Category: College Days

At a young age, we learn that making friends and maintaining relationships is key to ensure that we do not feel lonely and have a sense of purpose and security. Building a community helps you adapt to your new environment and helps prevents you from isolating yourself. This can be done by joining friend groups, participating in extracurricular activities, and joining study groups. Without building a firm and supportive community, becoming successful in college can be very difficult. Having people around you that enjoy the same activities as you or go through the same struggles, will help you excel both academically and socially. Building a community at your college is the most important step to becoming successful in your college career.

Firstly, making friends during the early days of your first semester of college is a very important step on your road to success. Living on campus helps a lot with this process by giving you roommates and a whole building of people to give you support and community in this difficult transition. According to author Janice McCabe in her book ‘Connecting in College’, there are three types of friendship groups: tight-knitters, compartmentalizers, and samplers (McCabe). People in the tight-knit group tend to stick with one group of friends in which everyone already knows each other. Individuals in the compartmentalizers group tend to have around 2-4 groups of friends that they bounce back and forth to and from (McCabe). And lastly, those in the sampler group are those who have many friends who do not know each other because that person jumps around so much. Each of these groups have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to being successful. The strongest of these categories with the least amount of issues seems to be the compartmentalizers. These tend to be the ones that have a group of friends from high school, church, Greek life, etc. (McCabe). People in this category tend to succeed the most academically because they are able to receive support from various types of friend groups, some offer academic advisement and support and others help them socially. Similarly, ‘tight-knitters’ tend to succeed academically as well, however, this can backfire if the group that they are surrounding themselves with are not academically focused, since this may be the only influence the person is receiving (McCabe). Lastly, in the ‘sampler’ group, academic success relies mostly on the personal work ethic and motivation of the individual. Since these individuals do not have a stable friend group to rely on for this kind of support, it is shown that you do not need a stable friend group to be academically successful, but it is impossible to know if these individuals would be more academically successful if such an influence was present in their lives (McCabe).

Secondly, taking part in extracurricular activities, such as sports, also helps achieve success by teaching you many life skills that will assist you in several aspects of your life later on. Extra-curricular activities help teach patience and endurance in the face of difficult and stressful situations (Mountain Heights Academy). Clubs that allow their students to take on leadership roles allow their students access to experience in management and working together with others. Likewise, joining a speech and debate club helps overcome public speaking anxiety and gives students exposure to people who have different ideas and opinions than themselves. In many aspects of like as we mature, we will encounter individuals who we may not agree with on certain topics and ideas, but activities like speech and debate help build up the discipline and wisdom we need to handle these situations properly while still getting our point across. Sports and clubs that involve working together build up teamwork skills and gives them practice in holding on to a long-term goal (Mountain Heights Academy). Joining extra-curricular activities forces the individual to make new friends and in turn begins to form special bonds from newly discovered shared experiences and struggles. These groups allow students to make friends from different cultures and friend groups that they would not usually associate with because of a shared interest and passion. Time management is also greatly improved while participating in these events because of the individuals busy schedule (Mountain Heights Academy). The individual is now forced to prioritize the things that are most important to them in their daily lives in order to not become too overwhelmed. Lastly, extra-curricular activities help students discover their interests. Although core classes are designed to prepare students for the future and help them discover their interests, clubs and sports offer opportunities that these classes simply cannot.

Lastly, joining study groups is very beneficial in several different ways. In ‘Joining a Study Group’, author Valeria Burdea talks about these benefits. As you discuss different topics within your study group, you will begin to discover certain areas in which you are struggling (Burdea). Since this is a group environment, others in the study group may become more confident in seeing that you are willing to admit when you do not understand something (Burdea). It is comforting to know that you are not alone in your confusion and this feeling can greatly increase many people’s chances of asking questions instead of remaining quiet. We as students are also more likely to receive help from someone else in the group who may understand the material more than ourselves while working in a group environment. Similarly, if you understand something that others do not, you can explain it to them and reinforce it in your own mind at the same time. Being in groups that are focused on certain subjects also help us stay on track and assist in avoiding procrastination (Burdea). While working alone, it is very easy to get distracted by electronics or by simply getting distracted by thinking about all of the things that still need to be done in your academic and daily lives.

Building a close community is essential in having a successful college career. The switch from high school to college is very difficult and without loving and supportive people around you, it can feel impossible. Having people around you that enjoy the same activities as you or have gone through similar struggles, will help you excel both academically and socially. While doing this, you will be given the opportunity to make friends that you may stay in contact with for years and years to come. Through building your community, you can also become a mentor to other students who may come along after you. Building a strong, loving community has a great impact on the way you carry yourself throughout high school and whether or not you will have a positive view of your college experience in the future. Having a strong and positive community can also help prevent you from isolating yourself from those around you. Although getting good grades in college is extremely important, building a solid community at your university will teach you important life skills and lessons that will get you farther than you can imagine.

Nearly every human feels the need to seek happiness in the most effortless way possible. If humans find true meaning, they can tolerate more than those who do not have a reason. Having true happiness can also bring good health to one’s body. Only the person will be able to determine his or her happiness. The degree of happiness within young first-year community college students is something that can be achieved with effort. In 2018 the state of Tennessee had 30,442 new first-time community college students (‘General Enrollment’). Many of these students were faced with challenges; a domain characteristic of these challenges is being stressed. The problems that these students endure can be cured with happiness. Happiness can be established through three different ways: finding a meaning, stop complaining about simple problems, and knowing that happiness is not always easy to pursue.

First-year community college students face many obstacles within the path to get a degree. A common belief is that one’s college years are the best in life; however, studies have shown that student’s first year of classes are excruciating (Varelas). Professors are running into a major problem with new incoming students; evidence indicates that students are “underprepared in basic skills needed to succeed” (Varelas). If students come into college unprepared, they are going to have a hard time with the materials. First-year community college students also struggle with a lack of time management skills. Time management is a major key to success; it is learning “how to intertwine college with real life” (Cornell). If time management is not mastered within the first year, then grades can be negatively affected which can lead to a hard time passing. Another dilemma first-year students must navigate is alcohol and drug consumption. With college being a place where alcohol and drugs are easier to obtain, the chance and opportunity to engage with this activity will be more likely to occur. Recent research shows students are likely to consume alcohol and drugs within the first 6 months (Kenney). The obstacles first-year students face propels them into a strained lifestyle.

To begin with, first-year community college students can obtain happiness by finding true meaning in life. When one starts community college classes, one begins with a specific purpose and has a defined goal to achieve. While executing this goal, some may get lost within the heavy workload and the long hours spent involved at the institution. Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, expresses there was one specific characteristic that differentiated those who survived and those that did not: how much meaning they have in their lives (Smith). He observed that those who derived meaning from life can withstand more hardships than those who cannot (Smith). One way to derive meaning from life is to find purpose. Having a set meaning for pursuing a college degree is a crucial key to success.

Another concept that can make first-year community college students happier is realizing that it is the journey itself where one derives happiness, not the achievement of the goal. This is the mindset of taking time and making sure one gives the best performance one can instead of rushing. For example, students should not rush through homework because if they do, they may not learn what they need to. Emphasizes on the journey is everything: “Happiness will not come from achieving a goal; it comes from the deed of making advancements towards a goal” (Myers). Taking the harder way to achieve a goal displays that one does not have a fixed mindset. The definition of a fixed mindset is the belief that one is unable to learn any more than one already knows. The opposite of having a fixed mindset would be having a growth mindset; a growth mindset is when one is open to learning new things. “They treat themselves with a degree of compassion that enables them to continue pursuing goals and thus achieve happiness” (Myers). Assuming that all first-year community college students have a growth mindset and believe the hardest path is the best to pursue issues this will assure them to have a happier experience

Lastly, first-year community college students can obtain happiness is to not complain about a slight issue faced. When one is complaining it tends to bring people down around them; thus making no one happy in the situation. If these students turned the situation around and found the good within it, then it will lead to happier times. “By thinking negatively about a specific topic, it can lead to thinking pessimistically about other things” (Stillman). If one has a positive outlook during their first year then they are more likely to see the happier side of situations throughout the rest of the time within the college.

