Not the time of their lives

College life teaches one a lot of things. Youngsters have to deal with a number of problems in college like rough teachers, love failures and strict parents to name a few. Students across the City share some experiences which are quite contrasting to the rosy picture that they had of college life. Yet, they say these have helped them become stronger individuals.

With Bangalore being a vibrant city, one can’t blame students if they want to have some fun when they are in college. Humera Naaz Siddiqui, an MBA student with Bangalore Institute of Management Studies, says that her college faculty and experience have been very good. “I expected life to be colourful with parties and thought I would hang out a lot with friends.

 Coming from a small town, I even hoped to have a large circle of friends. But it has been the opposite. I have a handful of friends and most of my time is spent on projects and college work,” she says. However, Humera feels that this has taught her to be a contained and confident person. 

Most students prefer to focus their energy on something productive especially during trying times. Keshav K Rangan, an eighth-semester student of RV College of Engineering, says that in college, he joined two college clubs. “But something bad happened during a competition organised by one of the clubs and people started talking behind my back. There was no end to criticism for a long time. I just knew that I had to move on,” says Keshav. But Keshav took things in his stride and focussed on the theatre club. He got a lot of support from his friends at the club. “I was even able to reshape the club and make things better,” he adds.

Students, like Farhan from RV Institute of Management, say that they not only understand the value of relationships in college but also learn a lot about trust. “College life is definitely not like the one they show in movies where everything is colourful and problems get sorted by themselves. If you are in a hurry to make friends, you can get into weird company. I now know that one has to be patient and vigilant to have a lasting relationship,” he shares. Farhan believes that every relationship has to go through the test of time. Some students already know that it’s not going to be a piece of cake. Sameer KM, a third-year medical student in Bangalore Medical College, recalls how he was too relaxed when he joined the course and how his teachers continuously motivated him to study and be organised. “But what shook me was the pressure my mother put on me and the expectations of my parents. It was all good in the end as it clearly showed the trust they had in me. Every time my father introduced me to someone at a gathering, he would say, ‘This is my son. He is going to be a doctor’,” says Sameer. He adds that this is what pushed him to be more organised and helped him understand that college is not just about enjoyment.