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Do These If You Are Away from Home This Diwali

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If you are planning not to go back home this Diwali, you should definitely try the following so that your holiday doesn’t go to waste.

The festival of lights is already here, having enlightened people to make their plans for this Diwali. The sight of the earthen ‘diyas’ brings smile to the faces that look forward to light them. The entire idea of bursting crackers makes up for the most memorable moments of everyone’s childhood. The variety in the scent of the mouth-watering dishes that overpowers the breeze- become the harbinger of the guiltless cheat.

However, if you are planning on staying or are staying away from home this Diwali; you will be in need of the some suggestions. This is because despite consoling oneself of one’s capability to spend through the festive days. It becomes tough: the thoughts of the past have this tendency of haunting you, making you miss your friends and family, thereby, filling you with a sense of regret of the decision of staying alone.

1) Join your relatives:
This should top your list if you are lucky enough to have relatives in the same city as you are living in. This is equal to spending time with your family. Moreover, cousins make up for the best match to spend a festival with; you might recall your childhood memories, play card games and most importantly, have home-made food, something that most people are unfortunate to miss out on.

2) Spend some me-time:
This will definitely work for you if you are a loner kind of a person. The best part of staying away from home is the luxury of being able to give yourself time and perch upon the thoughts that otherwise you would have been unable to do with all those doting relatives surrounding you. You can either watch a movie and order good food or just sleep the entire day and do nothing. This is definitely not less than nirvana!

3) Volunteer at charitable homes:
This might be a good way to spend the Diwali if you are missing the company of your loved ones. You might foster some new and exciting bond with people who will have really interesting stories to tell. Moreover you will contribute and help bring light to the life of people living in the margins. These neglected people living in reduced circumstances are not able to spend this festive time as they rightfully deserve to. The smile that you will bring on their faces might bring you a lot of joy and happiness. As everyone says a little good deed goes a long distance.

4) Getaways on a limited budget: There are a lot of good places to visit near Delhi. These trips can be covered in a day or two on a very limited budget. There won’t be a better time to take a trip that you have long been planning to but are unable to because of the busy schedule. You can visit Lansdowne, McLeod Ganj, Kasauli, Surajkund or any other place. This getaway will help you rejuvenate yourself especially as semester exams are not far off and you will need to start preparing as soon as Diwali ends.

5) Explore the city:
If you don’t want to take a trip there are many other options that you can try. Delhi itself has a lot of beautiful places and monuments that you can go out and explore. You can take your camera and capture these beautiful places. Being alone has an advantage that you are not dependant on someone else to make a plan. Other than that you can indulge yourself in some shopping. Who does not like spending money on clothes and food?

So we hope that you seize the day and enjoy this Diwali at its fullest.

Image Credits: Fsquare Fashion

 

Shrija Ganguly
[email protected]

Anukriti Mishra
[email protected]

 

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Life at Delhi University

Pros that are actually Cons of College

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You think that college life has a few pros after all? Think again! The hectic life of a college student is actually all cons if you look closely. Here are some of the “pros” that are actually cons in pleasant disguise (try to find a healthy balance between the two to smooth out the contradictions!) –

 

Pro: You can do whatever you want! Gone are the days when asking for your parents’ permission was necessary to even step out of the house at 2 in the afternoon and here are the days of stepping into the house at 2 in the night. College doesn’t require you to come to class everyday and it lets you explore more than just monotonous classes and heavy books.

Con of the Pro: Getting to completely make your own decisions might sound like a blessing when you’re heading out to party and choosing Blueberry Cheesecake at Majnu ka Tila over your classes. However, you might feel the heat when internals are right around the corner and you don’t know a thing for that test on Monday! You can always get the five marks for attendance, but that is not always an option when you’ve done too much of exploring and too little of classes.

