2014 - Manipal treated me well.

December 28, 2014

After scoring a decent 95% in my 12^th standard board exams, my parents expected me to pursue a course in Engineering. I had already given them a slight hint that I wasn’t interested in anything related to science at the beginning of the academic session. I am lucky to have parents who are supportive and understanding enough to let me pursue a course which I am interested in. I didn’t appear in any of the engineering exams conducted, and instead sat for entrance exams conducted by media colleges. Out of all the colleges I got into, I chose to go to Manipal School of Communication, for several reasons which include its good reputation, and proximity to my home town. Exams and results took away the first 6 months of the year.

After this, everything happened very very fast. Time seemed to be flying at the speed of light. One month passed away in what felt like a week, and I found myself in Manipal, a small students’ town in the southern region of Karnataka. I had never stayed away from my parents for more than a week, and here I was, all of sudden, in a new place, among strangers, alone. I had reached Manipal rather early, and my classmates hadn’t started arriving yet. So, I spent the first day figuring out whether to be happy or sad; happy because of the new found freedom, and sad because I won’t be home for the next 5 months. That day, I spent time with my parents going around the place, completing admission procedures and taking in everything I saw around myself. The next two days went by meeting people, unpacking in my room, and seeing my parents off. I prayed for a good roommate, who wouldn’t make my life in Manipal a living hell, and fortunately, she turned out to be a very sweet girl. I met new people every day, but the first girl I met (from Uttarakhand), was my first friend in Manipal. I knew there were going to be a lot of ‘firsts’ there, and prepared myself mentally for everything that awaited me. I had befriended a lot of girls from my hostel by the time classes started. The first day of college turned out to be very good, and everyone I met was very welcoming and amiable. There was one particular person who had caught my immediate attention as soon as I entered my classroom. A fat, extremely talkative Bengali fellow, who was the only one screaming out loud in a class of 50 odd people. I found out he was a Bong, when I heard him talking to one of his friends in Bangla, which I happen to know a little. We got talking, and I was surprised at his uninhibited nature in a place which was as new for him as it was for everyone else. I still remember my first conversation with him, and had never expected us to be such great friends at that moment. In less than a week, I knew most of my classmates, and was having fun being among my new acquaintances.  Quite surprisingly, I missed home less, and wasn’t homesick at all. On the contrary, I found myself comforting and consoling a couple of people who didn’t like it there, and were homesick. I had a routine now, and decided to learn a new language (which, by the way, is one of my passions) when I saw posters of the language institute in my college. I started attending German classes, and loved it there, as I had always been good at learning new languages.

Except for a visit from my Uncle, and a 4-day long trip to Chennai, the months of July, August, September and October had no significant happenings. Guest lectures, numerous assignments, German classes, workshops, becoming a reporter for an online newspaper in Manipal, sightseeing, class debates and arguments, misunderstandings, lunch treats, dinner parties, becoming a part of a social services organization, joining my college’s theatre club, marketing a drama, selling tickets, meeting innumerable people, different celebrations in college that involved dancing and singing etc. made up these 4 months. Then came November. The first four days of this month were the most difficult, as I became terribly homesick, and that’s because everyone’s parents came down to visit them, and mine couldn’t. In the course of time, I had made one friend I knew would always stand by me, and would never fail to cheer me up when I’m low. She helped me when I was miserable, cried the most and was in the worst possible state.

Now came exam time, which made the homesickness disappear, and studies set in. I was alone for a week after college got over, for my German examination, which is when I recollected everything I had done in the 5 months that had gone by. These were like my flashback days there, and I learned and grew more during this period than I had during the months that had passed.

I am at home presently, vacationing. I recently met one of my teachers at the Times of India office, and when we were talking, she said something that instantly hit me as a shock. She told me to not stop writing, and that’s when I realized, I haven’t been writing as much as I did during my school days! I had drastically reduced pursuing this hobby of mine, which would probably be a part of my career in the future. This sudden and sad realization is the reason behind this write-up. I couldn’t think of anything better to write about, than the year 2014.

Change is the only constant, and I personally love change. Manipal treated me well, and I hope it will be the same in the coming years also.  Clearly, 2014 has been quite eventful, and Manipal was a very good decision. A change for the good. Now, there’s only looking forward to an amazing 2015, with all its lessons and surprises.