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The
end of a memorable chapter Once again
we've come to that point in time when we teeter on the edge of exam
paranoia. But this time it's going to be my finals. Just the thought
that there'll be no more studies or sports to go back to next year
puts me in a blue funk. The cultural festival, the batch photograph,
the year-end bash...all these struck a dim note of finality and
here I am struggling to come to terms with it. When one morning
back in January 2000 I started the journey of 'big dreams and cherished
hopes', I had not the vaguest idea what it would have in store for
me. Thirty-four months, hundreds of lectures, and five exams later,
I find myself older and wiser. Apart from
Elizabethan drama, Romantic poetry, post-colonial literature, social
research methods and media ethics, I learned lots of things along
the way that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It's been
quite an education, one I wouldn't trade for the world. During these
past three years, there were moments when I was feeling demoralised,
when I came very close to breaking point. For starters, I never
thought I would survive the almost five-hour trip back and forth,
five days a week. People used to give me pitying looks when I told
them about my long-distance travel. It pretty much drained me. I
studied mostly during study leave because on other days I came home
ready to hit the sack rather than the books. But there was
a bright side too. At the end of the day, unlike those who had to
rough it either at the hostel or at a boarding house, I would come
home to a steaming cup of tea, a refreshing shower, a hearty meal
and my favourite TV programme. For me, that
made up for all the suffering I had to endure. Besides, I was determined
to go through with it. The mission was painful but not impossible. In retrospect,
I wish I hadn't said and done certain things, especially things
that hurt others. But then it was all part of the learning process
and as my favourite poet, Robert Frost, said: Two roads diverged
in a wood, and I- University
life tempered me. It infused me with confidence and the will to
go on. I learned to take responsibility for the choices I made.
In short, I discovered my true self. Once I leave these much-revered
precincts, a whole new life awaits me out there where marks will
not count any more, nor will exam results. The premium will be on
what I can do and how I apply myself. No doubt what I learned at
campus will see me through trying times ahead. My poor grasp
of facts as to the goings-on at campus was a running joke among
my friends. I'm afraid I may be belabouring the obvious here but
one needs to exercise good judgement and an abundance of caution
in one's relationships if one is to stay out of trouble. What I've
heard and seen taking place within these portals of academe has
me wondering whether human relationships have gone to pot. Most of the
Jacks and Roses bitten hard by the love bug don't leave anything
to the imagination. It's all out there for anybody to see. Excuse
me if I sound pathetically old-fashioned but whatever has happened
to those lofty ideals of love and respect? My loyalty
to womankind always landed me in hot water at campus. More often
than not, I was on the warpath with my male friends over their pointless
macho pride and their seemingly callous attitude towards my species.
I guess most
of them simply enjoyed provoking me by turning this issue into a
jolly duel of words. But such differences of opinions apart, we just clicked. I count myself lucky to have made such sincere and loyal friends who stood by me through thick and thin. Above all, they put up with my cantankerous self. Rebellious
Red
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