I chose a hostel life for the good!

#StartANewLife – Its not easy but its fun as well as enriching for a lifetime!

Choosing a Hostel life for four years over being a Day Scholar was s bold decision of my life and I am glad that I did it. It really helped me evolve and bring the change in me. I remember it all even though its been thirteen years to this decision. In the year 2003, when I qualified almost all the engineering entrance examinations, my parents swooned with happiness. I felt proud to see them smile ear to ear and brag about my success stories with every one in the family. It was one big moment that they had waited for long.  It was my father who always wanted me to become an engineer.

After the declaration of results, soon the date for counselling began to approach. It was then when I saw the nervous side of my parents.  Suddenly they were not comfortable about my plan of choosing the government engineering colleges and moving to another city.  They wanted me to settle for a private college in NCR so that I could be a day scholar and live in the house with them. My Dad began to give me several emotional stories and Mom would convince me that someone like me who had never spent a day without them could not live in a hostel. Honestly, I was battling a war not with them but with myself. Yes, my parents knew me perfectly and the thought of leaving them and going in another city, putting up in a hostel was choking me every other hour but I wanted to do this for myself.

All my life I had been a very introvert, homesick child. Even in school, I had a very restrictive bunch of my friends. One of my teacher in school who was my favorite and I really adored her personality. She was someone who had lived in boarding for most of her life and she would often tell us –Children, whenever given a chance,  do live in a hostel, there you learn to appreciate many beauties of life which you otherwise take for granted. It gives you a sense of realization of growing up, being independent and taking your own decisions. 

Getting admission to a government college was not an easy task because the seats available were scarce and top 1500 ranks were enough to fill them all. I was lucky I had a rank within 1000 and no one had a doubt about me getting admission to one of them, yet my father would often coax me to opt for the best one available in NCR. I know he was concerned for me. He was worried that someone who had not shared anything with anybody, how would I manage to share my room, washroom with bunch of students. Also living without my parents even for a day would give me goosebumps. My mother was trying to be control but on some of the days even she would not be to control her tears.

After all the emotional breakdowns and brain wash, I did not give in and chose hostel life for myself. I wanted to break free from the four walls of the house and find my own identity. Honestly, it was a big decision for me and for months I could not cope up with the whole idea of living away from my parents. I also made attempt to run from my college and give up my studies after first semester but gradually with the help of seniors, room mates, batch mates and teachers, I adjusted to my new life. Sharing became a part of my life and I learnt to be independent. Four years of my college life can never be complete without the sweet and sour memories of the hostel. Overall, I would say it was a great experience.

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