Three Mistakes of My Life – A Law Aspirant’s Take

By Praveen Dwivedi -
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So we are back in action. The windows are open at CG. Here is the first of our series of articles by CLATGyanners. Do write in to sandipan@clatgyan.com -Sandipan De.

2010-2011

The Three mistakes of ‘MY’ life…..

SUCCESS IS GOING FROM FAILURE TO FAILURE WITHOUT THE LOSS OF ENTHUSIASM-ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

It was with this thought in mind that I took a leap of faith last year. Yes I took a “Drop”. Some of you may be able to identify with that feeling…the decision to take a drop and write CLAT…..

Let’s flash back to May 2009. The 10th board results. I got a pretty decent score and I decided like the rest of the herd to plunge into science. I was confused, not sure, I even remember thinking “would it even be cool if I took commerce?”.

So unaware of the the quagmire I was stepping into I signed up for it. (Mistake no 1)

Now I am in my science class and everything I mean everything is flying right by over my head.” Kya karen ye to hona hi tha”.

I should have understood my aptitude. Now I can’t stand physics or chemistry or maths and here I am in a situation where that is all I have to do!!! :O

But still, like the fool I was, I stuck with it and so you can guess the 12th boards were A DISASTER!!!!

Enter May of 2010….A barrage of entrance exams were raining down upon me: IIT,BITS,AIEEE,VIT and what not and I was unsure “I spent 2 years studying science and won’t it be a waste if I go for law?? ” (Mistake no 2)

But I still wrote CLAT….prepared for only 3 days( I know “duh,stupid”)….

Cut back to May 2010. CLAT results, scored 126 ranked 1000 something and I was heart-broken for an exam I had doubts about writing.

Those 3 days had showed me what I should have been doing.

So obviously I didn’t get into any NLU’s but I did get in to NIRMA law school and I went for a engineering college down south. (Mistake no 3)

Cut to august 2010. I am in my college. I hated it, absolutely hated it. I felt suffocated and trapped, felt like I was being forced to study the same subjects I detested.

That one month in college made me realise the three mistakes of MY life (Apologies, to Chetan Bhagat).

I came back home for holidays and told my parents “I can’t do this”. And my parents being as great as they are said “Son. It’s your life, do what you like, do what you love. We shall always support you “.

So spurred by my sudden hunger to actually achieve something and with my parents’ support I joined LST with a fresh outlook towards life dreaming of what I could now achieve in 5 years– my life of learning and doing something I love.

Now I had taken a drop, along with it comes a complimentary taunt and smirk package which enables every person to sneer and laugh!!

I vividly remember when I was getting my admission cancelled the Clerk asked me what my plan was.

I replied , “Sir, I want to do Law.”

He looks at me and start’s laughing “Hahaha…..why are you doing all this…Look at that guy over their..(points to his colleague)….he has a law degree…now look at him…is this what you want to become??”

I said :”Aren’t you both doing the same job”

The smile wiped of his face like the light from a fused bulb.

(I guess he didn’t expect me to be smart because I was kicking engineering and taking law :P)

So every time, every taunt was recorded and used as an catalyst for the first time in my life I studied like I had always wanted to and I had FUN!!!

Now it wasn’t all fun. It had its ups, downs, twists and bends but hey that’s Life!!

I had a lot of help and support my friends, tuitions and CLATgyan ofcourse.

And back to NOW

CLAT 2011 is OVER…..What a rollercoaster of an year it has been… I know the paper was tough and most of us were sad and disappointed that they weren’t able to complete the paper, and I don’t know if I will get in or not (I sure hope I do!!) but now I know WHAT I want and how to GET it and I think that is what is important.

I have finally understood what Sandipan always says “None is greater than what you can become.”

The very fact that I have found what my aim is going to be and the fact that I want to be the BEST at it, is I think my true success.

So ladies and gentlemen, the paper is done, the die has been rolled and it’s no longer in our control.

So let’s TRY and relax and have fun. I think we have deserved it.

For the results well Mithun Chakraborty couldn’t have put it in a more better way.

“WAQT SE PEHLE AUR KISMET SE JYAADA NA KISI KO KUCH KABHI MILA HAI NA MILEGA”

Peace.

Vikram Lakshman.