In conclusion, first-year community college students may not see a way of being happy; however, it is possible to be happy during this dense period. First-year students are stressing and struggling with college-related issues, but the ways provided are a solution on how to be a happier individual. As being a first-year community college student, I feel extremely connected to all the issues mentioned and having a constant feeling of being stressed. Being in the situation of a first-year community college student, one must realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel which will lead to happiness. However, with the three ways of finding a mean, taking the longer path, and stop complaining. I believe happiness can pursue the stressful environment of being a first-year community college student. Struggling will be worth working hard to achieve the end goal.

When students and parents think about college they think of sports, parties, and lots of work but what doesn’t come to mind is not having enough to eat. This is food insecurity. Over 25% of college students are food insecure despite meal plans (Tomar). How does this type of stuff even happen? Students already have enough on their plate between balancing all the work, not to mention income and food. Some people say that schools should do something about this. Other people say this is not the college’s responsibility to feed the students that attend.

Food insecurity is being in a state where you don’t have a reliable food source to get your quality and nutritious food. Food insecurity is seeping into colleges and 36% percent of university students and 42% percent of community college students are food insecure (‘Duffins’). Too many students are not getting three meals a day and are skipping meals because the school has put them in a state of poverty where they can’t afford food on a daily basis. This impacts college students in many different ways and some situations are more severe than others.

Colleges in the past forty years have skyrocketed in price. In the 1970s, private colleges were $1,832 which was better in price compared to today’s extreme price of $31,231 in 2013. The price of public colleges also went up in price from $500 to $9,139 (Tomar). This price is extremely high which leaves many students with crippling debt for many years after college. But this does not cover food or living costs which can be expensive in themselves. Dorm rooms at private schools are on average $10,089 per year (Robert). These prices are too much for a college student to afford who are already struggling to pay these unrealistic prices. On top of these prices, students can buy a meal plan with a range of swipes, which is how many times you can use the card daily to get food. These meal plan prices that have unlimited swipes are $1,850 a semester (Powell). These prices cannot be afforded by every single student. So, what happens to the students that can’t afford a meal plan?

These students must push through the days sometimes without anything to eat. The Article ‘Food, Housing Insecurity’ by Selena Duffin says that “Wisconsin HOPE labs released an online survey if more than 40,000 students at 66 community colleges and universities only to find that 36% of university students and 42% of community college students felt food insecure”. This shows that an overwhelming amount of college students feel food insecure on a daily basis. This impacts college student’s grades and tests which makes it harder for students to graduate because of bad grades. Most students can barely pull this off long enough to earn their degrees. Part of this can be blamed on the high prices of college. In theory, if colleges were not so expensive, students might have money for food and would not run into problems such as food insecurity. Food insecurity heavily affects low-income students who already have little money going into college. These students take a big risk to go to college and get college debts to possibly drop out because they can’t support themselves and buy quality food. Learning on an empty stomach isn’t a part of college and neither is endless amounts of ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Students need nutritious meals to get them through the day.

Some students must make hard decisions on whether to buy a book to study for the class or buy some food. These students must often choose between studying or survival. Some may choose the books, while others choose food. To study for a test or get a job to feed themselves.

A study in the Journal of Nutrition found, for instance, that in a sample of more than 4000 women, food insecurity was a statistically significant predictor of “overweight status. The study found that mildly food insecure participants were a full 30% more likely to be overweight than their food secure counterparts (Tomar). Many students turn to cheap fast food that doesn’t contain much nutritional value. Some students use fast food as a resource but become overweight because of all of the unhealthy components that go into fast food. For many college students, nutrition is simply an unaffordable luxury. Between starving and junk food the choice is quite simple, but it’s not a healthy one.

At this moment in time, we do not have enough data to see if food insecurity is getting better or worse. What we can tell though is the financial safety net is not as supportive as it has been in past years. It’s also hard for students to find well-paying jobs as part-time workers. Juggling school and a part-time job aren’t easy for people so students who can’t hold that massive load of work can’t work. Therefore, their income is limited or nothing which makes obtaining food very difficult.

Being a Doctor’s daughter, I grew up in an environment that encouraged me to develop a special interest in the field of healthcare. I have always been inquisitive as a child, seeking explanation for every observation. Having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Sciences from Dr NTR University of Health Sciences, I began to search for a program that would allow me to harness my potentialities concerning health care. As the role of informatics is rapidly growing in the healthcare sector, I’m enthralled by how healthcare informatics is helping to provide the effective health care to the patients. My goal is to pursue my studies in a field in which I really want to give my best and with which I can build a career. I finally found that master’s in Health Informatics would quench my thirst for knowledge and suit to the interests of interdisciplinary sciences dealing with the thin horizons of Healthcare sector and Information technology.

I am currently working as a Dentist and observed that with the innovation of technology in the health field, it has become easier for maintaining the health records of the patient, and now it is even possible to view them online. This large set of data being stored is essential to carry out statistical analysis and to arrive at a diagnosis which helps in planning the exact treatment procedure. In the future, it is highly essential to make the individual patient health database available globally. This not only helps the doctors but also saves the patient’s life in emergency situations. It can be accomplished by the usage of Artificial Intelligence algorithms. As I am familiar with the advancement of technology in the health field, I am excited to excel in the rapidly growing field and provide effective health care to the patients. Such technological advancements in the field of healthcare are still a long way to go and the USA is far ahead in its standards. So, I opine that the best way to enhance my skills is by pursuing a master’s in Healthcare Informatics from your esteemed university and it would be an invaluable experience for me.

I am fortunate enough to be born to my loving parents who are ever supportive while being cautious enough to take care of. I was determined to walk in their footsteps from my childhood. I did my primary schooling from Srujana High school, with state syllabus as a curriculum and I always stood among the top 2% of students in the class and was awarded several times because of extraordinary academic achievement. Science and Mathematics have always been my favourite subjects in school, mostly because of all the extra hands-on teaching I got at home. As the school plays a stepping stone in every child’s life, it even encouraged me to do extracurricular activities other than academics and it helped me to become an extrovert child. I have been elected as school representative where I gained a lot of management skills by taking the initiative during the cultural fests and also represented the school by participating in various Inter-School Quiz competitions.

As I grew older, I developed a special interest in life sciences and biology, partly because of the motivation of my teachers at school and because of the support of my family to realize my dreams. I opted out for subjects related to science in my high school with biology as a major subject. The concepts of human anatomy have piqued my interest in studies related to the health sector. At that time, nothing fascinated me more than the practical experiments I performed during the biology laboratory sessions. I carried forward this interest in biology even after high school by enrolling in a Bachelor’s program in Dental Science(BDS). I was one among the top performers of the state-wide test which was highly competitive to secure admission into Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

I consider myself truly blessed to have studied under the team of professors at my college. I was heavily inclined towards understanding the theory behind the working and malfunction of different parts of the oral cavity. Right from my first experience with the scalpel in first-year anatomy dissections, I have made it a point to always have a perfect understanding of the theory and to stay humbled, so as to excel in my practical application. I’ve always believed that all work and no play make anyone dull. So, I try to involve myself in sports and cultural activities as well and never shied away from participation. Also, my team stood first in the event “Art with dental materials” conducted during the Orthodontic day celebrations in my college 2015. I have been involved as a team member in organizing various events during my college cultural fest namely Eklectika 2017. I have also been a student delegate for dental conferences of 3rd A.P State UG Students Conference 2014 held at G.S.L Dental College, Rajahmundry and 35th AP State Dental Conference organized by Indian Dental Association.