Pro: You can wear whatever you want! No more of the same outfit everyday and the strict rules regarding the ties and the socks of your boring uniform. Plus avoiding stains on that white shirt seemed impossible! Now you can go to college wearing anything from your comfy hoodie to your favourite ripped jeans and tell the world that you’re more than just the white shirt of your former uniforms.

Con of the Pro: Deciding what to wear every single working day of the week will excite you for the maybe the first six months of college. As the working days keep increasing and your excitement in fashion keeps decreasing, you will see yourself going to college in a pair of three-day old pajamas and chappals and wishing to get back the uniform. To top that off, now you have to save all your best clothes from the inevitable stains.

 

Pro: You eat out – a lot. Ordering food was only a one-time thing when mommy dearest was there to serve her best home cooked meals to you on a silver platter (sometimes, literally). But now pizzas, biryani and momos are your staples and you couldn’t be happier. Who needs mom’s boring and healthy food when you have McDonald’s on speed dial?

 

Con of the Pro: Eating a burger a day can make your best shape go away. After a designated number of cheesy, deep-fried things that cost you a lot of your pocket money, you’ll realise how much you miss the simple dal-chawal of home. Not only is the junk food causing harm to your body and to your wallet, it also makes you extremely homesick.

 

Pro: College will give you many opportunities. From societies to internships to seminars to talks – college will always have something or the other to offer to help you grow. Finally, life will seem more than just scoring sky high scores.

Con of the Pro: Amongst all the adventures of college life, you’ll have almost zero sleep. Did you think you could get the best of both worlds and also get sleep? Three hours of sleep will be more than enough when you’d be juggling between the ten things that your college has to offer. And don’t forget, that you have to also socialize in that time!

In the constant battle between students and college, don’t let college win. Try to end your three years with experiences, memories, and of course, a degree.

 

Anagha Rakta

[email protected]

 

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DUB Speak

Perks of living in a hostel: How it changes you for the better

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As final year slowly draws in and the curtains of my college life fall, memories from the three years gone by often reflect in the mirror of my mind. In such pensive moments as these I realise, that amongst the many things that I will miss, the one thing I hold most dear to my heart is the experience of living in a hostel.

As a single girl child, growing up, I had always been pampered and spoilt silly. So much so, that by the end of class twelfth, I had become grossly dependent on my parents. My lack of self-sufficiency worried my family. They feared that I would be a complete disaster if I had to ever make a living for myself. Their qualms were scarcely misplaced: when I moved into a hostel as a fresher, I made a complete mess of my life in the initial few months.

I had emotional as well as physical problems. I couldn’t adapt to community living. I hated the food at the mess. My obsession for neatness turned fatal as most of the other girls were extremely negligent about hygiene and tidiness. I couldn’t deal with the idea of sharing the washroom with five other girls. My room felt too small. Concentrating on studies became increasingly difficult with my wild neighbours playing music all the time. My sleeping patterns were thrown off their normal equilibrium and honestly, the list of complaints is endless!

When I went back home for the mid-semester break, I threw a feral fit. I firmly told my parents I wasn’t going back to that hellhole of a place and when they refused to give in, I threatened them and eventually went into a state of denial. That’s how I spent my ten-day week away from hostel.

When I returned, I carried the heaviness of depression for a week more. But one fine day, it struck me that in this apparently grim situation, I was the only unhappy soul. Neither the hostellers in my immediate environment, nor my parents back home suffered. The misery seemed specific to me. And that made me realise that I was the creator of my own sadness. When I complained and whined about my grievances, no one offered to help because at the end of the day, no one really could. It was my wish to study at DU and living in the hostel was simply the price I had to pay for it.

That day, I decided to turn my life around. I woke up to the hard truth that the life I had was the one I had chosen and so I ought to live it to the best of my abilities. Not much had been lost, I told myself, and made the firm choice to give life another shot. And just that one change in mind completely changed me.