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60 COMMENTS

  3. This is so cool! Love it! Spurred me on..to write!

    All the best Vikram! Hope u get the law school you have been dreaming of! <3 <3

  5. i too gave clat with 3 days prep…..sigh…..hope i dnt hav to take a drop this way if i dnt get smthin in engineering field too….

  7. Dear Vikram,
    You are my alter ego and your journey has been a carbon copy of mine. And I haven’t seen a more optimistic person than you.
    Thank you for writing this. I hope we do well in CLAT. Even if we don’t, I know there is nothing that can stop of from achieving what we want in life..

    • Thank you Vishal.
      funny you should call me optimistic.
      I happen to be the most depressed person around here in the southern Part of India. 😐
      And I derive this positiveness from you guys only.
      Who says you can’t make friends online?? 😀

  8. you know what was the worst mistake i made? giving CLAT 2011. i laughed for like an hour after coming out of the exam hall. then i had icecream for dinner and didn’t sleep for 2 whole days. after realizing that everyone’s exam was ruined i felt a little better (will again have to thank u clatgyan people…read d comments on ur site…heehee). I AM NOT ALONE! WOOHOO!

  9. cool i have also taken science and now appearing clat have joined lst and studied hard hope i go to nalsar…….

  10. This is what my game-plan is. If CLAT is not kind to me I’m gonna write a book that educates people about mistakes. My mistakes. So that they don’t repeat them.

    Plus I get money.

  13. Love it! 🙂 . I also took science! 😛 . That has probably been the only mistake of my life! Prepared for clat 2011, for 20 days! Dunno if i will make it or not, but i am hopeful too(as hopeful as those who had been preparing for clat for more than a year, and are getting 35-40 in gk! I will get around 23 🙂 )

    • *hi5* I took humanities and studied, well it’s hard to even say 3 days, and I am just as optimistic as my LST-ian friends. And IF, by MISTAKE, I happen to beat even one of them, well then, bragging rights await 😀

  14. Hey Vikarm, nice to hear such an interesting piece from you. I remember the first time we met at our FB Forum. the way you worked upon things, especially the ‘juggernaut’ series ( if you remember) makes me nostalgic. You are a great person. I wish you all the best, not only for CLAT, but for all your aspirations in life. 🙂

    • Thanks mohit ..
      And yes..it was so much fun wasn’t it…especially Sincerely,Clat 🙂
      We do wish you would come back on Fb now that the exam is over 🙂

    • Count me in as well! I wouldn’t count taking Science as a mistake though, I like the looks of wonder I get from other CLAT aspirants when they find out I’m a CBSE Science student. Yes people, I survived rotational dynamics, I survived organic chemistry and integral calculus, and YES, I want to snatch your law seat now was well. 😛

      And nice piece, Vikram! I do hope your dreams come true 🙂

      • ISC Board and State Board have EXACTLY the same course …The only difference is the Format of the paper …..!!!

  18. im also from science stream,for the above comment’s reply all the science students who are now aspiring law are not losers,it is just that took us time to realise the real love and aim of our life…

  19. vikram your journey is exactly like me.
    10th boards= good results
    12 th boards=disaster (had science)
    took a drop,joined LST , wrote CLAT 2011 and now *fingers crossed* . i seriously want to clear CLAT 2011. and clat gyan ur gk compendium were really helpful 🙂

  20. I hope you do know what you are doing. It was quite an interesting read. Though it seems that you kicked engineering and opted for law, not because you wanted to do law, but rather because you did not want to do engineering, apparently because you hated the subjects they taught you. What if you find out after one year in law school that you don’t like those subjects as well?! That’s one really scary scenario because now you are really stuck.

          • Vikram’s scenario has been the case with many. Even me (though not engineering, but medicine). We learn on to love the law, and today after a year at the best law school in India, I’m finding law as the best career choice I made. Even Vikram would.

          • The reason i love law…
            Well you may find it crude….. for one…I have always had a passion for such subjects which effectively make up the course of a law school…history,sociology,languages….since school…I have loved subjects like these 🙂
            and secondly…I want to work in a place where my work or decisions would affect/change the world….for a better place hopefully…
            Like an interlocutor with UN…and the study of law would give me a better shot at achieving this dream of mine ..
            so there you have it…this is a reason why I want to study and this is the reason that I LOVE LAW 😀

  22. really liked ur article, could very well relate to it. but i think , in the beginning, it should be may 2008, not 2009.

