Life felt so short as we walked out the corridors where students were double checking their papers and submitting them one by one, in a dotted line. No one thought the last day of the public exam would feel remorse because of the uncertainty.
In a hushed rush of college entrance exams and submitting college forms, we all grew up!
It took us all we had to apply to top colleges and when that letter of acceptance came flying in, joy knew no bounds. Many stayed in the city to follow their dreams many others took towards studying in another city.
When bags were tightly lugged and the train was about to begin you knew that home food would be a luxury and best friends would be missed but despite all that that you knew hostel life would teach you a lot more about independence.
The time realisation beckoned when you walked into a rather small room fitted only for 3 but had two more people squeezed in. You slowly realized that your roommates were opportunist and that you had to be alert along with the fight for the loo time especially during the mornings you also had to fight to charge your devices because of less number of power plug ins.
There were days you cringed, sometimes even brawled when your normal day essentials like your earphones, suspiciously went missing. You realized that it was a bad idea to keep those earphones lying on the table. The idea of hauling groceries was too far-fetched because almost everything was suspiciously disappearing from your shelf.
Or the day when you needed to talk to your best friend only to realize you had run out of phone battery after the current had conked off at the ungodliest hour. The frequent power cuts are something that you’ve come to brace with or without a power bank.
Then there were those days when roommates turned into your best buddies. You’d rather pick celebrating your birthday amongst your roomies with your friends kicking you, spoiling your face with cake and eating big chunks without even offering you one. The festivals that came had it’s own charm, roomies became the cleaning squad, backbenchers became skilled artists and people who loved food took over kitchen responsibilities. People who you’d hardly interact with came along to sit for a special meal and the afterparty was a boom with the dance and it was especially hard for that one innocent soul who had to lend their speakers for every hostel event.
Privacy was a luxury. Leaving your computer unlocked would mean some idiot would post a rather sleazy message on your facebook as a status only to have the entire college comment and screenshot even before you tried saving yourself. If your phone was unlocked there were dire consequences you couldn’t even imagine.
When you graduated, you realized it was time to bid goodbye to roommates who became friends. To all those class bunks, early morning study sessions or even arriving post curfew time at the hostel would be memories you’d treasure for life. You were grateful for every lesson, every opportunity and ready to leave your mark behind.