Apart from these, I have also conducted various dental screening camps in different pockets of the city and the villages nearby, where oral hygiene was given the least priority. This exercise helped me gain practical experience and awareness of various endemic and epidemic diseases. This experience gives me an obvious advantage of analyzing the clinical data and providing effective solutions for problem of human health and disease. I was a part of various dental camps conducted by my college where we frequently rendered treatments such as atraumatic restorations and extractions. I also took part in the dental education program emphasizing on fluoride application for preventing dental caries in several government schools in 2017 and played a pivotal role in helping the people to maintain proper oral hygiene. I also took an active part in promoting general health apart from just oral hygiene by taking part in rallies for various occasions like World Health Day, Anti-Obesity 2k Run, Anti-Tobacco Day and Aids Day. I am also a certified AHA (American Heart Association) approved BLS (Basic Life Support) provider.

All through the undergraduate studies, my professors also encouraged me to participate in various research activities and clinical studies conducted in our institution. I have kept myself abreast of the technologies happening in the dental sciences by pursuing advanced courses and also constantly building rapport with the patients as a part of practical studies done during my house surgeon experience. This little period drew my focus towards information science and it really fascinated me that this multi-disciplinary field of Health Informatics includes hardware, software, database, network and people. This interest motivated me to carry out a statistical analysis on the Prevalence of Potentially Malignant Disorders in the out-patient records of ANIDS during my internship in 2018. My study showed that the majority of the affected patients are males and the cases of Smokers Palate and Tobacco Pouch Keratosis are highly reported in the out-patient records during the month of September 2018.

What interests me more in choosing healthcare informatics is the use of technical knowledge and advanced skills for approaching the challenging aspects of the healthcare sector in the future. I have learned about informatics usage in the emerging healthcare technologies. I also have the basic idea of programming software Python. I am confident that I have the necessary skills to kick start my career in the field of Health Informatics and the dedication to acquire those that are necessary. Master’s in Health Informatics would enable me to attain the ideas and techniques for statistical analysis and paves way for finding the solutions to resolve the problems by carrying out an investigation on the health issues that are more prevalent.

Apart from the State of the art research and a well-defined graduate program, factors like student diversity, challenging professional opportunities and consistent positive reviews of the program encouraged me to apply at your esteemed University. All the above instances prompted me towards Master’s studies for which I had given the GRE. Although I am from a non-mathematical background, I have scored good grades which proves my abilities to grasp new things at ease. With careful search over the various programs, I have come to the conclusion that graduate program in Health Informatics in the USA would offer me a truly global experience and several opportunities to develop my skills. After going through the profiles of the faculty in the University of North Texas, I believe that learning with the help of such eminent bodies will help with my future endeavors. If given a chance, I would prove my mettle and would become an asset to the department. The vibrant student body at the university is also another reason for applying to this particular university. I would like to take part in student communities and work for the advancement of the university.

I am sure that my attitude will drive me through the challenges and keep to your expectations. I would like to work for a short stint and return back to India and start my career in the field of health and wellness. I thank the academic committee for their time and patience in going through my application.

Statement of purpose

Always amused with the power the computers possessed and the technological advancements, I wanted to explore the limits to which the computer can utilize the computational power to help make our life easier and more interesting. I have decided to pursue my Master’s in Computer Science. In this innovative world of Computer Technology, where each new day sees a plethora of new concepts and emergence of new trends, one is inspired to stay abreast with the latest.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” A motto that I always follow, as it was clearly explained to me by my grandfather, who was an educator. My parents being educated to a level of graduation always supported me in pursuing my interests and provided me all the required guidance. I have secured 9.7 GPA in my tenth standard and choose to take Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry as my subjects for the two-year intermediate course where I secured 93% and was one of the top students in my college. Having mathematics in my intermediate laid a strong foundation for me in taking up Computer science as my specialization course in under graduation.

I have pursued under graduation in GITAM university (http://www.gitam.edu/), which is renowned as one of the best private universities in the southern India and has a strong Computer Science courses. The curriculum ensured that all my fundamentals in programming are strong and the practical exposure gave me adequate knowledge on subjects including Database Management Systems (DBMS), Data Mining etc. During the first year in under graduation, I have been taught the basic programming language C which was very helpful and laid a strong foundation for my programming knowledge. Fascinated with the way the programming language could get my job done in computers I explored many more programming languages such as C++, JAVA, and Python and understood which one is better and why it’s better than the other.

During my second year of under graduation, I have started to investigate more into how the programming knowledge that I gained can be made into use in the daily life of a person to make his life easier. This led me to registering in the android development certification course provided by Aspire Vision Tech a Microsoft-affiliated teaching institute. The course on android development helped me in gaining the knowledge on how to make the programming useful for the end-user in his daily life. I have been one of the best students in the courseware and developed an application called “Places nearby” which was mainly focused in helping a person in finding out the nearest ATMs, Restaurants, Hospitals etc in his vicinity. This was regarded as the best application developed in the course and was also published into the Google play store. After getting certified as an android developer and SQL developer by MICROSOFT, I tried creating gaming apps. In that attempt, I created a game named Cows and bulls, which was published in Google play store. I also received an appreciation from a software company “Osmosys Software Solutions” located in Hyderabad for testing out their application “Wishlist.Do” and providing a valuable feedback.

During my third year of under graduation, I have been introduced to concepts such Design Analysis and Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Data Warehousing, and Data Mining. These concepts created a new way at looking the codes and the data that is available. I was always more practical into these concepts and was trying to implement them. This helped me in my final year project “Trend Analysis Through Elicitation of Trending Tweets” where I lead a team of four members in developing a clustering algorithm by collecting the latest tweets from the social website Twitter. This was one of the best live analysis projects developed in our university.

After my third year, I wanted to have an exposure the culture in the software companies and know-how of a company and project works. An internship in “Tech Mahindra” a leading software company, helped me gaining this knowledge. I have been deployed into an automation team in the company where I have helped in building an automation tool for the network outage issues. This also heled me in gaining some of the knowledge regarding the networking.

I was one of the top 25 students from my college to get selected in “Deloitte USI”. I have started working in Deloitte right after my graduation and over the period of last one and half year I have gained more exposure into the filed of software development. I was also promoted for the best performance in the peer group. I my current role as “Software Engineer 1”, I have been closely working on the Database Management of the product. This resulted in gaining a profound knowledge in the SQL and Database management system. I also work on the creating and maintain the API’s and have a good knowledge regarding the AWS cloud platform.

Recently, I have received a chance to work on developing the Prediction Algorithms in the product. I have been sent over to Delhi where I was working closely with the data scientists in the company for developing the model. This helped me in gaining the exposure to the data science role and created an interest in honing up my skills related to the artificial intelligence and data science roles.

I am always up to date with the changes and the advancements in the programming languages and technology by following some of the websites and magazines such as INFOQ, DIGIT and CHIP. During my four-year course I was participating in many competitions in college and online and was gaining much-needed exposure into the world of programming. In the beginning I was overwhelmed by the questions asked in the competitions and was working hard to understand and implement many new techniques into my coding which led me to a path of understanding the algorithms and their working. This knowledge helped me later in bagging many prizes in my college technical evens and online. I have also cleared the first round of CodeVita a programming contest held by India’s one of the top companies TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), for three consecutive years.

Additionally, to the academic achievements I also feel having a good physical activity helps in maintain a good physical and mental health. This is the reason I am involved into most of the outdoor games and achieved some medals in the roller-skating competitions during my childhood. I am an active member in one of the charities located in Visakhapatnam “P V Sahaya Charitable Trust” and conducted many free health camps and blood donation camps. I also participated in the National Service Scheme (NSS) an Indian government-sponsored public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India, during my college days and led few campaigns such as cleaning the city etc.

