A lady very close to me inspired this writeup though. She recently graduated from one of the prestigious college of education in the country and came to meet me to help her write an application letter in anticipation to get a teaching job and I was like "what have you been using your 3 years in the institution to do that you can't write a common letter? " I just told her to go and write it herself and bring it to me to crosscheck. One thing I observed from this lady is that she fails to widen her horizon which makes it the reason half baked graduates are produced from our higher institutions every year.
I promise to make this article short. To be an All-round and versatile student, you need to widen your horizons since everything can not be taught in the four walls of the classroom and here are the clues to widen your horizons:
Read wide. Make sure at every point in time you're reading a book. If you spend 20 minutes reading daily, for 52 weeks you would have consumed 1,000,000 words. It may not necessarily be a book that is only related to your course of study. You can also read books on relationships, religion, politics, motivational books, novels, scripture and any educative books. Also read books pertaining to other fields. For instance, as an agriculture students, you can read books pertaining to law, politics, science, arts and vice versa; by the time you stand up to talk among your peers, you will not be counted as a layman.
Read newspapers and magazines. Listen to news. Be current and be aware of the happenings in your environment.
Travel to different places of interest. This will make you more exposed.
Meet new people. Make new positive friends as often as possible and ensure you keep the communication line open. Create a network of friends and not just connections.
Attend seminars, conferences and and trainings on any area you need to improve yourself - Train the trainer, personal development, public speaking, etc.
Ask questions on any subject matter. I often do this even questions that people count as irrelevant, I ask not because I don't know but because I want to get a different opinion. I'm known in class for this.
Surf the web on important subject matter. Internet has become a very versatile source of information. Acquaint yourself with this technology.
Be involve in extra-curricular activities (that is activities apart from your academics).
Be inquisitive and curious.
Acquire new skills.
Have the habit of keeping a pen and writing pad handy because ideas come in form of flashes. The smallest pen is bigger and better than the biggest brain.
Listen to speeches and messages from great teachers, both religious and educational.
Get a mentor and follow his instructions and respect the relationship.
Make friends with successful people. By this you will learn their secret of success.
Join the MAD foundation today.
Together, we can start the 'MADness'.
... Towards building a 'MAD' generation.
M.A.D - Making A Difference.
