WHAT 9 MONTHS OF COLLEGE HAS TAUGHT ME


23RD MARCH 2011, 7:25 PM

Goa chalte hai weekend par, class ke baad pool khelne chale…food court mein kya hoga…teacher kitna paka raha hai…aaj raat man-u ka match hai….raat ka kya plans hai…koi assignment to nahi dena hai…saamne wali ladki kitni hot hai. These are the popular chatting topics while the lectures are on. And when topics seem scarce there is always sleep, so sweet in the lectures. You stayed awake last night till 4 watching a movie. You had fought with your conscience long before you convinced it sleep can be done in the class. Movie is really important. So you had a hearty sleep for full one hour of the lecture where the foolish lecturer kept on blabbering thinking there is someone in the class who want to listen to him. And then you wake up just to realize that your attendance has gone past. What I have never really understood is how after the lecture ends your sleep vanishes. It’s almost magic.

Often we text that “Busy, In class”. So ironical, because all we do in class is to sleep and have fun fighting, playing and cracking jokes on the teacher. Semesters come and go and we promise every time “next semester mein to dikha doonga’’. Sad that the ‘next semester’ never comes. Mom asks ‘padhai kaisa chal rha?’ We reply haan padh hi rha tha, while you may be playing ‘counter strike’. People think you’re not cool until you have a girlfriend/boyfriend in college. You’re supposed to be a loser without them. There are boys who are happy with ‘bird watching’ while there are others who might actually take the step which is supposed to make them COOL. Girls eye boys, dressing in strangest possible ways and boys try to show off in front of girls. The hottest gal in college becomes a debatable topic. ‘Woh mere ko dekh rahi hai/raha hai’ is supposed to be a fashion statement.

When I was in school, especially 11th -12th standard, college life attracted me. I wanted to end my schooling as soon as possible. I was sick of the blue dress we wore to school every single day, standing in the hot sun for prayers in morning assembly, Getting punished if you have not worn your tie (which we often didn’t). I so wanted to grow up. Today I may have ended my school life, and may have grown up. But this has added a sense of responsibility. Pokemon, Aladdin and Son pari seem so kiddish today. Stone paper scissors seem a distant past. Now ego has crept in, relationships are more complicated, friendship is not so innocent. Slangs were considered bad when we were small, but now F-word is part and parcel of everyone’s vocab (though I am still holding on)...I often wonder how my friends change their vocabulary when they go back to their homes. An India defeat or Ronaldo’s goal miss...people have so different reactions when they are in the hostels and at home...
Drinking, smoking is a parameter of one’s coolness. Getting hangovers and moreover pretending to have is something what a college goer take pride in.People love showing off that they don’t study as they don’t want to be tagged as a ‘padhaku’ or a ‘nerd’. And still the same people top the exams. Kind of weird. Relationship status changes faster than your clothes, your words don’t reflect your feelings and lies are part and parcel of life.

Your friends become your family and never realize we’re closer to them than to our family. We listen to great songs everyday and each one becomes memorable and reminds us of a certain event... Becoming nocturnal is a part of your day. Sleeping the day out to utilize the night is one of the most valuable things college life has taught us. Skipping breakfast every morning just to be in time for the lecture has a uniqueness of its own. Having some snacks with friends at the canteen after having toiled for hours in the Workshop is worth every bite. Doing assignments on the last night has a feel of its own. We learn how to deal with pressure and still manage to come out with flying colours. Making fun of that one guy in your class whom everyone seems to make fun is ecstatic.

Keep taking photos; they will be memories after your college life. Because however much we may complain about lecture hours crawling their time, how days will turn into 4 years, we may never realize.Guess it’s what college is all about. What matters is to Study hard and Play harder. Enjoy to your fullest, as these days won’t last forever…