My academic and professional experience thus far has provided me with a wide range of practical knowledge and skills that will be immensely useful when studying overseas at the graduate level. —adding university-specific matter

Rationale –

This written task is based on Part 1 language in cultural context and the focus will be on the topic Gender (inequality, constructions of masculinity and femininity). The stimulus chosen is of a recent speech by Madonna. The stimulus in itself isn’t controversial although what she asserts is. The text type is a personal letter to a friend wherein support for Madonna’s cause will be seen.

The basic outline will be to persuade my friend through conviction to understand Madonna on a more emotional level, therefore involving a high appeal to pathos in my diction and syntax. The audience for this would only be my friend as the text type clearly suggests. I believe that this task will allow me to reflect upon and elucidate the ideas and issues discussed in Part 1 through the context of a real-life situation. Key ideas portrayed include but are not limited to feminism, double standards, and sexism.

I as a student of English language and literature would wish to implement the ideas and discussions from Part 1 not just theoretically but also in the practical world and this written task puts in those beliefs and ideas in a more clear perspective. I was born and brought up in the Middle East where gender equality was not the highest, and I come from an Indian ethnic background where again to this day the female members have been undermined by society if not directly then indirectly. This struggle has been on ongoing one and I as an IB student being open-minded and global will contribute towards this. Although this letter is a bit formal, as it should have been more casual because the addressee is a friend of mine, the formal tone helps convey a more serious message.

Tony,

Dear Tony,

How are things in New York? I haven’t heard from you for ages, I hope all is well for you and your family. It’s funny how quick time is flying by, we both now have families of our own and I still remember our days at university, as if it were yesterday. Well, I won’t deny, time does teach you a lot of things. The other day I was laughing at myself reminiscing about our days back in college. We were callow and didn’t know a thing about the seriousness of life. If not you, at least I was. We would just live the moment, not bothering about any future plans of settling in.

Having a family is a whole new level at responsibilities. At times I question myself, how the heck did I survive with such a laid-back attitude all my life up until college? I feel like I’m truly experiencing life only since I’ve started a family of my own. Life isn’t just about fun and enjoyment. It also includes responsibilities and commitments.

It’s ironic how life is making me matured, the more I’m able to connect with those whom I used to despise. Who would’ve thought that a guy like me would actually appreciate and sympathize with people such as feminists? You heard me right, I’m not making a sarcastic joke here. They say walk a mile in someone’s shoes before criticizing em. Well, I guess that quote finally makes sense to me. I can’t empathise although I certainly do feel sympathy.

Remember Tony, we used to literally laugh and ridicule Madonna back in our college days. Little did I know what we were doing. Well, if there’s one thing that I’ve realized since then it would be that pointing fingers at others is easy. Judging others for who they are is easy. Insulting and demeaning others is easy, but putting in the time to understand the other person through their perspective is something most of us find difficult.

About a week ago I was surfing through some educational websites for my English task when I got redirected to this link on YouTube. It was a speech by Madonna. It was at billboards and is a quite impressive event. Before I watched that speech I still had the same belief about her that I used to have during my college days, but this time my mindset was different. While I was halfway through the video, I started to tear up, seeing her from a whole new perspective and surprisingly, every single word that she spoke meant something to me. I was astounded by what I had just seen. I had never expected or would’ve thought of in the slightest that Madonna, the person I used to openly ridicule and insult had to go through so much in her life to reach where she is today. I was overwhelmed by guilt. I felt like a criminal for what I had done and for the kind of beliefs that I had for her. I spent the next few hours contemplating of what life really is, I started getting questions in my head like, are all the people that I’ve hated on good people? Have I wronged many more other than Madonna? What she must have gone through after witnessing hate which she didn’t deserve from people like me? Are people like me responsible for the rebellious nature of people like Madonna? Do I even know anything?

I was baffled.

It was a paradigm shift I was facing. I finally witnessed reality with my very own eyes. I finally understood and realized how inaccurate my perception of the world was. Soon enough I also realized that i wasn’t the only one, there must inevitably be more criminals such as myself who live to this day living in a world of misconceptions and misinterpretations, spreading this negativity that they possess, proliferating in numbers.

How did this all start? Since when did we start fighting our own people? There can be many stakeholders to blame, significant ones being the media and society at large. Stereotypes, double standards, sexism…… in short, the division of our community by categorizing individuals and dismantling the unity that we ‘claim’ to possess. They say unity is strength and clearly humanity doesn’t seem to be at its optimum strength.

Weak, needy, submissive, sex object, whore, slut………and the list goes on. If these are the labels given to women then in what way can society expect for them to remain quiet. Feminists exist for a reason, they wouldn’t just pop out of nowhere just for fun or to have a good time. They became feminists because of what they had faced in their lives. We may not understand them at first but if we give thought to where they are coming from and why they are doing what they are doing, then the answer will be right in front of our eyes.

Madonna is just one of them. There are many Madonnas in this world fighting for the most fundamental of rights. We just have to spot them and support them if what they stand for, is deserving of acceptance by society.

Tony my friend, I honestly hope that you see the reality of what I’m speaking of. Our college days are long gone, they’re history. We can’t afford to be immature and ignorant anymore. The world’s a big place my friend. Remember, everyone does something for a reason, we just have to spot that reason and understand the other person. Making judgments is easy, but the solution to this ongoing issue is not. I hope you too can see the reality which I speak of, better late than never.

Bibliography/Citations –

1. Billboard magazine. ‘Madonna Woman of The Year Full Speech | Billboard Women in Music 2016.’ YouTube. YouTube, 14 Dec. 2016. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.
2. https://medium.com/makeherstory/transcript-of-madonnas-controversial-2016-woman-of-the-year-award-thank-you-speech-at-billboard-5f34cfbf8644
3. Gallo, Carmine. Talk like TED: the 9 public speaking secrets of the world’s top minds.
4. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2014. Print.

I am Anantha Mary Jeba T. I am a meticulous and meritorious biotechnologist. I finished my M.Sc. in Biotechnology (Integrated) in April 2018 from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, India with 9.32 CGPA (Maximum CGPA being 10). I graduated my Higher Secondary Education in 2013 with 84.8% and Secondary Education in 2011 with 88.57% from Ida Scudder School, Vellore, India. During my college period, I received Merit Scholarships for all five years (Academic years 2013 – 2018). I was Assistant Secretary of Students’ Council for the academic year 2013 – 2014. I was a Class Representative for all 5 years of my college period (Academic years 2013 – 2018) and the Program Representative for the academic year 2013 – 2014.

Biology has been my favorite subject since school. My graduate education not only helped me learn more about the subject, it also instilled in me the desire to be a good researcher. Research is required in our day-to-day life for our efficient functioning. Even though it’s been almost a year since my graduation, I still yearn to be a good scientific researcher one day. I have observed that the way a post-graduate handles a problem is different from the way a graduate or an undergraduate would handle it. Education does refine one’s mind.

Knowing how our body functions, why we do what we do, and all the complexity involved in performing a single task are the reasons behind my interest in Biology. For all of our body’s functions, proteins are required. A small change during protein translation can affect the body in various ways. Our body’s functioning depends on how one molecule interacts with another. Signaling, feedback mechanisms, interactions, and much more make up life.

Biochemistry and Molecular biology are my subjects of interest. During my college days, I spent my time after classes working in a Protein Chemistry lab in my University, learning the techniques they used in their research and how the post-graduate students performed their research there. This was just the beginning of my research journey. My actual research experience began when I did my final year project under the supervision of Dr. Vimlesh Kumar, in Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India. There I got to produce a clone, induce protein expression and purify protein for Antibody production. I also got to work on Drosophila fly keeping and genetic crossing of the flies for mutant production. This project led me to learn and perform techniques like Plasmid DNA isolation, fly DNA isolation, PCR for gene amplification and for mutant screening, clone production (DNA digestion, ligation, and transformation), protein induction, and protein purification (Ni-NTA column), SDS-PAGE and western blot.