Today, I am so independent that I am not just doing things for myself, but also for others.  From being served food to making it myself; from throwing my dirty laundry around the room to washing every handkerchief with my own bare hands; from snoozing alarms and waking up at noon to rising with the crack of dawn and going for a run, I have become a whole new person. Everyone seems to appreciate the new me. My parents, in fact, are so complacent with my independence that now, when I speak of my plans of going abroad for higher education, they are not just encouraging but alsoconfident that I will survive.

College life has been a great journey. And the hallmark has, indubitably, been my three-year stint in the hostel. They say that every person should live away from home at least once in their life, because only then does one get the chance to explore and find their own path in life. I couldn’t agree more.

Kriti Sharma
[email protected]

Image Credits:
rentmantra.com

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Campus Central

10 lessons learnt after the end of first semester

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It is that time of the year when everyone is busy photocopying notes, pulling all-nighters to settle a decent score in internals and getting submissions done just before the deadline. From easy-going days, it looks like college has suddenly transcended into a war zone- clearly, the honeymoon period is over. The semester flew away way too fast and while I’m still trying to grasp how that can be, I have to admit that I find myself wiser than I was a few months back. I’ve learned a few hacks which I wish someone would have told me before.

Here are 10 tips I learned by the end of the first semester, that can make college easier.

  1. Maintain your finances– With College comes independence and with that comes responsibility which includes finance management. It may seem harmless to spend 30-40 bucks here and there on multiple kiosks dotted around the campus, but these seemingly small spendings will turn you into a broke while you will be cluelessly wondering where all your money went. Hopefully, the demonetarization scheme is making you a better budgeter.
  2. Prioritize- With too much going around, it’s important that you prioritize your life. Whether it is society rehearsals, assignments or socializing with friends, make sure one thing isn’t eating up all your time.
  3. Wear whatever you want- If you want to get all dressed up or simply want to live in sweatpants, it doesn’t matter. You can do whatever you want.
  4. Participate and involve yourself– College is about thriving and not merely surviving, so participate and get involved in different sorts of events, public meetings, festivals, seminars and sign up for internships and volunteer. Sometimes you’ll be successful and sometimes you’ll end up making a fool out of yourself, but ultimately you’ll gain experience and that counts.
  5. Swear by these essentials-

– Always keep your Metro card recharged.

– Don’t forget the headphones or else the 20-minute metro ride will feel like an eternity.

– Deodorant is very important. You don’t want to be that smelly kid.

  1. Be friends with the Class Representative– If you want to request your professor to change the extra class timings or want the notes that the teacher floated to be photocopied first, the friendship with dear old CR will come handy. Besides, if you are a busy person and don’t happen to attend classes regularly then the CR will be the most reliable person to update you about the classwork.
  2. Use the college resources- Make the best use of libraries, online database, computers, scanning and printing facilities, bus pass, massive open online course (MOOC’s) and of-cause the Wi-Fi. You will be surprised to know how much you can avail for free!
  3. Go to college no matter what- We may convince ourselves that by missing one day we will catch up on all the reading and complete the pending work. However, going by my experience I can tell that it’s not going to happen, so it’s better you attend the college and at least get the attendance.
  4. Lean to function alone– Okay so college is mostly about friends and togetherness, but sometimes you have to ride solo, so be prepared. It shouldn’t bother you to sit by yourself in the cafeteria or attend some seminar alone. Being alone doesn’t mean being lonely and you must learn to enjoy your own company.
  5. Sit back and relax- It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the negativity, sheer boredom or workload in college. You may feel that you’re not good enough. In that situation, it’s important that you sit back and relax before all the stress gets on your nerves.

 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

More than a piece of Plastic: Your ID Card

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Today morning, as I was walking past my college gate, a rusty structure with some green shades- the security guard threw an odd look towards me. Both of us knew what he was thinking and what his look asked for. I took out my purse and showed him something to which he responded with a deep smile and waved his hands signaling me to go ahead. The thing that I showed him was a card with a deep blue head border with the logo of Delhi University, made up of hard plastic. Identity card, as it is popularly known has turned into something very basic to every student across the country. It is regarded as something not so important in a student life, but the trivial role it plays in everyone’s life is something worth discussing about. Some students hang it around their necks as if a piece of valor. Then there are those like me, who store it in a purse like a currency note. There are some who go forward to pin the cards in their belts as well.

