Intuition?

I'm still not sure whether there is such a thing as destiny, or there isn't; I'm still not sure whether there is such a thing as luck, or there isn't. So I'm going to briefly put down my academic life history here, and let you be the judge.

Every once in a while, one comes to a crossroad in one's life, when one must make choices. Choices are made on the basis of conviction, or advice. Well, for most people anyway. For me, everything seems to happen just by intuition.

I remember choosing Computer Science as my group in high school simply because I thought computers were cool. It turned out that I'm a natural at programming.

I remember joining coaching classes for IIT-JEE because I was told that the IITs are the best place for engineering studies in India. I made it in. I was told to choose the Dual Degree program in Mechanical Engineering because it was the "highest" program available for my rank. I didn't have a better suggestion so I went ahead and took it.

I remember choosing Industrial Engineering as my minor stream more out of whim than calculation. Looking back, I will surely say that the IE subjects were by far my favourite in IIT Madras.

I remember changing my M.Tech specialization to Manufacturing from Design because I found it hard to "connect" with my major, and I figured that if I connected it to my minor, I could do it indirectly! Another brilliant choice. I landed a project sponsored by GM for my thesis and did well.

I remember applying only to top B-schools for my Ph.D., out of a wish to study Operations Management. I added PSU's engineering school to the list as an after-thought, and I still don't know why I did it. It so happened that PSU was the only University to offer me an admit.

So that is the convoluted path that I have travelled to end up where I am. As strange as it may seem, in retrospect I think that I've ended up choosing one of the best paths among those available to me. I'm not entirely sure of my reasons for making any of the decisions; they happened more from intuition than anything else.

What is it that has made this happen? Do I have a date with some destiny, and my life is steering me towards it by sending some subconscious signals to my brain? Was it pure luck that I've done things right? Am I a genius who can do reasonably well at anything he touches, and my decisions didn't matter after all? Or am I actually mistaken, and there is some better path that I could have chosen?

The truth is probably a combination of more than one of the above. I wish I could peep into parallel universes to see what would have happened if I'd done things differently. But for the moment, I am content to rely on my gift - intuition? luck? destiny? whichever one it is. In any case, life seems to have decided to take my hand and lead me on. And the touch is comforting.

Cheers,
Prashanth.

P.S. I know I bored some of you with all these specifics, but I'm not looking to win a popularity contest here.