Moving from high school to college may be an exciting transition, but it is also a very tough and stressful one. It is a challenge that the student will struggle with initially, but eventually adjust to overtime.
Being a college student exposes us to a lot of freedom, but at the same time, it requires a lot of responsibility. A lot more than what is required in high school, especially for outstation students who come from regions located far away, and live by themselves in hostels, rented accommodations or as paying guests.
Initially there is a honeymoon stage that new students go through, as the newfound freedom takes on their minds as they can get up and out of bed when they please, and eat whatever they want, whenever they want. However, at the same time, the huge burden of responsibilities is also forced on their shoulders. Hence, it would be apt here to modify the popular Spiderman movie quote and say, “With great freedom, comes great responsibility.”
The responsibilities outstation students may confront range from financial ones, like utilizing money efficiently and controlling one’s desires or temptations, to daily responsibilities, like laundry, ironing clothes and arranging clothes, as well as academic responsibilities.
Most students would have already experienced financial or academic duties in school and would be used to handling them, but the daily responsibilities like cooking, laundry, ironing, etc, which were usually taken care of by their families, would appear to be a daunting task as now there would be no one to depend on.
“After shifting to a hostel, you won’t be asking, “Mom, where is my….” You will have to manage things on your own,” says Amit, an outstation second-year student from Bengal, pursuing History Honors at Hansraj College. Hence, it will be beneficial to new students if they quickly learn and get accustomed to such situations.
Learning from seniors is a great way for students to face the rapid challenges they see occurring around them during the transitionary period between school and college as well as getting a hold of the responsibilities they have been burdened with. And the advent of the internet and social media has further made it easier for outstation students to adapt.
“As an outstation student, accepting the very fact that I won’t live anymore with my parents is quite difficult. Before moving out, I didn’t know a single thing that would help me to survive on my own. But eventually, I learned almost everything with the help of my fellow seniors. Although, cooking remains something in which I’m a rookie!” opined Kuber Batla, an outstation first-year student from Rajasthan, pursuing BA Programme at St. Stephen’s College.
These responsibilities may seem to be unnerving or intimidating, but they do teach one many things like taking independent decisions and being responsible for their outcomes, managing funds, etc which end up being great memories one cherishes after leaving college.
“Looking back at the time I was in college, I realized that dealing with the challenges that resulted in my responsibilities was actually fun and I always remember them as some of my best times! There were times when I and my hostel mates ran short on funds and, hence, shared food, soaps, dresses, and many other things,” says Sushmit, a former History Honors student from Ramjas College.
Hence, although students coming from far away, may face a tough time initially, but ultimately it’s a part of their growing up and learning life lessons in a campus which prepare them for facing their futures and confronting any roadblocks which they might face during this journey called life!
Featured Image Credits: DU Beat
Abhinandan Kaul