The same day, our teacher reminded us about a test that was going to take place the next week. One of my friends then realised that he had to borrow some books from the library and had to regret as he hadn’t brought his Identity card with him. In the college campus, I-cards play a very important role from letting students within the college campus to accessing books in the college library. Even the college Wi-Fi form mentions, ‘Attach a photocopy of your college I-Card with the form.’ They have the power to win you freebies if you possess them during an election day. Every DU student realizes their power while getting entry into a popular college fest.

Outside the college campus, they come to your aid while claiming great student discounts after a wholesome meal at various restaurants. Be it a bulk photocopy or an entry in one of the parties with student discounts, your I-Cards are always there to your rescue.

For all the years anyone spends in a college or in a university, his/her I-Card remains an integral part of his/her life. After passing out from college, the same I-card that was was once used to enter into the college campus turns into a souvenir. It turns into a piece of memory that all of us would be carrying. The memory of all the fun that we did with our classmates, the fun of bunking a class and the fun of enjoying a new recipe every weekend at different restaurants and then claiming a student discount with our I-cards.

Next time you look at that little piece of hard plastic, remember it’s small contributions to make your student life better.

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

If you are not making mistakes, you are not doing it right

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Having entered the final year of college life makes me feel old and lazy. Everyday is a new reflection yet the drudgery of the daily chores never seems to leave us, does it? While on one hand, it feels as if life is circling around the same metro stations, the same college canteen hangout spots, the never ending boredom of group projects, but, on the other hand, a constant thought of this time soon coming to an end strikes hard. This time has come as a strong realisation that I have just one more year to make mistakes, without being judged and you know what, one should utilise this time in making as many mistakes as possible. Let me explain you why.

Life will be unfair to you at so many junctures that you might want to give up, but don’t. Instead, fall, get bruised by the realities of life and continue playing the game of life. There will be times when you’ll question your choices, your decisions or even yourself, but that’s the beauty of inquisition. The mortal homo sapien never gets satisfied easily, so questioning is normal.

After breaking the cocoon of school life, when a young adult enters college, hopes are high and sky is the limit, but overtime, litmus tests come one after another, some sweet some bitter, but both equally important for the recipe called experience. Make your life notes, take things as they come and never hesitate to fall. If you never fall, how will you ever know if it hurts or not? Gather the courage and tread the road not taken, whether it is taking an important life decision or just a simple day to day function, try the unconventional and put the hesitation aside. Sometimes, the ache of sitting and waiting for things to happen to you is more than the pain caused from falling down, so be wise.

To quote the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ by John Keats, “Some shape of beauty moves away the pall, From our dark spirits”, that is, there is beauty everywhere but the beauty of the inner soul is supreme, and that removes the pall of all negativity, therefore, strive for it and you’ll succeed.

I read somewhere, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room”, and this statement left an indelible imprint on my mind. All of us are in different rooms on this earth, but our address is never permanent. There is always scope for change and that’s what the room of life is all about- the unavoidable phenomenon called change. So let us work at changing our ideological addresses. For it is the fear of falling that makes us run harder, but this time, don’t run to win.

Riya Chhibber
[email protected]

Image Credits: pixhome.blogspot.com

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Admissions 2016

DU Freshers- What to expect from college?

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First of all, you made it. Congratulations. That’s bright enough! Second of all, Delhi University is going to be everything you imagined. Okay not everything, but it’s going to be nothing less than three maddening, crazy and heartening years for you! But before you stop reading and start texting with anticipation and excitement, let us (your humble seniors) clear some of your misconceptions.

