The Ending of a Tale?

Well, hello. I was asked by Asad to write something for CG about the “mountains and the valleys “that I encountered the previous year. First of all, I am definitely not the best person to write this article. Then why in the world am I writing? Because I believe that everybody has a tale to tell and everybody’s tales’ are worth listening to. So here goes….

I took up science for my 11^th and 12^th in ISC. I did it because I liked science and I still do. I had decided earlier on that I didn’t want to take bio so I took math and just like everyone who took math I decided to take up engg. as well. I prepared for my entrances, took them and I got electronics and communication in one of the better colleges in Kerala (my home state). But the crux of this anecdote is that I never ever thought whether I really wanted to do engineering. The first time I thought about that was in May 2010 when I was awaiting the results of my engg entrances. Then, I spoke to an awful lot of people. Seniors from my school in different careers and colleges (including those in NLSIU and NUALS), people who are working in the field, and it took me about a month to decide on the fact that law might be a better career option for me. My parents did not warm up to the idea at all initially but being the rational, loving persons that they are, they agreed on the condition that I do engg and CLAT prep side by side.

Let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy. Balancing the engineering exams and the mock tests for CLAT has been an extremely draining experience. So please don’t make the mistake I did. Don’t wait till after your 12th to introspect about your career choice. Do it as early as possible. Trust me, its better.

Then started the preparations for CLAT. I enrolled in a classroom course called Heritage education and also did a correspondence course with sriram. But an equally good source of study for me was the Internet. Random searches on Google for questions, even news and tidbits about CLAT and the NLU’s helped me a lot. I stumbled on clatgyan in one such random search. I also made friends with a set of very dedicated aspirants who were instrumental in my preparations. For the last 5 months or so the set of us were practically using face book to study……..

NLU- D 2011 leaned a lot towards past year papers of NLS/NALSAR. CLAT 2011 did not at all. But the thing is you can’t predict that. So, to me at least, it makes sense to start your preparations early and to keep your bases covered.

CLAT 2011 was nothing like what I would have liked it to be. It was lengthy, the pattern caught me off-guard, and I missed a few questions that were easy (due to panic and lack of time). But the fact is there is no point cribbing about that because it is done. So there is nothing I can do now except wait for the 28^th, hoping against hope for a positive result.

There have been times during this past year when I have felt like throwing my hands in the air and stomping off. There have been slight moments of ecstasy when I saw a mock test result. But I have got through those moments not only with the support of my family, friends and The Almighty but also with the knowledge that- If I make it into a premier law school I would have the entire world to thank and if I didn’t I would only have myself to blame…

Right now, I have no idea what the future holds for me. I don’t even know which college I am going to spend the next 5 years of my life in. There is always the nagging doubt whether the ending of my CLAT tale is going to be a question mark, true to the title of this article. I don’t know…

So to all my peers awaiting the CLAT 2011 results and to all those preparing for CLAT 2012, I wish that the Force be with you (and me as well!)….

L. Gopika Murthy