The two most influential ideas I learned from my research were:
- The extent to which Indians are optimistic about their potential to achieve a better life through work. Going into this project, I didn’t have a sense of how most Indians felt about social mobility, and what their perspectives were on the “fairness” of society when it comes to hard work leading to success. Although corruption and bribery are still prevalent in the Indian economy and politics, it is definitely not pronounced as it once was, which was something I talked about with my parents. Since corruption seems to have less of an effect on people these days, it might lead to a more optimistic outlook in general. I was very surprised to find in my research that Indians were more optimistic about social mobility than almost any other country in the world. Such surveys obviously tend to overrepresent people living in more urban environments, where social mobility is more attainable, but it is still impressive to see. I think this leads to a nation of hard-working people who dedicate themselves to their work because they believe it will pay off, even if they may be slightly disillusioned about just how likely upwards mobility is in India.
- The second most influential idea was the idea of India existing as two separate countries within one. The India that many foreigners interact with is a relatively small section of the population, filled with young workers in big cities in industries like tech, where India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. This country, however, isn’t representative of India as a whole. There is still a massive amount of people outside of these urban centers that lead lives largely unchanged by the globalized economy of recent times. A large portion of these people happen to be quite poor, and although India’s economy is growing, the benefits of this growth are only felt by a very small portion of the population. Additionally, marginalized groups face even more barriers, making inequality in income and opportunity very prevalent.
I hope people will get a better understanding of India as a country, in terms of both the perspectives of the people living there and the realities of the country.
The most important thing I learned about myself during my time at NNHS is that I still have quite a lot to learn about myself and the world. I think I spent the first part of my high school career thinking I knew who I was and that I had most things figured out, but I was sorely mistaken. The more experiences I had and the more doors I walked through, the more I realized just how much there is to learn, and how much about myself I still have to explore. I think I grew a lot as a person throughout my time here and I realized how important it is that I keep growing beyond high school.
My biggest piece of advice to seniors would be to not fall into the trap of monotony. Try to switch things up, explore new opportunities, and make your days memorable more often than not. When it’s over you’d rather be left with memories, whether pleasant or not so pleasant, than nothing. Say yes to more things, because senior year should be about maximizing your memories and minimizing your regrets.
Hi Adi, thanks for your takeaways from your research. To generalize your point, it seems a common pattern that what an outsider sees differs significantly to what an insider experiences. I previously did not consider India as a socially mobile country, and I believe a similar pattern of being unaffected by modernization occurs in China and even parts of the US. I shared similar insights regarding senior year – in not just these final few months of senior year but beyond, optimize for both the experiencing and remembering self. We regret more often from inaction than from action.
Hi Adi,
I also found it interesting how optimistic Indians could be about working harder in order to gain a better life. I do also think that this idea of working harder to gain a better life is prevalent with Asian Americans as well– many first generation immigrants nowadays are pressuring their children to work extra hard in order to move up the social ladder as they know that minorities will always be put at a disadvantage. I also had a connection with what you said about India as two countries in one. In Hong Kong, where my Dad is from, the area is split between the ultra rich and ultra poor, with the poor mostly composed of older people with low wage jobs. However, the difference is that it seems that most Indians are optimistic about their country’s future!
Amazing blog, Adi!
Faith
Hi Adi! Wow, I was also surprised by the fact that though they are faced with incredibly difficult barriers to attaining it, the Indian people are the most optimistic about social mobility in the world. I also liked the way you described the fact that so many characteristics of India are nuanced and there is a variety of circumstances and perspectives. Your advice is quite solid–I will definitely take it because it’s true. I find myself enjoying my life a little more whenever I switch up something, even if it’s small such as my snack of the day.
Hi, thanks for the video. Your video on India was particularly enlightening, as it portrays a different tone for the future of Indians. It is no secret that India has its own problems and skeletons in the closet, and climbing from rags to riches isn’t a ballpark. However, your inside view of the Indian life portrays that of progress, reform, and an optimistic future without any foreign spin on it. Thank you for voicing out for the Indians, and showing that, even in poverty, there is still hope for many to attain a better future!
Why hello there Adi. Reading the same book, I felt that your thoughts on some of these themes could provide meaningful discussion, and they certainly will. I, for one, agree strongly with the idea that there are two faces to a lot of societies, in this case India. Many communities wish to maintain a public image in order to seem more attractive, wealthy, powerful, etc. However, this often comes at the expense of their more impoverished people. I’m glad to see that you’re optimistic of the future of India. I, too, think that in a lot of rapidly industrializing countries, the natural fast pace of change induces bad habits, like corruption and greed, but they all run out in the long run. As such, there is certainly hope.
Now, on a more personal note, I loved seeing your recognition of the constant growth in life, because I too have thought about this a lot. With each day, we will inevitably learn something new and we will change in some way, and it is crucial to embrace that. Being able to adapt and flow alongside change is incredibly valuable, because change is the only constant in life (I heard that from Parks and Rec).