Congratulations, freshers! At last, you’ve landed at college—the fabled land of liberty, wisdom, Maggi, and bunking lectures. This is your first encounter with adulthood, and you may wonder what should be expected from this new phase of your life as you enter college with wide-eyed anticipation and excitement. So grab a seat, because college is an exhilarating journey filled with heartaches, friendships, and love. With humour, honesty, and perhaps a little insight from a second-year student, I’m here to guide you through it.
Let’s start by addressing the most important issue: college is not a non-stop party where every night ends with you breaking into a song like a scene from a Karan Johar movie. Sure, there are parties, but there are also those 8 a.m. lectures and 5:20 pm classes that will undoubtedly drain you out. You’ll quickly learn that the real skill in college isn’t cramming equations and material from binders, it’s mastering the art of pretending to look awake and alert in those early morning classes when you’re running on only two hours of sleep and iced coffee. After spending most of my AEC, VAC, and SEC classes fighting off sleep, the entire year seemed to fly by in a blur. I attended lectures mostly to secure a few marks for attendance, but beyond that, staying focused felt like an impossible task. Even in core subjects, I often found myself zoning out, drained from the late-night study marathons I pulled to complete assignments, prepare for tests, and tackle the never-ending syllabus. It was a constant cycle of exhaustion, where getting through the day felt like an accomplishment in itself.
Let’s now explore food. Do you recall those fancy dinners you saw on Instagram and thought you could eat them every day? Well, that’s not happening. You’ll usually be eating whatever is nearest to your dorm, the fastest to get to, and the least expensive. Coffee, Kurkure, and Maggi from the college canteen are going to be your best buddies. Although you’ll have a balanced diet at first, by week three you’ll be convincing yourself that the canteen chai is a suitable breakfast option. More often than not, you’ll be asking yourself if leftover pizza for lunch every day means you’re living your best life or that you’ve completely given up.
But college isn’t all sleep deprivation and questionable dietary choices. It’s also a time to meet new people, make friends, suffer through a myriad of friendship problems, learn to resolve conflicts as adults and move on. Socializing and making friends in college isn’t child’s play. You’ll meet tons of people in your first few weeks—some will stick, and some won’t. And that’s okay! You don’t need to force friendships with everyone you meet. Instead, focus on finding your tribe, the people who get your weird sense of humour and will be there for you when you’re stressing over exams or just need a shoulder to cry on. As Dolly Alderton puts it- ‘Nearly everything I know about love, I’ve learnt from my long-term friendships with women.’
Let go of the myth that you are supposed to have everything figured out at 20. You are young and learning how to live. And perhaps, the most crucial part of life, that most people won’t realise until it’s too late is forgiveness for others, but most importantly for yourself. You will make mistakes, and you will repeat mistakes, and sometimes there is nothing you can learn from them. That’s when forgiving yourself is paramount when you fall and there is no one to pull you up and there is no lesson to be learnt. Allow yourself to wallow in pain and show yourself the same mercy that you give others. I remember receiving my first semester results and being in complete disbelief. As someone who excelled academically in school, I assumed college would be a breeze. I was wrong. I underestimated the challenge, and my grades reflected that. But we can’t sit and dwell on our failures forever. I had to accept my naivety and carelessness, own up to my mistakes without making excuses, and commit to improving my life. I learned to forgive myself and move forward, determined to do better. College is a journey, and it’s okay if you don’t have all the answers. You’ll change your mind, change your major, and maybe even change your perspective on life. It isn’t about suddenly discovering who you are; it’s about trying on different versions of yourself until something feels right deep down.
So, welcome to college, freshers! Although it will be stressful, complicated, and sometimes downright bizarre, college will also be filled with incredible experiences that shape who you become. We are so proud of you for having made it this far. You’ve got this, and we’re rooting for you!