  23. Hmmm……….. Could it be because English, Reasoning etc seemed very much managable rather than the awfully difficult Physics , Maths etc?

  25. Do you know, Vikram, that my story ended at where you wrote CLAT ’10, till that it was the SAME as yours? It ended in a successful note in that exam. You’d call those 3 days stupid, my boy, but well, it all boiled down to luck!
    And that is what makes me feel shameful. I see so much hard work around me, and I feel bad luck did what I wanted (actually) to do by hard work.

  26. siunds mean, but this actually made me feel better… there are people who are in positions far worse than mine… You’ll do well I’m sure… and even if you don’t, always remember, CLAT is nothing more than a STUPID law entrance exam. Getting into NLSIU does not mean that you’d succeed in life. They are all just podiums. A good college is just a platform for you to showcase YOUR talent. What does that mean? It means, everyone’s in the race. For some people, it just starts from behind – a littler farther from the start line. At the end of the day, it is YOU who has to do things. My brother was in the first batch of NLU Jodhpur and so I know that success is all about your personal efforts. I have seen NLS passouts working under a lawyer who got his degree from a not so famous college. There are people who sit at home even after getting through these colleges. This result does not determine what you make out of your life. I am unsure of my result and I have dropped too, but I’m just happy that I gave my best and that it’s over. God always has great plans for us. So leave it all on him and chillax. Whatever happens is for oyur own good! Carpe Diem! may the force be with you (and me)!

    • I’m loving it….
      feels so good I have so may people out there who might be in the same state of mind and re in almost my own position.
      and all their good wishes …aaahhh.. 😀

      • Hi Vikram,
        After reading your experiences I have been recognized. (it’s a old feed but still…)
        I am currently preparing for my 12th boards and clat ,that too without coaching. I hope I get through…

  30. Dear vikram,
    out of ur 3 mistakes i comited the 1st dat is to take science in 11th.i wd be giving clat in 2012 and it took me a year to convince my parents abt law but now they completly suport me.my all cousins are preparinf fr iit n pmt n i am preparing fr clat.people taunt me over my decision but i hope i can reply da same way u ve.i want to prove dat i can be sucesful in law n keep their mouths shut.i see the story of every science student preparing for law in u.i hope that u get into the best law skul n thanks fr sharing ur story which makes us more determinant in our lives.

  33. Dear vikram,
    out of ur 3 mistakes i comited the 1st dat is to take science in 11th.i wd be giving clat in 2012 and it took me a year to convince my parents abt law but now they completly suport me.my all cousins are preparinf fr iit n pmt n i am preparing fr clat.people taunt me over my decision but i hope i can reply da same way u ve.i want to prove dat i can be sucesful in law n keep their mouths shut.i see the story of every science student preparing for law in u.i hope that u get into the best law skul n thanks fr sharing ur story which makes us more determinant in our lives.

  35. hey vikram! that was a really inspiring story.seriously,hats off to you!you’ve given me the hope that even if I don’t make it to any of the law schools this year,I should try next year. thanks a lot!your story made me feel soo much better 🙂 good luck for everything in life 🙂

  37. This is the story of so many people. I know someone who joined fiitjee for iit coaching and ditched it all in the middle of 12th to join lst. She still gave her engineering entrances to prove a point. She got into a tier 1 law school AND a really good engineering college. Guess what she finally chose =)

  38. “The Window’ I think is a brilliant concept . I guess such inspiring articles have made me believe in myself and in the fact that there is no mountain that one cannot move. At this point of time (A very crucial period though), such articles have boosted up my dampened spirits. I have truly never seen such an optimistic person. Your never-give up attitude deserves an applause. Thank you and kudos to your spirits Vikram! 🙂 
    PS- I know it is too late , but still. Awesome indeed ^

  40. i had given clat in 2012 bt it was a hard nut to crack along with 12th board exam………………………….now i m dropping this year for clat 2013
    this time i will have to crack it any how

  41. My story is 100% same as this one…..
    But the only difference is the fact
    That my dad is not letting me do this…….:(
    Asad sir, immediate help is required…

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