Learning does not end when one graduates. Learning happens in everyday life. After graduation, I joined Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmadabad, India as a Trainee Research Associate in the Analytical Development Laboratory in the R&D department, in July 2018. There I got to learn more about protein’s (Monoclonal Antibodies) nature, production of biosimilars, and practical working of HPLCs. I have worked on Size-exclusion Chromatography, Cation exchange Chromatography, Reverse phase Chromatography, and Affinity Chromatography in the eight months that I have been there. Being an instrument in-charge comes with the added advantage of knowing the functioning and maintenance of the instrument. Hence I got to know more about the working of weighing balance, speed vacuum concentrator, and centrifuge.

Given the opportunity to study under this program, this is how I plan to do my study. The first year in South Korea would go in my language education. As I am a fast learner, I actually plan on finishing my language education in the first six months and begin my post-graduate study earlier. The first year of my doctoral study would be spent on finishing the coursework and understanding the basics of my thesis topic. The second-year would be spent fully on researching my thesis topic. The third-year would be spent on publishing my work and finishing up my thesis.

Prefoldin is a molecular chaperone which helps in the proper folding of actin and tubulin in eukaryotes. It has a homologous counterpart in Archaea as well. The exact functioning of this protein is not yet determined. What is known is it helps in protein folding and defective Prefoldin is known to cause various diseases in the nervous system (neuromuscular junction, CNS, photoreceptor), reproductive system (sperm mobility), excretory system (in kidney cells with modified cilia or motile cilia) in various model organisms. To study the functioning of a protein, we require model organism which over expresses the gene for the protein, organism which is mutant for the protein, organism which over expresses the gene for protein in particular regions (RNAi mediated overexpression of gene) and organism which does not produce the protein in particular region (RNAi mediated knockdown of gene expression). Once model organisms are obtained, differential gene expression shows different phenotype in the organisms. Phenotype helps identify the probable function of the protein. Rescuing of the phenotype helps confirm the phenotype being specific to the protein’s function. A series of further experiments of differential expression and knockdown of protein and related proteins help identify the role the protein plays in the body. This is the basic plan of my research.

India is a country known for its diversity. When one moves around the country, they will get to learn how to work with a diverse group of people and how to adjust when things around you do not feel like home. Diversity in a team helps the team to be unique in its own sense and to bring forth productivity of a unique level. Being in a different region of my home country, I bring in the diversity of my region to where I am right now. When I get exposure to a different country, I would be adding in to the country’s diversity when I work there and will be adding diversity to my home country on my return. Exchange of knowledge is very important in this day and age. Though reading written material or following said instructions can be done, getting hands-on experience goes a long way in knowledge transfer. The field of Life Science has been gaining importance these days. The competition is tough and working abroad or getting a degree from abroad gives one the added advantage in their career progression.

Getting a post-graduation degree has its own value. Firstly education refines one’s mind. The degree will help me gain more knowledge and help me become a better researcher. Secondly, one’s qualification speaks more than their experience. A person with five years of experience and Master’s degree is not in the same level as a person with a Ph.D. degree and zero years of experience. Whether it is for personal good or professional good, a post-graduate degree is a must these days.

During my college days, I did an assignment on South Korean economy. That assignment led me to learn more about the country. Rapid economic growth and the ability to stay fairly stable and recover quickly from the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s and from the global crisis in 2008-2009 impressed me. The facts I read about the South Korean economy during my assignment made me inquisitive about the country as such. Ever since then it has been my dream to visit the country. To visit a country as a tourist and experiencing its culture and cuisine is different from staying in the country for a while and experiencing the country. This program gives me the opportunity to learn the language and to experience the country and focus on my career at the same time. It also allows me to learn from two different institutes, adding to the work culture diversity from which I will be learning. This program enables me to achieve two of my dream goals at the same time.

Abstract

Gender has been structured as a binary social construct with men and women framed as absolute and unchanging opposites. As the structuring principle of society, the social construct of binary gender identities serves to obscure gender diversity and erase the existence of people who lay claim to an alternate gender identity. However, most people are socialized to adopt gender identities in accordance with one’s assigned sex at birth. The existence of transgender people who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, challenges the very idea of a single-sex/gender identity.

Transgender people face multiple forms of oppression. They are targeted at the schools where they are humiliated and forced to drop out of school, even though educating themselves have been their main objective to sustain themselves in the society. Even if the transgender manages to educate oneself, then she/he may face barriers in securing themselves employment as no employer would be ready to offer jobs. In India, the life of transgender people is a daily battle as there is no acceptance anywhere and they are ostracized from the society. Extreme social exclusion diminishes self-esteem and sense of social responsibility. In this context the objectives of this paper are (a) to determine the educational status of the transgender; (b) to examine the role of education to build identity of the transgender in the modern society, and (c) to understand the extent new identities help transgenders fight social stigma. To fulfill the purpose of this research study both primary and secondary data has been used. To gather primary data from the field, interview method has been used. Therefore, in this paper, the researcher has tried to understand the role that education plays so that the social identity of the transgenders are shaped and transformed within a predominantly hetero-normative society.

Keywords: Transgender, Education, Identity, Gender.

Introduction

Gender has been structured as a binary social construct with men and women framed as absolute and unchanging opposites. Such constructs reply on stereotypes thereby masking the complicated realities and variety in the realm of social identity. As the structuring principle of society, the social construct of binary gender identities serves to obscure gender diversity and erase the existence of people who lay claim to an alternate gender identity. Gender theorists, such as Judith Butler and Gayle Rubin, have argued that, the very notion that there is an underlying “sex” to a person is socially constructed (Kang, Lessard, Heston, Nordmarken, 2017). This illustrates the difference between, gender assignment, which doctors/society places on infants based on the appearance of genitalia, and gender identity, which one discerns about oneself. However, most people are socialized to adopt gender identities in accordance with one’s assigned sex at birth and this further clarifies and strengthens gender as a social construct. The existence of transgender people, or individuals who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, challenges the very idea of a single-sex/gender identity. According to Sanger (2010), gender has been theorized in terms of maleness and femaleness with sexuality tending to be considered within a hetero-normative framework. The construction of gender and sexuality and the study of embodiment and intimacy have become more significant within sociological theory. Work on transgender subjectivities offers the researcher avenues through which one can explore the aspects of self and society.

Transgender studies emerged in the late 1990s as an academic field of study arising from the desire to study trans-genderism with an aim to engage with the diverse voices of trans people in a critique of social norms relating to gender and sexuality. Trans people are organizing themselves collectively so that they can gain a voice to challenge their exclusion from the society and transgender studies provide an exclusive platform for such discourse. It has also been argued that transgender studies have the potential to address emerging problems in the study of gender and sexuality (Sanger 2010).

Transgender people have existed in every culture, race, and class since the story of human life has been recorded. Transgender is not a term-limited to persons whose genitals are intermixed but it is a blanket term of people whose gender expression, identity or behavior differs from the norms expected from their birth sex. The literal meaning of transgender is beyond gender (Rajkumar, 2016). In contemporary usage, “transgender” has become an umbrella term that is used to describe a wide range of identities and experiences, including but not limited to: pre-operative, post-operative and non-operative transsexual people (who strongly identify with the gender opposite to their biological sex); male and female ‘cross-dressers’ (sometimes referred to as “transvestites”, “drag queens”, or “drag kings”); and men and women, regardless of sexual orientation, whose appearance or characteristics are perceived to be gender atypical. A male-to-female transgender person is referred to as ‘transgender woman’ and a female-to-male transgender person, as ‘transgender man’ (UNDP, 2010). Therefore, a transgender means a person who is neither wholly female nor wholly male; or a combination of female or male; or neither female nor male; and whose sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to that person at the time of birth, and includes trans-men and trans-women, persons with intersex variations and gender-queers (Transgender Persons Bill, 2016).

