<div>A day before I was to board my train for Delhi, I dreamt of my new college and friends with whom I was enjoying in the canteen, wearing new clothes I’d bought especially for this occasion. Next day, my train was at 5.15 am and I was excited throughout the journey. It felt as if I had been given wings to fly. The life I was heading towards, which would be free of any restrictions from family, had been my dream since I was in class 11,” says Ananya Pandey, a first year student of Maths Honours, Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University (DU). <br /><br />She came from Dehradun on July 19, along with her friends, a day before DU’s new academic session began. She says that all her friends back home had prepared to get a seat in the coveted university. It has been 11 days since the new chapter of her life unfolded. Pandey, unlike what she dreamt about, prefers to stay with her “friends from Dehradun.”<br /><br />She has visited areas like Satya Niketan, Netaji Subhash Place and Connaught Place with them till now and wishes to explore more places every weekend. <br /><br />“Delhi seems nice. But it is difficult to live on your own here. Metro is a good option for travelling and I always carry the Metro map with me. And when travelling in otherwise I rely on Google Maps. I sometimes feel scared when travelling alone, but I’m slowly getting used to it,” says the 17-year-old.<br /><br />Like Pandey, numerous outstation students come to Delhi fancying the freedom of staying independently. But soon, the idea of being free and away from family restrictions starts loosing importance, and students start missing their families only after a few days of college. <br /><br />“Sometimes I feel very happy that I am a part of the famous North Campus. In my school, all my friends used to discuss what the campus looks like. So, I really like my college. But since I joined college a little late, all my classmates have already made friends. There are so many groups but I’m a part of none. I haven’t got my library card yet so I don’t have anything to do after college,” says Aayushi Vishnoi, a Zoology Honours student at Hansraj College, who came to the city from Kashipur in Uttarakhand. She adds that she spends her weekends at her relatives’ house in Mukherjee Nagar. <br /><br />Travelling long distances, spending three hours every day in the Metro and extremely crowded buses, and staying in “congested” one bedroom apartments is also something that these students didn’t expect before coming to Delhi.<br /><br />Eighteen-year-old Anmol Nijhawan from Yamunanagar, feels proud to be a student of Maths Honours at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College. Since most PGs near his college were expensive, he decided to stay with his school friends (also students of DU) in Amar Colony area of South Delhi, where accommodation is comparatively cheaper. <br /><br />Although, the idea of getting out of the house anytime of the day and living with his friends makes Nijhawan feel that it is the “best time of his life”, he sometimes feels homesick and uncomfortable.<br /><br />“It takes 40 minutes to reach college every day. On my way back, it takes even longer. I also have to clean utensils and do laundry sometimes. This makes me feel very homesick,” says Nijhawan. <br /><br />He further adds that all his friends have different schedules in college and thus he has to spend a lot of time alone in the house. <br /><br />“I get extremely bored then. Now, I am waiting for the August 15 weekend so that I can go home and eat my mother’s food after such a long time,” Nijawan tells Metrolife. <br /><br /><br /></div>
<div>A day before I was to board my train for Delhi, I dreamt of my new college and friends with whom I was enjoying in the canteen, wearing new clothes I’d bought especially for this occasion. Next day, my train was at 5.15 am and I was excited throughout the journey. It felt as if I had been given wings to fly. The life I was heading towards, which would be free of any restrictions from family, had been my dream since I was in class 11,” says Ananya Pandey, a first year student of Maths Honours, Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University (DU). <br /><br />She came from Dehradun on July 19, along with her friends, a day before DU’s new academic session began. She says that all her friends back home had prepared to get a seat in the coveted university. It has been 11 days since the new chapter of her life unfolded. Pandey, unlike what she dreamt about, prefers to stay with her “friends from Dehradun.”<br /><br />She has visited areas like Satya Niketan, Netaji Subhash Place and Connaught Place with them till now and wishes to explore more places every weekend. <br /><br />“Delhi seems nice. But it is difficult to live on your own here. Metro is a good option for travelling and I always carry the Metro map with me. And when travelling in otherwise I rely on Google Maps. I sometimes feel scared when travelling alone, but I’m slowly getting used to it,” says the 17-year-old.<br /><br />Like Pandey, numerous outstation students come to Delhi fancying the freedom of staying independently. But soon, the idea of being free and away from family restrictions starts loosing importance, and students start missing their families only after a few days of college. <br /><br />“Sometimes I feel very happy that I am a part of the famous North Campus. In my school, all my friends used to discuss what the campus looks like. So, I really like my college. But since I joined college a little late, all my classmates have already made friends. There are so many groups but I’m a part of none. I haven’t got my library card yet so I don’t have anything to do after college,” says Aayushi Vishnoi, a Zoology Honours student at Hansraj College, who came to the city from Kashipur in Uttarakhand. She adds that she spends her weekends at her relatives’ house in Mukherjee Nagar. <br /><br />Travelling long distances, spending three hours every day in the Metro and extremely crowded buses, and staying in “congested” one bedroom apartments is also something that these students didn’t expect before coming to Delhi.<br /><br />Eighteen-year-old Anmol Nijhawan from Yamunanagar, feels proud to be a student of Maths Honours at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College. Since most PGs near his college were expensive, he decided to stay with his school friends (also students of DU) in Amar Colony area of South Delhi, where accommodation is comparatively cheaper. <br /><br />Although, the idea of getting out of the house anytime of the day and living with his friends makes Nijhawan feel that it is the “best time of his life”, he sometimes feels homesick and uncomfortable.<br /><br />“It takes 40 minutes to reach college every day. On my way back, it takes even longer. I also have to clean utensils and do laundry sometimes. This makes me feel very homesick,” says Nijhawan. <br /><br />He further adds that all his friends have different schedules in college and thus he has to spend a lot of time alone in the house. <br /><br />“I get extremely bored then. Now, I am waiting for the August 15 weekend so that I can go home and eat my mother’s food after such a long time,” Nijawan tells Metrolife. <br /><br /><br /></div>
