College Is Changing The Way I Look At Life
This one month journey has been nothing short of beautiful
I turned 18 last month. I’m now an adult. Though it’s exciting, the word sounds foreign.
Life has been progressing fast. In just a month, my whole life, my priorities, my routines, everything has changed.
I became a college student around a month back, and the transition from school to college has been crazy. Suddenly, my whole life has been given to me on a golden platter. A platter which I’m expected to fill entirely on my own.
I now have the complete freedom to write my own story, define its characters and create the plots. This abrupt change has been highly confusing, even distressing at times. But the realizations and happiness from the process have been plenty.
As I continue to navigate this college chapter of my life, here are a few thoughts I have been coming up with.
I’m the ‘one and only’ edition of my book of life
As I go about every day in my college life, one thing is becoming very clear — there is only one ‘me’.
There is only one book on my life and I’m the author, the editor, the illustrator, the main character, everything in it. Every day new pages open and I fill them with memories. Memories that are unique to me.
Each person you meet is like an undiscovered country
College is my first real step towards the outer world. And dare I say, this world we are living in is huge.
Sometimes, the sheer amount of opinions and perspectives I hear every day is, to be honest, overwhelming.
But every single person I have met has had a uniqueness to their character (never mind the fact that certain uniqueness’ tends to be annoying). They are all countries that can never be fully discovered. After all, they are developing ones just like us.
Uncertainty is a comfort in itself
The most uncertain I have ever felt in the 18 years of my life was during my first month at college.
Everything was new. Every morning and night routine of mine that I have been following for the past 15 years had to be changed. Though I am pursuing a course I’m really passionate about, studies took a lot of adjusting. The way we were expected to study in school is totally different from what we are doing now.
But one step at a time, I am figuring out the steps and the uncertainty is slowly being replaced by enthusiasm towards whatever awaits me.
You are not an iPhone needing an upgrade
I read this in ‘The Comfort Book’ by Matt Haig. And it remains to be one of the best advice I have ever heard.
It’s so easy to get carried away by the competition that swirls around us, especially in college where everybody is fighting for placements and interviews.
Striving to become the best version of ourselves is a good thing, but when we want a break, we deserve the break. It’s an upgrade in itself.
Make feeling and finding joy a part of your job
What with the huge number of people we get to meet and listen to every day, the influence others have on us is pretty massive. I see that in college every day.
It all unconsciously does tend to impact us in a way.
And that’s why I feel it’s super important to give ourselves a daily reminder that there are things that we enjoy in this life. This has been helping me so much in navigating this uncertain phase.
The mere thought of spending 4 years in my college has me brimming with excitement. And thankfully, I have now made peace with the uncertainty!