Transgender people face multiple forms of oppression. They are the target of unacceptance at the family level, with parents treating reversed gender attitudes with medical attention. Transgender persons are also targeted at the schools where they are humiliated and forced to drop out of school, even though educating themselves have been their main objective to sustain themselves in the society. Even if the transgender has managed to educate oneself, then she/he may face barriers in securing themselves employment as no employer would be ready to offer jobs. In India the life of transgender people is a daily battle as there is no acceptance anywhere and they are ostracized from the society and also ridiculed. They face high levels of stigma in almost every sphere of their life such as health, schools/colleges, employment, social schemes, and entitlement. Extreme social exclusion diminishes self-esteem and sense of social responsibility. The transgender community needs to be included in the mainstream development program of the country and be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation (Rajkumar, 2016).

Arguments have also been placed by Babbar (2016), where she argues that despite the full rights and protections of citizenship, transgenders are subjected to shaming and assault. They have not only faced exclusion from the rights and privileges of marriage and parenthood, but also in the domains of personhood, education, and employment, which curbs their rights of expression and association. There is absence of schooling which leads to a high drop-out rate, absence of sexual autonomy, along with demeaning stereotypical depictions in the media, harassment in everyday life and marginalization in public spheres and deliberative bodies, all of which are injustices of recognition. (Babbar, 2016).

Unlike the past, when transgenders were considered as the excluded personality, transgenders too have realised their own rights and privileges nowadays. In India, transgenders were looked at as an underprivileged section. Society defines both male gender and female gender but is silent about the third gender i.e, the transgenders, have been constantly struggling to find a meaningful and respectable position for themselves (Sarada, 2016). They have always been portrayed as outsiders and excluded. Throughout India, the life of this transgenders is the same with much humiliating and painful incidents where they were compelled to leave their native place and disguised their body as they wish to live. Thus transgenders lead a life detached from family and society. The contemporary status of transgender is therefore characterized by their traumatic and violent experiences in the society. Individuality and sexual identity are under threat in such a society which imposes focus mainly upon the masculine and feminine gender. Indian society projects the meaningless existence of transgenders who lead a life of emptiness and social isolation. Everything seems a burden to transgenders in society such as family, job, career, education, marriage however hard they had tried, their endeavours are fruitless. Treatment of Indian transgender could be viewed in terms of their marginalized and sub-ordinate position. Therefore, in this paper the researcher has tried to understand the role that education plays so that the social position of the transgenders are shaped and transformed. The transgender community needs to be included in the mainstream development program of the country and be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Lastly the paper also attempts to try map the extent of stigma that they face within a predominantly hetero-normative society.

Objectives

The main objectives of this paper are:

• (a) To determine the educational status of the transgender;
• (b) To examine the role of education to build identity of the transgender in the modern society; and
• (c) To understand the extent new identities help transgenders fight social stigma.

Materials and method

The study has been conducted among the transgender community who are associated with various NGOs. Also, such transgenders who are not members of any NGO were interviewed. The purpose of this research is to study the transgender community and gain insightful data on them. The current research is based on both primary and secondary data. To study the transgender community interviews have been conducted and for conducting the interview the researcher has taken the help of a schedule. The current study is a case study as it aims to identify the transgender as cases for a broader and sweeping investigation. The nature of the study is such that other methods cannot capture. So case study would be ideal as it is considered a robust research method entailing holistic in-depth investigation and would help focus on a broad area such as the subject’s (transgender person) relationship in a particular group, necessitating that the group (transgender community) also be examined.

Result/ findings

For data collection, interviews were set up. The setup of the interviews ranged from private offices to public spaces; from the office room of the contacted NGOs to food court of malls, as per the suitability of the respondent and the researcher. To gain insights on the nature of the education that the transgenders have faced since their young days, which has paved a path to build a new identity, an interview guide was developed. Such an interview guide facilitated the data collection process to a great deal, as it allowed the respondents to talk more about the nature of education facilities that has been made available to them.

Table 1: Qualification of the Respondents

Class Standards

Number of respondents

Percentage

Class 8

1 10% Matric

2 20% Higher secondary

2 20% Graduation

4 40% Post graduate

1 10% Total

10

[Following the case study, it was revealed that out of the 10 respondents, 2 each of them had passed matric and higher secondary passed, while among the others 4 had completed their graduation and 2 others was postgraduates.]

When questioned those respondents who were members of NGOs, about their educational qualifications, it was known that all of them has passed their higher secondary examinations. But regarding others in their community, it was a doubt because not all got favourable environment to continue their education. This was because once the society labelled them as different; there was a natural tendency of marginalization. But they assured that given the opportunity to educate themselves, the transgender would avail the opportunity. The reason cited by them for being educated at the elementary level was that most of them were not aware of the differences prevalent in their bodies until they were of a certain age. But they were quite conscious that they looked different, had different likings, preferred to dress up like girls, loved dressing up and always saw themselves at the position of the female actress while watching any movie. Very few of the community got the opportunity to study further but they have been able to progress up to the graduation level only.

But on the other hand those respondents who were contacted independently, seem to be educated to a greater level. They cited that it was parental guidance and self-determination that has lead them this far. In their early childhood, they did face social stigma at school, but they managed to face the societal pressure and finish their education. They were of the view that education is the road to all success. If they can educate themselves then the society will not look upon them as weak. With better education, they will be able to secure themselves good jobs and that will help them fight social stigma and gain a position in the society.

Following are a few excerpts of the many interviews conducted which reflect the amount of social stigma along with nature of the education that the transgenders have faced and how they have managed to fight that social stigma and built a whole new self, a new identity, that have helped them gain a position in this hetero-normative society.

Ananya: When I was a young boy studying in class 9, I realized that my body was developing in a different way, not in similarity with other boys in my class. Realizing the abnormalities growing in my body, my parents got worried. They immediately took me to the nearby SSKM hospital. But I could feel that my body was not responding to this treatment. When medicines were not making any impact on my body, what was the point in taking them! In such a way only money was being wasted; “poisa to r gache e fol e na!” My parents were also not that well off in terms of financial conditions. So I stopped taking medicines. I thought that it was time I let my body develop the way it wants. By the time I passed school and took admission in college, I had developed more self-confidence and decided that it was time I took decisions regarding my body, myself. Involving my parents meant adding to their distress. It was best I give time to my body and see how it develops. The recent developments in my body surprised me a lot. Along with developing breasts, which was a considerable size now, I realized that my voice had not cracked and I had not developed body hair. Like other boys in my college, I didn’t have a typical male hoarse voice not did I have hair on my arms. Absence of moustache and beard added to the complications. I became the object of laughter and abuse at the same time. As a result I started to hide myself. Hiding not in the sense that I stopped going out of the house, but that I started to dress myself in such a manner so that the odd developments in my body were less visible. Such practices helped me to face the society and at the same time, it made my parents happy.

Bipasha: From the time I have known who I am, I was in Mumbai. When I came to Mumbai I was a very young. Even though my caretakers introduced me into the begging business, they also sent me to a school. I used to participate in the business only after I returned from school. Once at school I was asked which class I had been last, so that I could go to the next class. But I told them that I don’t remember going to any school in Bangladesh. But sadly I could not complete my education. I have received education till class 8 only. The reason for not being able to complete my education is that, I was packed off from Mumbai and send to Kolkata. At Kolkata, I was never asked whether I want to finish my education or not. Rather I was asked to get to work immediately.

