Who Are You?

Well, I'm still looking for the answer to that question, but I know that I'm most certainly not who I was before. That is to say that since this past Summer, I've most definitely changed throughout my first semester at UT. For one, I'm much more aware of my surroundings at all times. It's amazing at how much one can observe when the desire to learn arises! I've grown into a calmer and, I would like to think, much wiser person. In the summer, I sort of focused upon my experiences which have shaped my relationship with most animals (save monkeys), but in this essay, I want to focus on me! Who am I indeed?

There's still No Monkey Business about me!


The very first response is my name. I am Sharad Sharma. Not this Sharad who was always used to just running around doing as he pleases, but a Sharad who is a bit more patient. I'm able to listen to people on a whole different level. I think primarily due to the emphasis on empathy in World Lit. The Earthlings video surely affects my opinion about animal slaughter, but the analogy that was drawn to the holocaust suggested to me that humans practice ignorant emotions more often than they should, and I for one have chosen to reverse that particular humanitarian policy. Help should be wholehearted, not meticulously planned for PR sakes, but here the patience within me helps me to realize, that help is help, it's motive isn't that important.

People who need Help should get it!


The most dramatic change in my persona is my temper. Pre-college I had some anger issues; I wasn't by any means a candidate for Adam Sandler in Anger Management but I had my days. However ever since the very first day in Austin, I have been able to suppress this side of me, no matter how far the situation escalated. For instance, one day while walking to class in the fall on a rainy day, this particular white BMW drove by a huge puddle of water going about 30 mph with no regard for pedestrians on the sidewalk. I was one of the unlucky individuals. Normally, I would've chased down this vehicle and offend the driver somehow, but for some reason, I just let go. It's as if I was able to step outside of myself and observe this situation from a third person perspective. Of course, this is Austin, and this girl walking by comes up to me and says, "What an Asshole right?" That statement however did piss me off because she was mocking me and my situation which was sort of rude, but again, I stepped outside of myself and let the annoyance walk on by. This methodology is a whole new mental model on how to perceive things, and it has been wonderful for dealing with my frustrations.

It's Nice to Make a Positive Impact


At the start of college, I would've never thought that I would change so much. I'm a member of a fraternity for one, and I never planned on that coming into college. The things that happen in college. I guess it's our bubble to experiment with who we want to become because there are so many opportunities to just get up in the morning and say, "I am not going to this particular activity from now on...." or "I am going to be more ____ from now on." College is our change bubble. We change and see who we've become. If we like the result, we keep that aspect of our persona. If not, then we change again. It's sort of like we transform into our very own ambassadors! We hire and fire ourselves every semester or every week or however often as we chose.

The President Supports the Change that happens on UT