Being an IBA student is widely perceived as an idealistically- privileged position to be in. However, this mainstream delusion conceals behind itself the burdening nature of this label.
The following article is an epitome of collective experiences, highlighting the burdening label of being an IBA-ian.
Unreasonably High Standards
External society’s perception of an IBA- enrolled student is being the possessor of knowledge in every aspect. If analysed realistically, the students are dwelling in their learning phase. Thus, expecting them to be All-Knowing is, without question, unreasonable. Apart from academic expectations, the burdening label carries with itself an idealistic level of confidence from the students. Confidence is a highly subjective trait; students of a specific university aren’t inherently confident. Thus, building up confidence is also tentative to each student individually. The idealistic expectations maintain its dense grasp even after graduation. IBA graduates are expected to get employed soon after graduation. However, low employment rates in Pakistan apply to all university graduates. Thus, statistical facts should be acknowledged.
Covid- Host To The IBA Label
IBA’s CDC department acts as a bridge to connect and benefit students with experiential gains through internships. However, the advent of Covid acted as an obstacle to the exposure an IBA student typically benefits from. Due to high internal competition in IBA, not having sufficient experiential internships on one’s CV is a crushing burden. To add on, the sudden and yet an inevitable shift to online classes negatively impacted the student’s academic record. IBA has a socially diverse student body, thus, lack of internet availability is an acknowledge-worthy concern.
The Key To Relief
Living with the IBA-burden can prove to be highly exhausting. However, this exhaustion is easily avoidable if we prioritize legislating our own lives. Therefore, a key to relief lies hidden underneath these few stated actions:
- Embrace your identity as a student- strive towards your growth.
- Prioritize your own pace of learning.
- Disregard the unreasonable standards-perfectionism exists for idealists only.
- Adopt Covid as a new way of living- make strategies accordingly.
Conclusively, challenging the unrealistic societal expectations should be the ultimate goal.
