Preparing a Transition
2012 was the year I chose, on purpose, not to take the obvious next step.
I finished the four-year engineering degree and, instead of looking for a job, moved to Chennai to keep studying. My engineering years had no headline achievements, but they had handed me a set of skills I knew I would use. What I did not want was the default: a master's in the same field. It would not give me the intellectual breadth I was after.
So I turned toward design, hoping for something that would actually engage me. I read up on design schools across India and decided the first concrete step was CEED, the national design entrance exam. My first attempt was not good enough. Rather than treat that as an answer, I decided to sit it again the next year.
The rest of the year was slow and unplanned in a way that did not worry me. I spent it narrowing down schools and working out what I actually wanted. By the end I could see the shape of it, and I was ready to begin.