What to look out for:

  1. Jam Packed Social Calendar: Of the many things students will need to sacrifice this year, their social life is not one of them. With the new found freedom, the newbies can now go have a ball with their new found friends!
  2. Better societies and awesomer fests: As ECA and sports activities are as important marks, fests and societies will get a boost and improve drastically. With the fucchas working even harder to prove their mettle, it’s safe to expect each college putting up a grand show!
  3. College protests: As the hand of the ABVP and NSUI still looms large over DU, most freshers will be witness to their spectacularly conducted and overly dramatized protests. With political connections, there students will definitely try to bring the house down.

Busting Some Myths:

  1. Ragging: Contrary to the common belief of – ‘Tu kyu kar rha hai? Fucche se karwa lenge!’ DU isn’t exactly a frame out of 3 idiots and you will definitely not have to perform crazy stunts or walk around pretending to be James Bond just because a senior told you to do so. With strict anti-ragging laws, your worst nightmare should be cranky teachers and definitely not your seniors!
  2. The Ladies/ The Studs: For all those who stayed single to find their soul mates in DU, you’ll be waiting some more time. Contrary to popular beliefs, the girl’s colleges are not a pond of budding super models. And not all boys look like they were ripped off magazine covers. They too are humans, give them some credit for looking perfectly human and not like porcelain dolls.
  3. Equality Among Colleges: Okay so you’ve probably been expecting this all the way, but suddenly your best friend from the other college will become ‘them’ and your newly found united college buddies will be ‘us’.
  4. Completely Fudged up Timelines: If you had been cursing your friends, family, associates etc. for not being punctual all this time, you are about to experience a whole new level of procrastination. The University declares results exactly a month after its due date, if you’re lucky. Be glad that’s the only thing the university does. And if you have any other issues to sought with the administrative department, then god save you!

By Raghav Chopra ([email protected]) and Akriti Gupta ([email protected])

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DUB Speak

5 College lessons to learn at the start of your first year

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College life initially feels like a slow brutal transition from a cushioned environment of importance to an equal platform and everyone’s ready to dive. It’s important that you know that everyone around you is feeling the same way, watching everyone else’s steps and calculating how they’re handling it.

Here are some lessons that you can probably learn before you take that first step into campus unlike a lot of other people who only had these epiphanies once they were done with their first year.

1. Can’t win ’em all, my friend:

Image credits: Indian Express
Image credits: Indian Express

School and College are too very different institutions of education (unless you went from a Christian girls school to a Christian girls college), so attacking exams is not going to be the same. About three months into college you’re going to be very confused about course structure and sadly the professors’ jaded monologue will not give you closure. If you were some inconceivably thorough kid in school, those days are over. Studying for exams in DU is concise and precise. The professors will scare you about an array of topics (do not lose sleep over it). When you find yourself fairly acquainted with the subject, search for past year papers, go through about three papers for the subject, pick the common four or five questions and target them as your syllabus (trust me, with all the chilling, you won’t even have time to reach out for the 6th question).

FYI: A Delhi University paper usually offer you a lot of choice – attempting 4-6 out of 8-10 questions.

2. Present:

Image credits: huntercuny.edu
Image credits: huntercuny.edu

Most of the times we get so caught up keeping up with all the partying after school that we kind of carry it with us to college too. (Never a bad thing!) However, a lot of us take a bullet at the end of the year when we get our mark sheet and there is this beautiful column of loops under our attendance or well our internal exam marks. In colleges where attendance carries marks, it’s crucial to assert that 5 additional marks in each subject can really turn that frown upside down. Calculate what constitutes 85% in your college and then limit your weekly holidays accordingly. This way you don’t fall short and you also don’t compromise on those much needed holidays to just sleep in.

