Be Brave Not Safe

Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” -Helen Keller, The Open Door

So let’s define this phrase “Be Brave Not Safe” by chopping it into its 2 parts (brave and safe).

Brave:

“Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired. Smile, even when you’re trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision. Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy. Trust, even when your heart begs you not to. Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see. Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you’re afraid of what the dreams might bring. Run, even when it feels like you can’t run any more. And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience—you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don’t live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started.”

-Alysha Speer

“Do what you need to do as quickly as possible so that you can do what you want to do for as long as possible.” -Author Unknown. 

Safe:

“You stay safe, You love. You survive. You laugh and cry and struggle and sometimes you fail and sometimes you succeed. You Push.”

-Carrie Ryan, The Dead-Tossed Waves

“Being safe doesn’t mean you won’t be sorry.” -Katerina Stoykova Klemer

Taking the path of least resistance, Staying put in an unfulfilling (even bad) situation because it is “easier” to stay the same vs. making a change or Doing things just because everyone else is. It can also be not doing things (that could be done to achieve our goals and dreams) because of F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real)

hope that this inspires and educates you to Be Brave (#possessing or exhibiting #courage or courageous #endurance towards the #achievement of their #goals and #dreams) Not Safe (not taking the path of least #resistance).

My Thoughts

Fear

Image | Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

Somewhere I had picked up this thought: “To be fearless is to be great”. Each day, I tried desperately to conquer fear. And, the more I try to conquer fear, the more I experienced it, the more I became aware of it. Then, a wonderful book (Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway) told me: “You are only a human being; and, as long as you keep growing and learning, as long as you keep walking into unfamiliar state, you shall always experience fear. Like you, all experience it… all have many unfamiliar state to walk into… that’s a fact of life. Don’t kid yourself”.

 
fear2

“What shall I do then?”, I asked.

“Nothing! Just accept the fact that it’s natural to have fear. And experience it fully”. Because our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

“That’s all?”

“Yes! You can only learn to handle fear and not conquer it. The only way you can learn to handle it, is be doing the thing that you are afraid of.”

That’s it. I have, since then, stopped trying to conquer fear. I am consistently trying to handle it, be doing the thing that I am scared of, by walking into my unfamiliar state. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Says Eleanor Roosevelt. There are hundreds of such states. Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity. And I don’t think my one life-time is enough to handle them. I accept the fact that I am a growing and learning human being.

Fear is a sign that I am alive!

India’s Contribution To World War I

Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

India's Contribution To World War I

June 28, 1914 was the day when the chain of events that started World War I was set off. This conflict between the Central Powers and the Allies started with assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip, a nationalist. Within a month and a half, Europe’s five major powers were at war. Prior to World War I, Russia was in alliance with Serbia, Germany was in alliance with Austria-Hungary; France was in alliance with Russia; while Britain was in alliance with France, Russia and Belgium. Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the attack on the Archduke and presented an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia; Germany declared war on Russia, France, and Belgium; United Kingdom i.e. Great Britain declared war on Germany and the War started to lay its shadow all over world.

Some questions struck my mind, like was India in World War I? Did we Indians contribute in this war? If yes then what and how did we contribute? Who were our allies and fought with? I found some answers to these questions. The First World War had lasting consequences that extended far beyond Europe. It was a truly global conflict, and involved many Commonwealth countries that made huge sacrifices vital to Britain’s war effort. India played a significant role in World War I and made a huge contribution to Britain’s war effort as it was under its rule. It becomes clear that period of history was inextricably bound up with the history of the independence movement. And this can sometimes cause confusion. However, India’s part in the war is frequently overlooked as a result of the fear experienced in trench warfare by Europe’s tendency to home in on battles. Which many assume only Europeans fought in. We were allies with Britain and fought on her side in the war. When war broke out in 1914, India was in a state of growing political unrest. The Indian National Congress had gone from being a group that simply discussed issues to a body that was pushing for more self-government. Before the war started, the Germans had spent a great deal of time and energy trying to stir up an anti-British movement in India. Many shared the view that if Britain got involved in a crisis somewhere in the world, Indian separatists would use this as an opportunity to advance their cause.

