A Sneak Peek Into A Final Year Student's Life

When you think about life in an engineering college what are the adjectives that come to your mind? Friends,fun,stress,internals, tests, practicals, vivas and I think that the list may go on to quite an extent. What is it actually like in an engineering college or any college for that matter nowadays?

Before actually getting into it I think I should give a tiny little introduction about myself. I’m 21, studying electrical engineering and like the majority of the students, I’m an average student. No high IQ or any remarkable achievements as such but a lazy foodie who didn’t have any fixed or certain goals until 10^thstandard. When I was in the 10^thstandard something came upon me and I wanted to do well. And i put in a lot of efforts and actually did well. And when you score well in 10^theveryone naturally thinks you are supposed to go for Science stream. Well me? I had no interest in the subjects in Arts or Commerce, hence I went for Science. And I wwanted to go for engineering cause I had zero interest in biology.

Any science student will agree with me that you have absolutely no idea of time in 11^thand 12^th. You are thrown into a world which is an endless cycle of classes, coachings, DPPs, HC Verma etc etc etc. Its two years of hard work, confusion, self doubt, low confidence and helplessness. I’m not saying it was all bad but there was always a tension at the back of the mind that if I was capable enough of cracking the JEE mains or not. There are many students who maybe didn’t face this phase where you are depressed and your determination cracks under pressure. But I feel many have. Well, I didn’t crack the JEE mains by 4 marks, but I didn’t get depressed. Preparation for IITs need a certain amount of discipline and there’s that inner fire that you want to do it. I didn’t have that and I knew it. Not everyone has that, right?

I got into KIIT at Bhubaneswar. I wanted to get out of my state and have a fresh start and I’m happy I decided to. Life in an engineering college hasn’t been easy for sure . Firstly I was away from home and new to hostel life. Secondly, I was only used to people who spoke the same language as me and who had the same culture. But there I met so many people from different states all over the country and it was both overwhelming and exciting. And what I learnt after 3 years of living in the hostel is that, you have to learn to compromise a lot. You might not find a person whose views and opinions matches exactly to yours but you’ll definitely find someone who are close. And these are the people who will help you go through the tough times.

Along with tough times there will be millions of memories that you’ll make during your college life- bunking classes to go out with your friends or on dates, giving proxy for someone else, fooling the wardens, celebrating birthdays, cheating during exams, the feeling of not knowing anything before viva and the euphoric feeling when your mates say they aren’t prepared as well, sleeping till the afternoon one day before the exam and not sleeping the entire night to finish the syllabus, late night maggi sessions, crying, laughing and what not. Hostel life is something that will make you tougher from inside and mould your personality.

Of course there’s an alternative that at times getting this freedom and hostel life may have negative effects rather than positive. But I feel when you go off to college ,you’re old enough by that time to distinguish between right and wrong. And if you don’t allow yourself to get manipulated, then no one else can.

I’m almost close to the end of my college life. Only a year to go. The placements are going to start soon and I start having panic attacks when I think of it. But you know what? Like every tough time, this shall pass too. There is a light at the end of every tunnel and even though some things seemed hard at first, we all have got through them haven’t we? College life is the best phase that you’re ever going to get in your life before venturing into the real world. Make friends and memories, work hard to achieve your goals and strive to be the best version of yourself. This phase won’t come back. If you learn to strike the balance between studies and fun, I bet you’ll be proud to be the confident individual you’ll become after facing all the struggles and experiences in your college life. I know I am because these 3 years have taught me a lot and moulded me into being a person I am today.

Just let the light within you shine bright and strong!