 3. Compulsory what?:

Image credits: cliparts.co
Image credits: cliparts.co

There is this ominous period at the end of the year in college where literally every student runs around campus like there’s a clearance sale and their favourite Zara top is going for 200 bucks. This grief is brought by a college clearance slip that calls for signatures, approvals, a lot of pleading and it also really gets your creative juices flowing. At the beginning of the year, students are asked to pick a compulsory society (DO IT!). Go and register yourself with whichever society interests you or brings out the philanthropist in you because when the clouds are overhead and everyone’s begging for clearance, you want to be the one that gets a straight signature. Most of these societies involve NGOs and very modest work. Pick a day in the week, stay back for an extra hour and do the work. Bee very smart when you’re picking a society. Do not go for complicated societies which require you to work outside college and also require more than 10 hours per semester for clearance. At the end of the day, this is gratifying, feel-good work and you get a shiny certificate at the end of the semester.

FYI: Incase you don’t complete the requisite 10 hours you can make up for it next semester, if you’re a few hours up or actually more likely to be down, then be a likeable person so that society convenors do you some favours.

4. Societal Pressure:

Image credits: Divik Gupta
Image credits: Divik Gupta

When you first enter college, there are waves of students being swayed from one society’s auditions to another. It’s great to try out all your options but if you’re actually looking to join an additional society to showcase your talents, make sure it’s really what you want to do. Society Members tend to attract quite a lot of grief from professors (Don’t fight back). Your professors are looking out for you because you’re going to be missing a whole load of classes. Just make sure it’s worth it. If you choose well, it can be one of the most enterprising decisions you make in college and can really shape your growth but entering societies or external organizations because you think you can get to higher levels in a shorter time is not worth the effort. All societies have wacky culture, you have to make sure you keep your personality separate from it and not merge the two. You don’t want to try and fit in; you need the society or organisation to fit you.

5. Communicate and Elucidate:

Image credits: Hindustan Times
Image credits: Hindustan Times

One very important aspect of college is the part where you actually build a database for life. Make yourself open to conversation if you aren’t because these people that you associate with are the ones you want to keep in a lifelong contact book. Our generation tends to find people with common interests and form interest groups that have issue or topic related discussions and we have a separate group of friends for our affectionate rendezvous’. This is a great quality to have because people with the same interests will help each reach greater heights within their field. Always keep one eye on their endeavours and seek to be inspired by the people around you. A lot of people were stars in school but everyone you meet in college worked just as hard as you, so toss that ‘know it all’ attitude and seek to be inspired. Fellow students might be involved in projects you never knew existed. It’s a two-way street so surge to inspire as well, help people grow and don’t be afraid of giving other people opportunities that you might have turned down. It definitely makes you look pretty damn good!

Feature Image credits: Vibhana Kanwar for DU Beat ([email protected])

Baani Kashyap
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

An Out-Stationed Fresher’s Guide to the ‘Unfamiliar’ Phase

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The definition of college life is almost different for all out-stationed students. While the unfamiliar path seems challenging and exciting, at the same time, a feeling of constant anxiety paves the way for confusion. Amidst the tiresome admission process, there’s a sudden realization that a completely distinct world awaits us for good. Thus, given below is a guide to help you step effectively out of your comfort zone, while preparing you for the same: 

1. Prepare yourself mentally

Not only school is over, but so is the ease and comfort of staying at home, pampered by the affection of your family members. Prepare your mind to accept the fact that life’s going to be different, in both good ways and bad. While you’ll no longer get to see your family everyday or get organized facilities exactly on time, you’ll get a chance to explore your being. Remember not to expect much out of the upcoming stage, yet be open enough to try, learn and develop new things.

2. Find a suitable accommodation

While you’re away from your loved ones, your new and temporary accommodation becomes your second home. Eventually, the roommates or new friends that you make prove to be your new family away from home. Be it a hostel, PG accommodation or rented flat, remember to choose wisely. Atmosphere matters more than space. The ambience should be secure, positive and welcoming, so that you don’t feel out of place at any point of time.

