My firsts….

“Achha aisa bhi hota hai Kya?“

First day of college that nervousness and excitement, the first time being apart from family, the first time being independent and the first time staying in a hostel.
So, I joined my B-tech college in Bengaluru in 2018, so on the very first day, my mother came along to drop me off in the campus hostel where I met my warden who felt like my other mother with all the rules and restrictions. Then she proceeded to tell my mother she would take care of me as her own. With that, I started my day and met my new roommate who was two years senior than me and she had lived in hostels her entire life, so her hotel was her home. She told me a few more rules but this time they were rules of the room which included things like don’t touch this don’t do that and all I could think was ‘Achha Aisa bhi hota hai?’. Then came the very much-awaited orientation which came with its own set of challenges. So, we all gathered in the auditorium for the session, and from new interactions to nervous small talks to the meeting with professors and them explaining our course curriculum for the next 4 years, which in my memory went forever. And I still remember thinking isn’t college all about having all the freedom, no studies only fun and making lifelong friends? Then the reality suddenly hit me.
But making friends on the first day wasn’t that hard, as we all were new and wanted to fit in so we all were what others wanted us to be. After that, we made a group named friends forever and added our new forever friends (to be honest they only lasted a week). But then came lunchtime when I had the first experience of mess food and I still remember how bad it tasted but still, we all called our parents and told them we loved it. With a few more sessions down the lane, we were finally done. I went to my room but my roommate wasn’t there and, in that silence, it hit me that this is real this isn’t a dream, I’m actually here and I will be here for the next 4 years.
I was overwhelmed with emotions I couldn’t define but then my roommate came and told me all about real college life which mostly included completing assignments and the struggle of keeping 75% attendance she said, in the midst of it all you’ll find your people your “forever people” and you will have an amazing journey filled with all kinds of experiences and I smiled at her and we continued our chat and soon it was midnight and that’s when I found about the hostel nights where We all were asked to gather in the common area and there we introduced ourselves to our seniors. Then to keep some of the hostel cliques alive they told us that the hostel is haunted and was built upon a cemetery and when the surrounding got eerie and somehow, we were all whispering our words all of a sudden, and then came the evil laughs of our seniors and the night continued.
And with the firsts came seconds then thirds…and soon it was over. And my roommate was right my 4 years went into submitting projects, and assignments and keeping up with the classes and attendance but in the end, my roommate became my family, professors became our guides and seniors became not only friends but our mentors as well.
I did make my forever friends and had all the best and worst experiences and I think it’s ‘firsts’ that make ‘last’ even more amazing. So, here’s to my firsts.

Mumal Singh (PGSM2237)