Scholar-Journalist of the Week: Music: The Universal Language

A class 11 student of Apeejay School, Rama Mandi in Jalandhar, Raghav Gupta spends most of his time studying and preparing as he dreams to pursue a degree at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. The young achiever has a strong academic bent but does not shy away from engaging in his hobbies which include dancing, singing and writing. In an interview, he talks about his motivation and goals. Read On:

Why do you wish to pursue engineering as your career?

I love to code. I have just completed a certification in the Python language. And I want to learn more and equip myself for the field.  To bring people together on a common platform, I aspire to build an app. Be it educational or health-related, these people should be able to find a common ground despite their age, stage or nationality.

What does your daily schedule look like?

I wake up by 5:00 in the morning to study the most difficult subjects. I feel that it is the best time for me. After putting in 2-3 hours, I go out cycling. Then, I get ready for the day and sit to study again at home. If the school is on, then I would attend my classes at that time. Whenever I am free and need a break from academics, I try to read a good book rather than to be on my phone. I prefer to take timely breaks and often power naps to boost my productivity in the day. Before sleeping in the night, I am habituated to make a to-do list for the next day.

A favourite book?

‘Wings of Fire’ by APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari. It is Mr. Kalam’s auto-biography. His story is truly captivating.

Your write-up Music: The Universal Language has got good hits. How? 

Music is a passion for me. I wrote down what came naturally to me. 

What drives you each morning to do better?

A mantra, ‘It’s all about that day – That day, when I would stand tall with a great score; that day, when I would be moving in the direction of my dreams.” – This motivates me.

Your role model(s)?

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet‎ and ‎Google and Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Facebook. I admire their consistency, success and positivity in their work.

For those wanting to sharpen their writing skills, your tips?

Be honest. Don’t think about being able to write a great article, just pen down your thoughts. Do consult a dictionary for choosing better words because as Hindi or regional language speakers, we tend to think and express our emotions in that language first. Whenever you are in doubt, don’t shy away from googling that word.

The topic you choose to write on should be a solid one – one in which you think you will have many things to say. Then, you can arrange your best logical arguments and pen them down. Have faith in your writing, and be confident. Writing a single page on a given topic with appropriate explanations is good enough.