3. Pack wisely

One of the most important steps is to efficiently choose the most apt resources. Frequently used fancy stuff may lure you to an extent, but remember to carry only the important clothes, gadgets, utensils and equipment. Be extremely selective while analyzing your necessities. This will help reduce the weight of the luggage carried and also make your room seem less crowded. Casual clothing, basic gadgets and equipment should work well in this case.

4. Explore and Interact

This new life brings along with it a lot of freedom. It’s imperative to use it in a way that helps you develop. While you’re in a completely new place, free from old mistakes and judgments, give yourself another chance to do everything you wanted to. College is a perfect platform for showcasing and enhancing your skills. Initiate conversations with new friends and participate in the activities that interest you, as it will only help you achieve more confidence. Also, explore the places around and keep essential and day to day contacts handy. You’ll have ample time to discover places of necessity as well as those of enjoyment. Utilize it to the fullest.

5. Learn to adjust

The most important step is of learning how to settle and get used to the unfamiliar environment. Staying alone may seem to be hard at times, but is essential for your progress. There might be days when you would want to run back home, but it won’t last long. Be prepared for few penniless days, unexpected adventures and lifelong lessons. Patience and adjustment is the key to make these three years of your graduation the best ones in life!

Image Credits: www.thehindu.in

Lovleen Kaur

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Busted: The truth about life in college

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As rosy as the picture may seem, college life isn’t all about bunking, sleeping or partying. For all 12th grade graduates who are looking forward to this enthralling college life, here’s something to burst your bubble. Movies have painted a very misguiding image about college life where it seems to be just about  hanging out in canteens, going out with friends or sleeping if there’s nothing better to do. And since we believe that you have the right to know what it actually is like, we bring to you the truth about the much-hyped and much talked about life in college:

1. Studies don’t matter a bit!

This. Is. Not. True. There’s no more or no less to add to it. Whether you’ve enrolled yourself in an arts or science course, studies do need to stand in your priority list. Sadly, the fact is that competition doesn’t cease to exist in college either. So one does need to be in the game to sail through. Though whether you do these studies throughout the semester or towards the end is another issue (and choice) all together.

2. Bunk college, nobody is going to care.

Well, guess what, you’re going to care immensely when you’re required to sign a monetary bond in case of your attendance being short. Certain colleges are no less strict than schools when it comes to attendance. So, the next time you plan to bunk college to catch a movie or go out to your favourite restaurant with your friends, think about the money you’ll have to let go of towards the end of the semester.

3. Girls’ colleges and the stigmas attached

Okay, let’s get it straight. Girls’ colleges are no unending Lakmé Fashion Weeks. No, girls don’t dress up to colleges; no, there are no cat-fights and no, they definitely are no boring places with gossiping girls all around. Quite honestly, girls’ colleges are as fun as co-educational ones; with equal opportunities and avenues. One can witness girls in all sorts of apparels- from pyjamas to dresses. (Get over this myth, please!)

4. You’re all grown up and have it all figured out.

Apart from all the fun college has to offer, there certainly are times wherein you miss being younger. Taking decisions independently, working out your finances on your own (there are going to be lots of debts) and the idea of living alone does intimidate one. It’s natural to mess up a bit in the beginning but one does figure it all out eventually. You do grow up through the course of college.

5. The crowd college has to offer

It’s very easy to adjust; given that everyone is new, everyone is in the same boat as you are. You’re likely to meet multiple people before you belong yourself to that one group. With this, college has a very vibrant and dynamic cultural life to offer wherein you meet people from all across the country. So no, there are no snobs. People are quite friendly on the other hand! Also, since everyone is trying to fit in, there’s a rare chance for you to find that ‘someone’ within a few months of joining college. Try to not look, in fact. You’re likely to have better chances then!

No matter what anyone says, college life is genuinely the best time of one’s life. Explore your possibilities and opportunities. You’ll go places. And even though it may seem than college has no rules at all, there certainly are a few which one should adhere too. Also, things might go a little rough on your pockets at times, but friends are the best debtors after all, aren’t they?

Feature image: campus.ie

Arushi Pathak

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