College life offers more than just academia, it is brimming with moments of growth, learning, and discovery that shape us into who we are meant to be. For me, stepping into DTU marked the beginning of such a journey. I used to believe college was merely a stepping stone to a lucrative career. But as the days turned into months, and the months into a full year, I found myself on a path that was vastly different from the one I had initially envisioned.

An Abandoned Entry

College life is just a phase—an in-and-out tunnel of transformation meant to turn teenagers into eligible bachelors, fit for finding a good high-paying career or their way into another college, till they finally do. Surely not a place to be in forever.

Or so the entry read. It was another one of my scribblings in yet another failed attempt at maintaining a daily journal. Yet I could hear myself saying those words, back when I had ‘getting a good placement’ at the top of my priorities in college. A fond smile etched its way on my face as I held the diary aside for a read, away from the cartons cluttered with the books, the stationery, and the souvenirs marking the end of my first year at DTU. I bee-lined to the broken bed frame that took up half of my hostel room and sat, wiping the sweat off my forehead and flipping to the next page to continue reading. The heat of May can't stop one from taking a trip down memory lane, can it?

Keep in mind the reason you're here. Focus on your studies, ace your exams, and keep a good GPA. Sure, you'll meet people along the way, and make friends, but keep to yourself. This isn't the age when you'll find true friendships anyway. Don't be distracted and work hard towards getting placed. That's the goal.

Right, get placed and get settled, that's the reason I came here. Looking back to the day I first stepped through the main gate of DTU, I did anticipate how my first year at college would turn out. Would I be a topper like I was back at school? Will I be able to find people to hang out with that would make me feel at home? Will I be able to have achievements to show that I belong here? It has been a year since, and I can tell you that I didn't top the class, that's for sure. But I wouldn't say ‘That's the goal’ if you ask me now.

I was mesmerized by the campus. It was big and beautiful and I had just got the right to call it my own. People were milling about at every corner. There were plenty of new faces to see, new lessons to learn, and new stories to make. Studying was a priority but curiosity got the better of me and I began searching for new experiences. Exploring came naturally to me, as a boy who had spent his childhood scooped up in his house playing GTA on his father's workstation. I let myself loose, changing the plan to allow myself to have the first year open to experiences. I strolled about the campus for hours, signed up for all the societies that interested me, a lot of which weren't remotely academic in the general sense, met people I could share things with that even my childhood friends didn't know, and made memories like never before.

Skipping a year forward, I find myself as someone who is more than just a college student. A theater enthusiast, a street artist, a columnist and so much more. Doing things I'd never thought of doing, with people I wouldn't imagine my college life without, and having quite a few tales up my sleeves.

A knock on the door draws me back to the present. “The cab is here.”, said my friend, before helping me with my luggage. I told him, “Go ahead, I'll see you downstairs.“, returning my attention to the last line of the entry.

Because that would be the ideal me.

I giggled. The thought of seeing myself in a corporate job is a possibility, but it is no longer ideal for me. The college that I felt would give me a good placement, gave me so much more. It has given me a window to myself. I am finally starting to understand what ‘being myself’ is and the best part is that it has only been a year.

I took a deep breath and looked at the room that had hosted me for a year. Hit with nostalgia for all the good and the bad times, the mischiefs I pulled with my roommates, and what-nots. It was time to go, but before I left, I felt I had to add to the diary.

There are places we were never meant to stay at forever. The ones we do be in, hold most of us and the ones we leave behind hold a part of us left behind. Such is my college. I won't be here forever. Yet I will be, for as long as I live.