It’s been a while since I’ve been up until beyond normal working hours with any obligatory work to complete before the next few hours perfunctorily elapse. Although this can never be a particularly pleasant situation to find oneself in, it does bring back with undeniable fondness memories of a time when such situations were a way of life. Inspired perhaps by the innate tendency of an IB student to do anything apart from the necessary task, I venture in this new note to offer my infinite wisdom on the various dimensions of college life
Let me begin with taking note of the sheer enormity of college . Not in terms of physical size, but rather in terms of the magnitude of students that inhabit the institute. 85% of the faces I see in college are unfamiliar, and will remain as such, because the chances of my ever seeing them again are scarce. This brings with it an inescapable feeling of anonymity when not surrounded by your cozy circle of friends. This has many advantages as well, allowing room for solitude that facilitates the ability to sit comfortably in a corner of the college with your headphones plugged in remaining blissfully unconcerned about the happenings in your immediate environment. Nevertheless this still comes across as a change from my previous centres of education – and is one which I hope I’m slowly getting used to
Another interesting feature is the presence of countless ‘clubs’ and other intra college organizations. While extra curriculars formed an important part of school life, it was always school organized or sponsored. Seeing students seize the initiative to organize this aspect of education is interesting, and at times amusing. Naturally the presence of so many clubs also gives rise to inter and intra club politics which can be both exciting and disillusioning.
A very interesting aspect of college life is also the lackadaisical attitude to time. While lateness is adopted as a natural way of life by students, teachers too seem to be catching onto this trend – which comes as just a wee bit of a surprise. Apart from this learning to find your way around the rude clerical staff, and not getting put off by the whistle happy watchman are important are imperative for general peace of mind
The main thing that I’ve realized about college however is that here, you are who you choose to be. There’s nobody standing behind you, waiting to shove a red hot iron rod up your rear end should you fail to perform. Yet the opportunities are out there waiting for you to seize them, and deciding which way you want to go can be an important test of character.
With all that said, I think it’s time I logged off now. Before signing off I must say I’ve been rather amused by the recent Nano plant in Bengal controversy. While I’m sure the matter is dead serious – watching Mamta Bannerjee zealously screaming in Bengali while addressing a seemingly hoodwinked audience is always worth a watch. If you don’t know what I’m yapping about you clearly need to watch the news more often.
Copyright © Praneet Arora
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