Choice - Dance and go places

The institute has been quite an experience. I came here with an open mind at the beginning of a journey. On our first day, this song was played to us. It struck such a chord with the choice and the journey ahead.
Lines I like from "I hope you Dance" -

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

..Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance


Another is a poem by Dr.Seuss called "Oh! The places you'll go!". The first part is lovely.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

I had my reasons for coming here. I never looked upon it as a service or giving back. I felt thinking about it like that undermined my choice. It made it seem like I was personally not gaining that much as I should/would from other places.
Of course, I chose this because I believed I would gain much from here. However, that doesn't mean that I can't think of it as a service. What's so strange about doing service for one's country? Is it not a purpose in itself? Does personal growth need to be disconnected from it?

There are two people who I am going to quote here -
At our opening ceremony (which was bloody brilliant by the way), Shashank (a 2010 fellow) gave a speech. He had joined NDA but had to leave because of the injury hhe sustained during training. Thereafter, a few years hence, he was working in US of A, the land of dreams when he saw a Teach for India advertisement. That's it. He saw it. There was an India map on it. He chose. He told Shaheen that the reason he chose TFI was because it had the colourful India map on it. He is proud to say - "I teach FOR INDIA."

A friend is the second person. Many companies came to our campus for pre-placement presentations. He said - "There are so many of them and their names consist of 'Boston', 'Suisse', 'Deutsche', 'Japan', 'America' and the like. I thought, why am I working there?" It made me smile. It made me think.
I was born in India. I lived in India. My father spent his life in the Indian Army. I studied in Indian Institute of Technology. And now, I Teach FOR India.