It was really intimidating to walk into campus on move-in day and seeing so many new faces at once. Being 1775 kilometres away from home made everything seem terribly strange. Every conversation felt like a dead end at first, because my one and only interaction with people would be anxiously saying “Hi, I am from Delhi. Where are you from? My intended major is economics, what’s yours? I am in rh3, which rh are you in? Where all did you apply? It was so nice talking to you, see you soon!”. I was waiting impatiently to find someone to connect with. That’s why I was so grateful when I made my first friend on campus. I met her beneath the shade of the tall, beautiful trees that gracefully hover in the sky in front of the place that I now call home.
After we said goodbye to our parents, she invited me to go on a walk with her. I thank my stars every time I think about the time that I said yes to her that day, because that day was not only how and when I made my first friend at Krea, but also the moment that I realised that a walk gets you so much closer to someone than you would otherwise.
We opened up to each other while going around the campus and adjusting to our new “home”. I stand by my view that talking a walk is the perfect ice breaker. The combination of fresh air and physical activity simply fuels positivity- especially because of the clean, crisp Sri City air, which makes you so much more appreciative of everything. You would never catch me saying great things about our location but something happens to me when I’m walking and suddenly everything feels so Hunky Dory.
Strolling around with new people gave me an opportunity to overcome the awkward silence (which is bound to happen with new friends) by just moving around and striking a new conversation about what we saw or discovered on campus for the first time.
I have met some of my closest friends this way and now it’s a tradition for all of us to go for a walk at the end of any tiring day, and surprisingly these walks recharge us.
The walks by the pond on the perimeter with the sun on your skin, can truly make any bad day better. Whether it’s a walk with music or with friends… it’s feels therapeutic. Like every single worry of my life has suddenly been washed away by the simple movement of my limbs. Science. The trail of nature on campus provides such a calming environment for anyone feeling, at least for me. It was the answer to everything. It was as though I was an everlasting happiness granting genie, except I was a bad one because I only ever had one thing to say. Had a bad exam? Walk. Fought with my parents? Walk. Missing my hometown? Walk. And, the close connections that I have made with people through the simple act of walking and joking around in the outdoors, put me at ease around all the new faces on campus and forming new friendships. Honestly, me being an introverted person it was very comforting to find out that it’s as easy as that to talk to new people.
I have never felt more independent and free than I do now. I can go down whenever I want to, and do whatever I want, at any random hour of the day. There’s no one to stop me and tell me what to do, the opportunities to explore the boundaries of my freedom seem endless. But at the same time, I also have to figure my way out of the new responsibilities that come attached to adulthood…on my own. All of these feelings, made me realise that maybe it’s time to be mature now, and also to establish a different way of life for myself, now that I no longer live at home.
In addition to the 10,000 plus steps I get every day, what I like about being here so far is having an absolutely beautiful campus to walk around so that I can have intimate conversations and trauma dump during late night walks with my favourite person. This or getting a hot cup of chai from new narsi’s in the evening after class every day, and walking by the OAT to look at the sunset and talking about how my day went with my friends.
I am trying to balance this new felt freedom in the best way possible, and I think I am getting better each day. They say you live in a completely new skin every 12 years, and I can’t wait to see where these next four years will take me.
If I ever feel overwhelmed in a new environment such as this… walking around here is a very Zenful activity to pick up.
Nowadays whenever I see a new person who I want to talk to and bond with now, instead of starting the conversation with the same boring introduction, I simply ask them- “Do you want to get coffee and go for a walk?” and I love that.