“The moment Britain gets into trouble elsewhere, India, in her present temper, would burst into a blaze of rebellion.” ­- William Archer (author)

When war was declared on August 4th, India rallied to the cause. Those with influence within India believed that the cause of Indian independence would best be served by helping out Britain in whatever capacity India could, including the Indian National Congress. Military and financial help were made from all over the country. It sent staggering numbers of volunteers to fight and die on behalf of the allied forces. Almost 1.5 million Muslim, Sikh and Hindu men from regions such as the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar volunteered in the Indian Expeditionary Force, which were fighting on the Western Front, in East Africa, Egypt, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Hugely wealthy princes offered great sums of money. Even areas outside of British India offered help. Nepal offered help and in total sent 100,000 Gurkhas and the Dalai Lama in Tibet offered 1000 of his troops to the cause. Despite the pre-war fears of unrest, Britain, in fact, could take many troops and most of her military equipment out of India as fears of unrest subsided. Indian troops were ready for battle before most other troops in the dominions. Indian troops were on the Western Front by the winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties. Along with the casualties from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw the Indian Corps from front line duty at the end of 1915.

In total, 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1.5 million volunteering to fight. Volunteering offered a chance to break through the caste system, because becoming a soldier paid well and meant becoming part of the ‘warrior’ caste, which gave high status. The country also supplied 170,000 animals, 3.7 million tons of supplies, jute for sandbags, and a large loan (the equivalent of about £2 billion today) to the British government. They fought in most theatres of war including Gallipoli and North and East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed, 65,000 were wounded, and 10,000 were reported missing, while 98 Indian army nurses were killed. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross. Such was the cost of the war, that India’s economy was pushed to near bankruptcy. The Indian support given to Britain cause surprised the establishment in Britain. ‘The Times’ wrote:

“The Indian empire has overwhelmed the British nation by the completeness and unanimity of its enthusiastic aid.”

For its endeavors, India expected to be rewarded with a major move towards independence or at the least self-government. These expectations were shared by nationalist leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the founder of Pakistan), but were dashed by the extension of martial law at the end of the conflict. When it became obvious that this was not going to happen, the mood in India became more militant. But the origins of Indian independence can be traced back to the events of the First World War. Following this period, Gandhi launched his first India-wide campaign of civil disobedience against British authority in February 1919. It was not driven by anti-Western or anti-British sentiment per se, but by the pursuit of self-determination. It took a looming Second World War, and the resistance against risking more Indian lives for little tangible return, before nationalist efforts redoubled under the auspices of the Quit India Movement.

This Research Article was published in “Lumère” a Student Research Journal 2014-15 by St. Andrew’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce.

Lumère

“Lumère” Student Research Journal 2014-15

THE RIGHT TO BE MYSELF SELF-ESTEEM!

Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

Often, I compared myself with
Others and felt inferior deep within;
And, often, when others went ahead of me,
I felt restless and unhappy within.

When I became aware of this problem,
I stared searching for a solution;
I realized that the world had millions of people more
Talented than me and more handsome than me, and
How could I compare myself so much?
How could I compare myself with so many?
How could I become better than them?

It seemed neither possible, nor necessary for me.
So, I started focusing on my own good worth, my own strengths and my own weakness.
“Don’t I possess atleast one or two good talents?
What makes me so special one?”
I asked myself.

THE RIGHT TO BE MYSELF SELF-ESTEEM

THE RIGHT TO BE MYSELF SELF-ESTEEM

“Can’t I spend my time and energy focusing on improving
These talents and appreciating my own self-worth?”

It, then made sense.

Self-esteem was born the movement I accepted the fact that,
“I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE MYSELF, AND I NEED NOT PRETEND TO BE ANYBODY ELSE!”

  • Neil

Freedom of Choice

Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

My greatest freedom
is my freedom of choice.
Yes, things keep happening
And circumstances can be
too unpredictable;
Yes, there are times
life may seem to reach a complete
dead end, and
There are times other people may
seem to govern my life…

cold-spring

 

The truth is,
I am still free to choose,
I can be proactive or reactive,
I am free not feel victimized
by people or circumstances around.
That’s my greatest freedom.. 🙂

Information Technology as a Course and as a Career

Posted on by Neil Mascarenhas

It’s an IT world!

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”  – Steve Jobs

Information Technology has been one of the most in demand courses and jobs nowadays. It offers knowledge that I could learn during my studies and by doing my job. But what really is Information Technology? And how will it affect my life if I chooses it as my course or as my future career? Do I really need IT?

I am surrounded everyday by the influences of technology, and I may Think of things like Computers, IPods, Game systems or even Cell Phones as The most important IT tools of the 21st century. While these are the gadgets I spend my day using to communicate, socialize and complete Tasks, they are a small sampling of IT tools. The opportunities to find a career in IT are nearly limitless. It’s been a long time since Information Technology has been introduced to me but I am not able to acknowledge it because I determine it as the use of electronic machines. In reality, it is the Study, Design, Development, Implementation, Support or Management of Computer-based Information systems, particularly Software Applications and Computer Hardware. It deals with the use of Electronic Computers and Computer Software to securely Convert, Store, Protect, Process, Transmit, Input, and Output and Retrieve information that makes Managing and Exchanging of information easier.

