate for all people. Then, as I was explaining, I did the same error. The external emphasized it once more. I acknowledged my error and carried on with the justification. Although everything proceeded without a hitch, I was not happy. I always believe in equal opportunity irrespective of gender, cast or creed. I recently found out that subconsciously, the deepest part of me accepts patriarchy.

One evening, my friend explained her plight with her project teammates. One of her teammate finished the project but is not ready to explain it to others. She said boys are good at technology than girls and how its the mistake of that teammate who does not care. The irony is she is the team lead for the  project. I was furious with her attitude and spanked her mercilessly for her careless actions. I find it difficult to believe that the same me made the error in the external project.

A handful of my friends who are MBBS students told me they had a similar experience when we spoke. They said patient would always consider a women as nurse and men as doctor. I always felt men need to change their way of thinking and accept women in certain roles but women first and foremost need to have confidence in themselves and be open to larger challenges.  Women need to acknowledge and support other women's accomplishments. They ought to have trust in themselves and play any part with assurance.

Isn't it a wonderful life lesson to learn on your final day of college?