When you’re leaving school, there’s a plethora of people who’ll tell you that things are going to change and you won’t be protected anymore and college life is completely different. I’m not sure if that’s really a bad thing because it gives you a sense of freedom and the memories you make in college, they’re guaranteed to stay with you for the rest of your life! So brace yourselves, because these college memories, they’re guaranteed to make your day.
1) The College Canteen:
The college canteen is that 100% unhygienic haven that becomes your daily retreat after every tiring and boring lecture. From cutting chai or filter coffee early in the morning to the greasiest food known to mankind at lunch time, there is no multi-cuisine restaurant better than your college canteen. The college canteen is that one spot where you couldn’t possibly practice social distancing because there are what feels like thousands of students flooding towards the payment counters, desperately asking the “bhaiya” to take their order. You would trade your life to not eat that food today, but when you’re there, among that swarm of people, hungry after hours of taxing lectures, you wouldn’t trade that food for a Michelin Star restaurant.
2) The College Fest:
A festival is said to be a celebration of the traditions of a particular people or place. Your college fest is not just a celebration of the traditions of your college, but it’s a celebration of you. This is where you find people who match your vibe and you spend six months with them, working hard to organise this beautiful event which might look like it’s for other people, but it’s really one of those places where you find yourself. From sleeping in college the night before it starts to celebrating at the local watering hole after it ends (wE jUsT hAvE a CoKe). You never know what to expect and you leave with a sense of fulfilment without ever knowing what made you feel that way, but know this, the college memories you make here, will stay with you forever.
3) The College Trip:
(The view from that balcony)
By the second year of college, you’ve probably found some people who you’d go so far as to call your [cliché alert] “Ride Or Die” friends. Do not miss out on taking a trip with these people because you’ll have college memories to share with them for the rest of your life. Save money for booze, pack your bags, get in the car, beg for your parents to let you go and have the best time of your life because, well you worked hard at the begging and you’ve got to justify it. Consider everything you do on this trip to be your little “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” moment, because who knows when you’ll get to do this again. College life experiences cannot be replicated at any other time of your life. I remember sleeping in the chilly air on an open balcony in Lonavala, listening to music and dancing on the terrace, but, these are my memories, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO MAKE YOURS!!
4) The Last Bench:
One of the unwritten truths of a college classroom is that the last benchers chose their seats, the front benchers chose their seats, and the middle benchers, well, they’re just last benchers who didn’t get the seats. The last bench of a college classroom is like a personal hotel room at the back of the class. There’s always one student fast asleep with his friends waiting to slap him awake when the teacher comes, another crouched under the desk on his phone, and the last one, ummm, let’s just say he’s crushing it (pun intended). Not everyone understands what goes through the mind of the back benchers, most of the times neither does the back bencher. The only thing on his mind is getting to college on time so that he can get a seat on the last bench, while dreading the moment when the teacher might call him ahead. But, in these moments of inattentiveness, the last bench becomes the source of the best college memories you could possibly make. Take it from me AKA a certified last bencher, there is nothing like laughing at the kid who’s crushing it (pun intended) on the last bench and then having to make up a story to tell your professor why you were laughing.
5) The Teachers:
We never really like them when they give us projects, do we? It’s only a few months later when the semester ends that you start appreciating them. We even profile them in class as the fun one or the scary one or the tiring one, but then we realize that they’ve all just been looking out for us in their own ways and we can hate that now, but we’ll get it someday. Six months ago, I probably wouldn’t have put this part in this article but COVID made me realize what all of our teachers do for us. So I might hate on them now but I’m going to remember them tomorrow, because some of the best college experiences I’ve had, have been in their classrooms.
I’m going to leave college in about six months now, and while COVID has shackled me at home, I’m still going to keep doing stuff and creating the greatest college memories because people often wish that there was a way to tell that they were in the good old days when they’re in them, but there isn’t. That’s not a sad statement, that’s an affirmation to try and make every day your best one ever.