As an Incoming PhD in History Scholar at the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), you would think I come from some big university. I DID NOT. Rather, I completed my MA in History and BA in History with Honours from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira (Belur Math), affiliated to the University of Calcutta. One of the better colleges in India, but rather unknown in comparison to other famous universities in the country, let alone to faculties abroad. Perhaps, it is due to the very reclusive nature of my college and the intimate and close interaction I had with well established academics that I was able to achieve my dream of getting into UCLA. At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I will analyze emerging notions and concepts of prophethood which developed around the enigmatic character of Swami Vivekananda, the renowned monk, in the fin-de-siecle. My work will encompass broader bodies of historical theory including that of global history and connecting histories. I will be working with religious, intellectual and ultimately broader, cultural, diasporas at the turn of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Under the esteemed South Asian faculty at UCLA, I will be probing into questions related to the foundation of modernity and analyzing conflicting dialogues between oscillatory ideas of the nation-state and civilization. Hence, amidst the shadows, I envisioned and hoped for a bright future. And I tell you, a bright future is possible with a beginning in the shadows. Do you want to know more about getting into foreign universities? Do you want to just talk about history and the problems relevant to academia and education? Feel free to contact me!