Forever young

The secret recipe for being young is still at large. I’m sure cosmetologists and estheticians across the world are trying to figure out a magic formula that would help the human race be young for long. While the brilliant minds are still at work to develop this magic drug, I had a stimulating experience which kind of opened up my mind to looking beyond the physical and focus on being young at heart.

I was back in a college campus when an inter-collegiate event was on, giving company to my spouse or just wanting to see him work in his environment. The atmosphere in this campus was filled with energy, enthusiasm, high levels of emotions with each emotion being felt so strongly like there is no tomorrow. Yet, these students, once they graduate out of the college portals and embroil themselves with work, create their own definitions of success, get too indulged in their lives goals that they don’t realize when slowly life’s experiences turn them old and jaded. That is when they reminiscence of old days and the way things were back when they were in college.

Professors, now they are another cup of tea! And these are the genre of people who continue to stay young. I tell you why. Most of them stay in the campus, watch batches of students come in and watch them move on as young adults ready to take on the world. Since the energy levels in a campus is contagious, it means that some of all the mad energy is going to get passed on to them too. That’s not just it, they need to stay a step ahead of their students and so they learn some of their little tricks too!

Professors at most times need to converse, advice, cajole the students at certain tasks and the best results are got when they do that in the same wavelength as the student and not just as a higher up. This is an electrifying combination. The mind is constantly stimulated to process new information, along with the continuous young energy and I guess that’s the reason, most of the popular Professors are still young, atleast at heart. It’s another matter that most of the student antics might have given most of them premature greying or even go bald! Talk to any ‘popular’ professors and you’ll get what I’m trying to talk about.  

We were just discussing on the pros and cons of being a lecturer on our way back home. Would teaching of any kind have the same effect? We were not able to conclude emphatically, but both of us did feel that this strange bond between students and professors might be limited to education above a certain level. Does this make me want to take up teaching? Heck no! But I think I’ll be back for a dip from that fountain some time!