Six Years of Building <. >

Six years ago on this day, we began building. Not with some grand declaration of what we wanted to be, but a solemn understanding that exists only between individuals that dream. One would think that assembling a 'super-team' of the smartest people in a ten-thousand strong campus would require a lot of explaining and convincing, but nothing could be further from the truth. I never had to explain what Point Blank was to any of my friends. There were just firm handshakes, a nod, and a silent acknowledgement of - "I see you, and I want to join and build this together".

Over half a decade later, those friends are still by my side. Six years might not seem like a lot, but its one-quarter of a lifetime for 20 something year olds. We are still here, and we are still building. Now with the support of all the juniors that joined us along the way.

One of my juniors told me: "when the next batch joins, your batch will be 10 years their senior!"

So, what keeps us going? To outsiders, this is certainly a strange phenomenon. How can a mere club foster bonds that are so strong that brings people who graduated half a decade ago back to college?

You see, we are fighting a war against irrelevance. Against being another statistic.

The world has over 8 billion people. And with these billion people, come institutions that smooth out any variety among individuals. Children grow up dreaming of becoming astronauts, scientists, inventors and end up working the same dead end job. Why? because each step of the way they're taught that dreaming comes with a risk of failure and that there is safety in mediocrity. They often live out their entire life thinking what they could have been, if only they tried.

To quote Dylan Thomas:

"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night."

At Point Blank, we are cultivating a space where we take competition head on. Not only are we not afraid to dream big and try, its the only way we live. Batch after batch, we hone our craft and pass it on to juniors who in turn explore the latest bleeding edge developments and use it to overhaul our processes. No project is ever truly finished, and we thrive in uncertainty. While every member is on their own journey chasing their goals, we dream together, build together, and cheer each other on.

As we move on into year seven and beyond, its worth remembering the frailty of dreams. The team is rebuilt every year brick by brick by people who share this dream. Point Blank is nothing without its people, and to these people I say – You must build Point Blank.

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

-- W. B. Yeats

#WeArePointBlank