Riyaan: At school, when I grew a bit older, say for class 9 or class 10, I started developing likes towards girls. I found this quite weird, as why would I being a girl, love girls!! In fact I should be developing feelings for boys, just like other girls in my class! My feelings for girls went so far that I even had a crush on one of my seniors. Though I never had the courage to go and speak to her or even talk about it with my friends, I made sure that I kept marked this incident in my diary. Questions of who I am, never left my mind. Even when I was in class 11 and class 12, I had likings towards girls, but I never had the courage to express myself entirely. Soon I finished school and I joined engineering. During my time at Engineering College I stay in hostel. During my college days I was careful enough not to reveal my actual identity. I was never of that kind who would be wearing saree or salwar to college. I loved jeans. To make sure that people were not suspicious of my identity and also at the same time I can maintain my likes and dislikes, I started wearing the normal straight cut jeans to college. I used to team up such jeans with a kurti or t-shirts. I had developed an attitude that, ‘amar ja bhalo laage, at ami baki lokjon der bujhte debo na. Ami keno bujhte debo? Ora ki amake bujhbe?’Engineering studies demanded much concentration and effort that I was left with hardly any time to concentrate on mind. I started paying less attention to the development of my other self. Thus the first few years at college all my attention was focused in studies. Things started to change in the later years of my college life when I started liking a particular teacher of a call. The lady teacher was on strikingly beautiful and at the same time her classes were very interesting. She also took extra effort in making the class understand her paper. Her method of teaching was so unique that during her classes I was entranced most of the time. I could see that’s my masculine self was taking control of me once again. I could not let that happen. Parallel thought also started to occur, that my father would be retiring soon and I had to shoulder family responsibilities. My aim was that I had to finish Engineering with a good grade and then secure myself with a job. A good job therefore became my first priority. In a few more months the course got over, I should mention that our college follow the semester system and one course was for 1 semester only. In the next semester and make sure that I do not opt for any course of that particular female teacher as that would divert my attention once again. I have to focus myself on my studies. In the next semester one particular course demanded extra attention. Most of my friends joined a local tuition where the tutor would guide us through that course. I to join the same tuition. But they say, problems never cease to exist. That was also the case for me. At tuition there was this attractive girl who caught my attention. Soon we started talking to each other and we became the best of friends. But I was careful enough not to engage myself deeply. I still do not know what I actually want. I still had to figure out whether I prefer hanging out with girls or boys. You see girl or boys as friends are different. What I mean here is a partner for life, with whom I can share everything, from one of the opposite sex. But I myself was confused of my identity I still did not know whether I am a boy or a girl. Soon we became so engrossed with our studies that the feelings of likeness for each other disappeared from our life.

Rahul: In school, I started liking a girl of my class and other boys started to create problems. For them I was not behaving normally and quite often commented, ‘mey hoye mey der sathe prem korche’! But I got deeply involved with this girl in my class and we expressed our love for each other. Then my class as well as those senior to me bullied me and embarrassed me both in the school as well as outside school. By the time I finished school and was deciding how to go about next my father passed away leaving me alone to take all my decisions. I could not handle the extensive amount of societal pressure as well as family pressure that was being created around me that I started taking sleeping pills to tackle the amount of depression. I said to myself that “if the society does not want him to live, I shall not live. But at the same time I will not allow the society to live either”. Amidst this tension, I finished my college but never could give away with the long list of female followers. That I always had girlfriend around me made my friends envious of me. They always try to harm me subject me to humiliation and harassment. This is when I realised that I have to fight and make my ground strong enough to answer the society back. I decided to cut myself off all relationships and devote myself to religion. I got myself blessed under Ramkrishna Mission, Belur Math and took time to try and understand myself, what I want, what I want to believe in and how I want to portray myself. Meanwhile I got myself work. I engaged myself under a doctor to learn physiotherapy strategies.

Raja: In school, I always loved the company of girls more than boys. In fact many boys did not talk to me as I preferred hanging out with girls rather than boys. When young I always had my own group of friends who always supported me and stood by me. Many even did not say anything when they came to know that I was different. But the case was different with my seniors at school. They never left any chance of teasing me or harassing me. Support was also received from teachers at my school; especially the Geography teacher who when noticed that I was developing different sexual attitude and behaviour made me understand that I am not similar two other girls or boys. Not knowing how to deal with the differences being reflected in my body and behaviour at that time I was well confused and often asked my teachers as why I was such. It was when I grew a bit older, the time when I was in class 10 to be more precise, that I started to realize that I am different. My likes, dislikes, preferences and behaviour was not like it should have been, similar to other boys of my age. But rather more girlish. Since this feeling was new to me, I could not myself identify what was happening to me, but I could sense that things were not normal. Much later when I had passed class 12, I experienced very different attitude of boys around me. There have been many instances when I was sexually harassed. The fact that I was also of that age made me quite accessible to other boys of my age. It can be said that people used me to their benefits, ‘jake bole lokjon amar sujog niyeche’.

Shefali never said much about her school days. She remembers her first day of school in the first grade. She was being led around the school yard by two girls, one on each side, each holding one of her hands. She felt a warm, pleasant sensation. Now she realizes those were sexual feelings. The next day she searched the school yard for the two girls, but they were no-where to be found and she never saw them again. Since her mother had raised her alone, she spent of the time alone, trying to understand herself and try new and different things to discover which way she felt best.

Tista: I never liked going to school much. The school that I went was a boys’ school and I had not much friends. I never liked playing with other boys or hanging out with them. Most of the days I used to spend alone, be it school or home. At school when my feminine behaviour and attitude started to get noticed, I had a tough time. Since I went to boys’ school, my actions became their stock of laughter and they used to refer to me as, “Oi dekh ladies jachche!!” Such comments used to disturb me a lot and this was one of the reasons that lead to my dropout from school. At that time my teachers did not provide me with adequate knowledge as to what were the changes that were going on within me. In fact the teachers added to the stock of laughter. I could find no reason to go to school anymore as my friends had decreased to a negligible number. There was a time when I did expect support from my teachers as I thought that as teachers they will be able to provide me with guidance. There were times when no one used to talk to me; neither the students who had identified as my friends nor the teachers who I thought would empathize with my situation. It was during this time of growing that I found no one at school by my side. Since I showed different traits of growing, none of my friends accepted me as their friend. And my teachers themselves avoided me, leave alone making attempts to make my friends understand that they should also empathize with me. Such was the trauma experienced at school that later I never could manage up enough courage to finish my education. During my school days that is around 20 to 25 years back the notions of transgender lesbian and gay was not widely used. Teachers at school openly accepted that they are anti-gay and anti-transgender. Developing differently caused anxiety among my school friends and this was enough to make me feel exploited. As a result I never gave thought about going to college and getting myself educated.

Conclusion

Thus it can be said that the transgenders are a minority and hence they are ridiculed and exploited and have not been given fair chances of education. Radical activism has resulted in them being able to bring about social transformation so that they are not excluded from participating in social and cultural life. The transgender community is of the view that the only way people are going to be more open and accepting them is through education; education is the biggest key to anything. It has been seen that the transgenders has since a long time suffered a lot at the hands of the society in India, even though others in various parts of the world have lived a better life. It is now the duty of the society to take a stand for them, make life easier for them, so that they face fewer problems in the society. They too have the same rights and duties as citizens of India, the difference being that their gender orientation is different from other males and females. Just the way we humans seek to achieve higher positions and status in the society, in same way, the road to their achievement of a position should be made easier. If the extent of marginalization is reduced and their position in the society is made better, then a lot many problems that they are facing will be solved. When in one state of the country a transgender has been able to fight the problems that lay in her way and move a step ahead to achieve a better position in the society, it has paved the way for other such transgenders to break through the problems and live a life of dignity, “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free; where the world has not been broken up into fragments; by narrow domestic walls…..”.

References

1. Babbar, Shilpa (2016). The Socio-Legal Exploitation of the Third gender in India. Volume 21, Issue 5, Ver. 4 (May. 2016) PP 12-18. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science.
2. Kang, Miliann; Lessard, Donovan; Heston, Laura; Nordmarken, Sonny (2017). Introduction to Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Amherst, Massachusetts.
3. Rajkumar (2016). Education of Transgenders in India: Status and Challenges. Volume 6 Issue 11. International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences.
4. Sanger, Tam (2010). Beyond gender a Sexuality Binaries in Sociological Theory. In Hines, Sally and Sanger, Tam (Ed.), Transgender Identities: Towards a Social Analysis of Gender Diversity (pp. 259 – 276). Routledge, New York.
5. Sarada. P.V. (2016). Subaltern Identity of Transgender: A perspective of Indian Society. Volume 4 Issue 9. International Journal of Research – Granthalayah.
6. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016.
7. UNDP (2010). Hijras/Transgender Women in India: HIV, Human Rights and Social Exclusion.

