“Abhi padhai karo aur college mei khooob enjoy karo (Study now and enjoy later in college) !! “, “Arey yaar, dekho na college ke log kitna enjoy kar rahe haii, bas ye tuitions aur ratna khatam karna haii (Look at how the college students enjoy, all we have to do is get done with all these tutions  and the mugging up) !!”, “college mei sirf 3 cheeze chalte hai  (The only three things that run in college) – ENTERTAINMENT, ENJOYMENT and FREEDOM“, etc.; these are few common exclamations heard and told during our school days. But is college life this simple?! Read on to get a glimpse of reality. Firstly, let’s get your facts right,  “College life isn’t that sweet as it seems. It’s time to apply what you learnt in your course of English: Do not judge a book by its cover! College actually runs on 3 things: LIFE LESSONS, SELF REALIZATION and MEMORIES.

In today’s world, especially in India, college education is something that isn’t that effective (Not being a pessimist here!). It’s all about creating robots who are really great at mugging up things and passing exams using illegal methods! Is that seriously what you expect from education; to leave you so helpless that you have to eventually use shameful ways to just cope with the rest of the ‘muggers’ and create a good impression in front of others!? What are you gaining? What about the “Honesty is the best policy” part taught to you at school? Isn’t it enough of ‘just-bookish-knowledge’ we get till our higher secondary?! Don’t you expect a bit of application or a pre-experience before you enter your work-life? Well the irony is that apart from the work-related education you expect, you really do learn a lot of valuable life lessons. You grow as an individual. Those 4-5 years of college life will take you through a roller-coaster of life with so many ups and downs, people entering and leaving, etc. Few of the qualities which will definitely be noticeable:

Independence:

There will be no extra tuitions for you in college. Enjoy those school tuition days. It may be tiring but when you move ahead, it’s something that definitely will make you look back for! All those munching in between the classes, ringing bells of random houses after classes, cycling or taking a ride back home where your mom awaits you with a wholesome meal ready and so on. Didn’t you just picturize it as you read through?! So, here’s to the young tots waiting to escape school and join college, I’d love to tell you that “Jee Le Apni Zindagi (Live your life)” doesn’t exactly have to wait  until you join college. All you have to do is just enjoy each and every moment that life has gifted you with, whether you are young or old and studying or working! Competition is seen everywhere just so that you get noticed or get first preferences. It is very important to know that since our colleges and society emphasize on competitive spirit, not everyone’s going to help you always, atleast not before one night (An Engineer’s study begins one night before the exam!). ‘Serve Yourself First!’ – A place on land where the Airline rule applies is definitely college!

Value of Money:

Though it’s your parents’ money you are still spending, when you give it away with your own hand it does make a lot of difference. The reluctance to spend it even on the 45 Rs sandwich in the college canteen will be seen. End of month common phrases like “Bro, cover me for today’s dinner, I’m really tight”, “no more outings until I get cash, I’m broke!” etc. will help you set your priorities right. Common places like pani-puri and vadapav stalls, sugarcane juice counter will be your KFCs, Café Coffee Days and Baskin Robbins for few years. College definitely brings out the ‘Kanjoos’ (miser) in you! No offences to the girlfriends out there,  but it’s quite necessary to understand and accept the fact that your boyfriend hasn’t started earning for himself and he’s still depending on his parent’s cash. So, it will be quite advisable that you expect a little less than a ZARA clothing or a candle-light date at The Taj Hotel and settle for something which is inexpensive yet a precious gift and what mature people call as time! (No offences again, just a tip. Take it if you want or leave it as it is!)

True relations:

Good company gives you good memories and bad ones give you regrets! Obviously you already do have a notion that it’s going to be difficult trying to make new friends or adapt to the new culture and surroundings or find your way alone without any supervision of your parents who were there to guide you until they left you here. But can you do anything about it? Are you going to run away on your first day refusing to give it a try or are you going to make your life worthwhile by connecting to a few people who sticks to you like UHU for the rest of your life (or luckily atleast till you graduate)? You’ll get to know the value of relations in this 4-5 years of college. The type of people you connect with or the right relations will reflect yourself. You’ll get to know what kind of a person you are, what’s your aim in life and what all interests you! Either you become an independent person or just a push-over. Think wisely while choosing your ‘group’ ‘cause you definitely want to complete that bucket-list of yours without any hassles or regrets!

 Power of family:

You’ll definitely love the freedom you get in college, with no one to yell at you or restrict or keep an eye on you! You would have been waiting to run and join a hostel soon to get the luxuries you thought to enjoy. Believe me or not, atleast before your first semester break you’d be eagerly waiting to rush home from the ‘so called heaven’ that your seniors mentioned that it’d be! There will be days when you are just dying to rush home at a blink of an eye (Bhagwaan sabko ek Doraemon ka ‘anywhere door’ de dena!), crave for your mother’s hand-made food, listen to dad’s scolding just to let go of that regret building in you ’cause of some really crazy thing you did or his teddy bear hugs when you are sad, fights with siblings (Miss fighting with them for the remote) or the pampering and care from your grandparents. For a change, you’ll feel happy when they scold you. Tears of happiness will dwell in your eyes when you know that, no matter what, they are always there for you. You’ll find comfort talking to them than the friends near to you.

 Memories:

First thing that flashes in your mind when you talk about college memories are those hostel days and definitely the trips or the treks you went for. How many sleep-overs have you craved for during your school days? You get it now every single night, with late-night gossip sessions (for girls) and gaming sessions (for boys), mid-night movies and crazy Birthday celebrations (with loads of free GPLs and cake smearings). The moment you enter college for your alumni meeting, it will be like entering a maze of memories. You’ll remember how you spent time with your friends under the huge tree during a sunny day, bunked classes to eat at the college canteen, punctured your professor’s vehicle (if you were the crazy lot) or rather used someone’s cycle and left it back at the same spot without the latter knowing, the lawns where you and your lover used to spend time gazing at the stars or talking about a happy future (which may or may not have continued after college), the classrooms where you would have luckily spent some good amount of time with the faculties (trying to maintain 70% attendance), the labs where you had broken something, the mess food which you somehow gulped down during your ‘broke scenes’, the security guard whistling right into your ears when you were upto some mischief and so on….

Oh well, etc. does really mean ‘end of thinking capacity’ and I’m pretty sure that especially the college lecturers are quite familiar with this term. Thanks to us students, we know we are awesome as we end most of our theoretical answers with an etc. even if it’s a single point that we mentioned! :p

P.S. No matter what you expect or regret or gain, live your college life to the fullest and enjoy while you can, for these days shall never return! YOLO! 😀