Choosing Information Technology also known as “I.T.” as my course was challenging. I must have wider knowledge regarding computer from hardware to software and everything that has connection to it. There are many hardships that I will probably encounter. Aside from these things, I will also have to study many Mathematical subjects like Algebra, Trigonometry, Analytical Geometry and Calculus. I must learn these things because it will be a good help for you in the Future and it’s really needed for Programming purposes. Focus and Determination is a must in this course for me to be able to pass it. Information Technology is a great choice I would choose it to be your future career. Being one of the most in Demand courses, it offers great jobs and high salary. Choosing this to be career is exciting and enjoyable.  I will be fond of the fast growing technology in our generation and so as in the future.

 Information technology is a rapidly growing part of today’s society. It affects everyone’s life in many aspects. Every human endeavor is influenced by information technology and the increasing rate at which what it can perform includes Information Technology is a constantly evolving field. Its dynamic nature propels the need for competent qualified computer science professionals constantly. As software stability becomes the crux of comfortable modern-day living, most companies look for professionals who can create software systems that ensure stability. I being an IT graduate can work with different industries as technical administrator or can work in research led areas of computer industry. The Demand for IT Specialists is growing rapidly in today’s age of technology.

“Physicists analyze systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.” – Tim Berners-Lee

Here are just some of the many fields that are out there for me with IT skills. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Research and Development, Database Development and Administration etc.) have the greatest and broadest demand for IT skills, followed by Financial services (Accounting, Asset Management), Infrastructure (Such as Public Utilities), Distribution (Shipping and Transportation) and Public Sector (Government). Manufacturing has less demand for IT skills overall. Large organizations lead the demand for skilled workers.

“Information Technology and Business are becoming Inextricably Interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other.” – Bill Gates

Computing is woven into the fabric of our modern society. Many businesses, professions and disciplines use computers. The use of computing in our society is expected to expand even further in the next two decades. Consequently, career opportunities are quite diverse. They include careers in business data processing; technical careers with computer manufacturers and Software companies; scientific computing careers in various types of laboratories; Software Development careers for applications in almost any field imaginable and academic and Research careers in Universities, Secondary schools and industry. Is it for me? Am I talented mathematically and technically? Can I reason logically about complex matters? If so, then I are a good candidate for a Computer and Information science major.  For me Information technology career are divided into four pathways

1) Network System: – If I like working with my hands and solving computer challenges, this may be my meal ticket! Because networks are configured in many ways, network systems and data communications analysts are needed to design, test, evaluate, and manage systems, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, intranets, and other data communications systems.

2) Information Support and Services: – Careers in Information support and services involve IT deployment, including implementing computer systems and software, providing technical assistance and managing information systems People with expertise in information support and services are in high demand for a variety of positions in organizations of all sizes and types. With the Internet and electronic businesses generating large volumes of data, there is a growing need to be able to store, manage, and extract data effectively.

3) Programming and Software Developing: – Careers in programming and software development involve the design, development, implementation and maintenance of computer systems and software, requiring knowledge of computer operating systems, programming languages and software development. People with expertise in programming and software development are in high demand, doing work such as creating the software that launches and runs NASA space shuttles.

“It’s not at all important to get it right the first time. It’s vitally important to get it right the last time.” – Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

4) Interactive Media: – Careers in interactive media involve creating, designing and producing interactive, multimedia products and services; including development of digitally-generated or computer-enhanced media used in business, training, entertainment, communications and marketing. Webmasters are responsible for all technical aspects of a Web site, including performance issues, such as speed of access, and for approving the content of the site. Internet developers or Web developers, also called Web designers, are responsible for day-to-day site creation and design.

What are corporate looking for?

“We want to get IT Professionals to think about something else.”   -Gosling Quotes

If you are looking to the future perhaps you are wondering how I prepare for the world of work. The following are key skills that employers of the 21st century – “your future boss” – are looking for in all fields of employment.

Soft and Business Skills: – A range of soft skills and business skills, such as oral and written communication skills, ability to work in teams, and project management skills.

Formal Education: – Generally at least a four-year degree, often a technical degree. Technical Skills. A highly specialized technical skill set related to specific programming languages; database, networking, and operating systems, and other technologies. These technical skills can be combined in many ways.

Experience: – Hands-on, real-world experience in the application of the technical skill set; sometimes, experience related to the application of IT in a particular industry setting.

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”  – Steve Jobs