According to a study done by the university of Cincinnati and North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 14% of women have experienced sexual assault in one way or another, 5% percent of those assaults were physically forced. Yet 11% were done when the person assaulted was incapacitated, incapacitated can mean a lot of things so let us define it, incapacitated is when the person is in a certain mental or physical state that prevents him from defending himself, this can be achieved in a variety of ways, but the most common is sexual battery and it is the unwanted contact with an intimate part of the body for the purpose of arousal, because when the body follows its instincts it goes on autopilot, “One time during sex with a boy…, I told him I didn’t want to go on anymore, and said no several times, he continued to have sex with me. He didn’t physically hold me… like I had lost control…” this was the experience of a female that was victim of sexual assault, this was her instinct kicking in and stopping her from stopping him.

According to the same study mentioned earlier that ~75% of physically forced sexual assaults were done by a former partner or relative ~50% were when the victim is drinking or is at a party, while for incapacitated sexual assaults 80% where when the victim was drinking which is very common with freshmen or 1st year attendees of the college, but on the upside only 3% of people who were sexually assaulted while incapacitated suffered injuries, compared to a 17% with forced sexual assault as the victim is more likely to fight back. In 2015 the New England Journal of Medicine published a study on extremely successful sexual assault prevention programs that essentially trained young women to “asses, acknowledge, and, if necessary, rebuff unwanted sexual advances” and it was a huge success, because just by attending the class you had a 50% less chance of getting raped.

However, by focusing on a potential victim’s power to stop her attackers, it started to put blame on the victims for not stopping the attackers in the first place, so how can we effectively reduce the rate fo sexual assaults the solution is not to teach women how to defend themselves, but it is to reduce their need to defend themselves. This can be achieved by empowering women and promoting social norms that make men and women equal, this can start at younger grades where sexual harassment goes as something “Natural” and is taken lightly and the constant pushing for men to achieve sexually –add to that the natural, sexual imperative(it feels great)- , even a program to encourage a bystander to step in when they see such predatory behavior, a program that teaches the general male population about consent, and if someone didn’t go with the idea of consent then someone else will step in and make it clearer for him.

For example, you are sitting at a bar with your friends and you see a woman struggling to escape the grips of a man that is touching her in the most intimate of places trying to achieve sexual battery, or even worse a woman goes to the toilet, and her date slips a pill in her drink, what would you do? If you didn’t do anything but have this program in your university there will be dozens of people willing to step in and fix the situation before it gets even dirtier, but what if you saw what was happening and your university did not have this program, would you or anyone step in, and help a fellow friend or stranger? Or will you blame it on the woman in the first place for letting herself reach this situation? Or should we blame it on our society for pressuring men to “Score” and ignoring sexual harassment at a younger age?

At a young age, we learn that making friends and maintaining relationships is key to ensure that we do not feel lonely and have a sense of purpose and security. Building a community helps you adapt to your new environment and helps prevents you from isolating yourself. This can be done by joining friend groups, participating in extracurricular activities, and joining study groups. Without building a firm and supportive community, becoming successful in college can be very difficult. Having people around you that enjoy the same activities as you or go through the same struggles, will help you excel both academically and socially. Building a community at your college is the most important step to becoming successful in your college career.

Firstly, making friends during the early days of your first semester of college is a very important step on your road to success. Living on campus helps a lot with this process by giving you roommates and a whole building of people to give you support and community in this difficult transition. According to author Janice McCabe in her book ‘Connecting in College’, there are three types of friendship groups: tight-knitters, compartmentalizers, and samplers (McCabe). People in the tight-knit group tend to stick with one group of friends in which everyone already knows each other. Individuals in the compartmentalizers group tend to have around 2-4 groups of friends that they bounce back and forth to and from (McCabe). And lastly, those in the sampler group are those who have many friends who do not know each other because that person jumps around so much. Each of these groups have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to being successful. The strongest of these categories with the least amount of issues seems to be the compartmentalizers. These tend to be the ones that have a group of friends from high school, church, Greek life, etc. (McCabe). People in this category tend to succeed the most academically because they are able to receive support from various types of friend groups, some offer academic advisement and support and others help them socially. Similarly, ‘tight-knitters’ tend to succeed academically as well, however, this can backfire if the group that they are surrounding themselves with are not academically focused, since this may be the only influence the person is receiving (McCabe). Lastly, in the ‘sampler’ group, academic success relies mostly on the personal work ethic and motivation of the individual. Since these individuals do not have a stable friend group to rely on for this kind of support, it is shown that you do not need a stable friend group to be academically successful, but it is impossible to know if these individuals would be more academically successful if such an influence was present in their lives (McCabe).

Secondly, taking part in extracurricular activities, such as sports, also helps achieve success by teaching you many life skills that will assist you in several aspects of your life later on. Extra-curricular activities help teach patience and endurance in the face of difficult and stressful situations (Mountain Heights Academy). Clubs that allow their students to take on leadership roles allow their students access to experience in management and working together with others. Likewise, joining a speech and debate club helps overcome public speaking anxiety and gives students exposure to people who have different ideas and opinions than themselves. In many aspects of like as we mature, we will encounter individuals who we may not agree with on certain topics and ideas, but activities like speech and debate help build up the discipline and wisdom we need to handle these situations properly while still getting our point across. Sports and clubs that involve working together build up teamwork skills and gives them practice in holding on to a long-term goal (Mountain Heights Academy). Joining extra-curricular activities forces the individual to make new friends and in turn begins to form special bonds from newly discovered shared experiences and struggles. These groups allow students to make friends from different cultures and friend groups that they would not usually associate with because of a shared interest and passion. Time management is also greatly improved while participating in these events because of the individuals busy schedule (Mountain Heights Academy). The individual is now forced to prioritize the things that are most important to them in their daily lives in order to not become too overwhelmed. Lastly, extra-curricular activities help students discover their interests. Although core classes are designed to prepare students for the future and help them discover their interests, clubs and sports offer opportunities that these classes simply cannot.

Lastly, joining study groups is very beneficial in several different ways. In ‘Joining a Study Group’, author Valeria Burdea talks about these benefits. As you discuss different topics within your study group, you will begin to discover certain areas in which you are struggling (Burdea). Since this is a group environment, others in the study group may become more confident in seeing that you are willing to admit when you do not understand something (Burdea). It is comforting to know that you are not alone in your confusion and this feeling can greatly increase many people’s chances of asking questions instead of remaining quiet. We as students are also more likely to receive help from someone else in the group who may understand the material more than ourselves while working in a group environment. Similarly, if you understand something that others do not, you can explain it to them and reinforce it in your own mind at the same time. Being in groups that are focused on certain subjects also help us stay on track and assist in avoiding procrastination (Burdea). While working alone, it is very easy to get distracted by electronics or by simply getting distracted by thinking about all of the things that still need to be done in your academic and daily lives.

Building a close community is essential in having a successful college career. The switch from high school to college is very difficult and without loving and supportive people around you, it can feel impossible. Having people around you that enjoy the same activities as you or have gone through similar struggles, will help you excel both academically and socially. While doing this, you will be given the opportunity to make friends that you may stay in contact with for years and years to come. Through building your community, you can also become a mentor to other students who may come along after you. Building a strong, loving community has a great impact on the way you carry yourself throughout high school and whether or not you will have a positive view of your college experience in the future. Having a strong and positive community can also help prevent you from isolating yourself from those around you. Although getting good grades in college is extremely important, building a solid community at your university will teach you important life skills and lessons that will get you farther than you can imagine.