Economics as a subject left some with teared eyes while some with smiles in class 12th. Life moved ahead, we all chose different courses at different universities. But here is a poem which will, maybe, help us rekindle our love for Economics.
Economics is our relationship with ourselves,
How we use our time, what we do for leisure, our pace,
Our ratio of being to doing,
Our connection to our passions, our hobbies,
That which we can call our own.
Our locus of control,
Our sense of self-worth,
Our relationship with time, seasons,
How we define our identity,
Our past, the quality of our present, how we envision our future.
Our freedoms, our constraints,
How we meet our needs,
Our role in society, our mythopoetic identity.
Economics defines and limits our power, our status.
Economics gives us voice, votes.
 Economics is our relationship to each other,
Whether we see each other as collaborators or competitors, separate or interconnected.
Economics is our level of trust and the quality of our interactions,
How we manage our housework, our child rearing,
How we care and get cared for,
What we give and what we get,
Economics is our relationship to Earth,
Our connection to land,
Our sense of belonging,
What we build and how we build it,
What and how we eat, where our food comes from, and what happens to our waste.
Whether we see the natural world as a supply house or sewer,
A battlefield or lover,
An animate being or our larger Self.
Economics alienates, subjugates, co-creates, and empowers,
Economics is myth and fact, crisis and opportunity, alive and lifeless,
 What is not economics?
Economics is not simply the bottom line, the marketplace, the true cost, or the bank note,
It’s not our first kiss,
Our dreams,
Our death,
Or the conversations between trees.
Economics is how we make meaning.
- Anonymous
With Economics being vast and deep rooted in some complex disciples like Statistics , Calculus etc , the life of Economics student is no joke, rather it takes interesting turns during these 3 years.
Here is a list of 5 things which every Economics student ,at Delhi University, experiences or is tired of hearing.
1. Mirror! Mirror! On the wall who is smartest of them all? *Whispers* “Economics Honors Student”
That’s right! Your course is enough to judge your intelligence. Sometimes I wish my mom considered me this intelligent! Here is what you will see or hear when you tell your course as Economics honors – eyebrow being raised, slow nods , words like ‘kya baat’ slipping , sentences like ‘ 90%+ wale bache ho’ , ‘ kismat wale ho’ and what not. See I won’t blame them for this but in recent years the cut offs for Economics Honors is sky rocketing. This year the first cutoff had no less than 95% and some colleges till the end maintained a 95%. The competition for course and high cut offs has set a notion of Economics student being smartest of all.
2. MME (Mathematical Methods for Economics) gives you hard time.
For some MME = Maths , MME = Impossible , MME = bachao!. Everyone has different opinion for this subject but at some point it will make you question your love for Economics. This subject has no questions available for practice which makes students crave, beg and hunt questions to practice all year long. Even teachers sideline this and say ‘focus on theory, questions apne aap ho jayege’ . Like how? All these years struggling with maths and in my tea cup size brain a storm struck which made me realize Maths = Practice then how come in just one month my years of realization  failed!
3. Economics is no longer a cakewalk
In life there are some decision which we regret and with toll of time we forget them, but guess what! Economics will not only make you question your choices but also make you regret this all along 3 years. You hear it right! In college, Economics gives you nightmares. Even Microeconomics gives you no hope. All year long you are struggling with assignments , internals and class tests. If you join any society, Lord save you!
4. High scores are now just distant dreams.
After scoring ridiculously well in class 12th boards, everyone feels on top of the world. You feel you have just conquered your longtime fear of class 12th , but college will burst your bubble of happiness with just one internal. Not everyone knows, but its okay to score little less. Its okay to not always be in the coveted 90s group. You develop interests and hobbies in college and devote time in them but you should never side line you course as its equally important. A student should understand grounds and methods for evaluation in school and colleges are different. But this should never stop you from being motivated and working hard.
5. ‘Tum log ko toh MBA karna hai’ , ‘ Job toh mil jayegi asani se’ is what you hear for future plans.
Errr…No Thanks! Like why MBA!? Why not Masters? This sometimes saddens me that we as Economics student have limited our future study plans to MBA. What I feel many students have a notion of MBA being a shortcut for success which is wrong. Many parents and students have a mind set of Economics = scope = employment. Its perfectly fine if you don’t opt for jobs or MBA but instead pursue you passion in photography, dance, social service etc.
The life which an Economics Honors student enjoys remains a distant dream for many. Yes it’s a bumpy ride with crevices filled with fun and frolic. Its quite a hell lot of an experience which every economics student should cherish each day because it will all end at blink of an eye.