As college comes to a close, here is another cliché checklist about things to do before graduating. Don’t fail this checklist by our Associate Editor, even if you failed your New Year resolutions because you get to graduate only once.

This list is not based on expert advice; neither should it be the ultimate measure of doing college right (as if #goals on Instagram were not enough to make us feel inadequate). Here are a bunch of things, outgoing students should do in April:

–    What is more impossible than a Goa trip? A mass bunk. Execute a successful one before the last working day.

–    Refer to page seven and visit the touristy spots near campus one more time (or even better, for the first time). Don’t forget to use #wanderlust.

–    Channelise all your krantikaari (rebellious) vibes and attend a protest.

–     Pick a quiet day to sit in the library and just read. Experience the quiet solitude as you finish the assignment; it’s quite meditative. Some people say that on a lonely day if you press your ear against the bookshelves, you could hear them whispering.

–    Reflect on the conflicts you had in college, be it with any society member, a classmate, or a faculty. Analyse what happened and try to resolve it. But, most importantly, if you don’t find a closure, then let it go. Recall the hurt, anger, guilt for one last time, and let it evaporate.

–    Scribble your initials on a college desk, and if you are feeling more adventurous, then make graffiti on campus walls (inspiration: Free G.N. Saibaba). Don’t get caught.

–    Visit Central Library, University Stadium (there is a free gym with treadmills and the usual works), and spend some time around the VC lodge.

–    Sample canteen food. Remember the suspicious – looking dish that you have been avoiding? Order it now.

–    Click pictures of your college in the morning light, during the golden hour, and post 6 p.m. Capture your friends, college pets, and yourself. Catalogue the mundane sans the filter; these pictures will be precious later. Don’t click it for Instagram, do it just for the memories.

–    It is the final semester; sort your reading material.

–    Attend a full day of classes (including the 8:30 a.m. lecture) and actively participate in every lecture.

–    If you don’t dress up extra in college, then when will you?  Hence, unleash your #OOTD genius and dress to impress.

–    Tell your crush you like them #AajKuchToofaniKarteHai (#LetsBeCrazyToday).

–    Lay your outfit on Sunday night, declutter your college bag, and for once, be excited for Monday.

–    Write a letter to your college, department, society, or anyone. Lay bare your thoughts and feelings.

–    Graduation is inevitable, and life is only going to get real from now on. Rather than waiting for the withdrawal symptoms to hit you in the face, start the process of letting go already.

–    Forgive yourself for not being “productive” or “good enough.” What made you think you could survive college without breakdowns and disappointments? Overconfidence – that is the answer. College is a coming out of age experience for many of us. It is the first time when we get drunk, take responsibility for ourselves, and bargain for freedom. In this process, we make several mistakes (or worse, we assume to have made mistakes). As long as you learn your lesson, it is fine. Early adulthood is tough already, so congratulations on making it to the last semester. In the words of Frank McCourt, “You have to give yourself credit, not too much because that would be bragging.”

Afterthoughts: For some of us, it is a shame we can’t just admit that college was dreadful and that one can’t relate to the nostalgia. We would rather dump the farewell, get that degree, sell our books, and leave. A quick goodbye, ta-ta!  Well, we can do it by all means; yet regardless of how uneventful these three years were, everyone deserves to have pleasant memories. I wish you would give this phony checklist a chance.

Feature Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]