Campus-life

By: Sriya Kota & Esha Anand

College can be stressful as well as fun. And if you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing your campus-life till now, just take my word for it.

When a student is at school, especially when they are studying in the Indian System of education, the one thing they look forward to is completing schooling and getting into a good college. We have a list of colleges and universities to choose from, some with a lower acceptance rate than our passing percentages in school.

Entrance tests, personal or group interviews and a lot of other criteria required by Universities to choose us. But after all that process, that nervousness whether we got in or not, the college is all worth it. That’s where we start having all our expectations of making new friends, a sense of being independent, and as well getting a step closer to your dreams. A new, fresh start. The best part of college, especially after studying in just one school all your life, is that no one actually knows you and would judge you for any reason.

But now due to the great pandemic that hit us all from the past two years, students have not been able to go to colleges and in fact there are many who haven't even seen their campuses yet. Making friends became a challenge since you don’t know whom to message, whom to become friends with as you’ve never actually seen them. For example, an introvert it would be very difficult for them to make friends online. But honestly, it is an unforgettable experience to see your campus for the first time and seeing all your classmates. The number of events and opportunities you get in a University are uncountable. Let it be sports, extracurricular activities or clubs.

I remember having mixed emotions on the first day of college. Coming from a high school which contains classes of less than 25, I wondered how I would fit into a college class. They are much bigger than what I was used to and did not think I could concentrate in them. The idea of this change did scare me initially but excited me a lot more. When I arrived on campus, I saw a huge building on a road covered in construction. I could hear students complain about the size of the campus on my way into the building but I still knew that this was bigger than my educational institution. As I entered the building, I struggled to find my classroom. The shape of the building made me roam around the same floor twice before I finally made it! I saw the same people I had seen online; though I am not going to lie, some people did look slightly different and some I saw for the first time after months of staring at their initials in an online classroom.

Right then, I was not as worried about the big class. I knew it would just amount to a better and more fun experience. While all this was happening, the bell rang, indicating that we needed to actually sit in a classroom and listen to a lecture. During the first ever class, there was this itch and compulsion to use my phone in between, especially when someone was asking a question I already knew the answer to. The urge did get better when I ended up talking to my classmates instead as a distraction.

As the weeks now progress, I find a routine in my new daily life. It is easier now, sitting in a classes with uncomfortable chairs instead of the comfort of my bed. Fewer distractions or more appropriately, the source of said distraction now shifting from my phone to highly entertaining friends who come with a promise. A promise of forming great memories together which I can see becoming stronger each day.