I remember the first day I went to college. All scared and jittery. Ragging. Seniors. Hostel. Mess. So many words were crammed up in my tiny little school-girl head.
Just a few months into college and I had a whole new dictionary running through me. Lectures. Proffessors. Bunking. Canteen. Boys. Party.
So what is it about college that has the ability to scare you to your very core and then liberate you in a way that was unthought of before. Is it the freedom ? Is it the no-questions-asked, no-boundaries-defined situation ? Or is it the more primal need to have the ability to break rules ? Is it that the animal inside, clothed in a sophisticated human attire, is always looking to shed the pretence and just be ?
If you look back at your time spent in college, you can certainly pin-point at least one incident that you would not have imagined being a part of in your life before and you can certainly not in your life after. I, for one have an infinite supply of such stories. But I wouldn’t divulge any here beacuse I do, unlike my college days, fear rubbing some people the wrong way.What I can say, and very confidently so, is that I am a better person for having spent that time away from the protected nest of my family, in the “wild”, on my own. If it wasn’t for college, I would’ve remained the timid little girl, who had never even bought a bar of soap from the local store. I learnt how to speak up, ask for what I need, fight for what is rightfully mine, and give up what is not. I learnt that life, out in the real world is not all hunky-dory, it’s not at all like the world I saw hidden behind the glittery veil. It’s literally each man for himself, no dependencies allowed i.e if you are looking to survive. The politics, the games, they meet you at every step of the way. The discriminations based on your region, religion, and most of all sex, say “hello” to you at every turn of the road. But what I also learnt is that a few people stay by your side through all these twists and turns that life throws at you. These are the ones you need to hold onto and life would cease to appear like a constant war.
A dekko at this wonderful phase of life, brings forth memories that are irreplaceable. But I could only realise the importance, the true meaning of these memories when I met someone who, despite having the degree, could not claim to have any of them. It is one thing to have enjoyed all the liberation and independence of college life, but it is a completely different thing to think back at that time and relive those moments. Your mind, very slyly, would add nuances to every experience as time passes and glorify it beyond its actual nature. So don’t ever close this chapter of the story of your life (if you are lucky enough to have one), because it has the potential to bring you back from the abyss that you might find yourself thrown into while fighting the battle that is your life.
Blog-lin 