Diary

The Freshman Experience

Maleeha Mazen Khan

My leisure time ended soon when I got accepted in university. And that triggered my graduated friends, my mother and even my grandmother to give me all their advice. It wasn't regarding which course I should take or what my major should be, but instead regarding how I should socialise on campus.

“Don't get acquainted with too many people” was a friend's advice. “Try and mix with as many people as possible” was another's. Trust me, none of it came handy as my first day at University started with dismay. Firstly, I was late for class.

A freshman might feel 'out of place' in the middle of a crowd. Photo: Zahedul I Khan

I was twenty minutes late for my first class. And on top of that I ended up and going to the wrong class room. All eyes were on me the moment I entered my class. I figured out that it was a senior class. Eventually I found out my real class after forty minutes. All eyes were, once again, on me and this time they were annoyed looks. Well that made sense because I disrupted the class with my late presence. I grabbed the seat that was left for me at the back. Sitting there was not a bad idea. I fell asleep and was not noticed. By the time I woke up, the class was empty. I rushed down to the cafeteria since that was the only place I knew. Soon I met and had lunch with people I knew from before and made it early for my next class. This time it was a class that was about to start an hour late. After figuring out my class room, I entered it and this time it was an empty class room staring back at me. Being all confused, I waited outside, and soon I got to know that the class was on a break. I swore to not to let myself wander this time, so I kept my word and waited.

A freshman often finds him/herself wandering around campus feeling like the 'new kid'. Photo: Zahedul I Khan

The break was over, and my excitement of making new friends was soon over too. Most of my classmates were males who did not reciprocate my interests, as most of their conversations involved topics such as our teachers, how pretty a girl was, and how awesome they think the university is. As for the females, they did not have much interest in math 101 but instead cooking classes and makeup practices. However, I spoke to one girl from my class as silence was killing me, and she seemed pretty nice.

My first day? It did not end up being the way I expected it to be. My first semester? With 3 more weeks of classes left, is turning out to be eerie. A few days back when I finally decided on breaking the barrier and speaking to people, I met some very strange people: one buys me food, another shares his cynical life story and another is a girl who tries to hold my hand. However, I am optimistic and hoping to make some real friends.

DID YOU KNOW

Rabindranath Tagore

Our very own Robi Thakur had his initial education in Oriental Seminary School. But he did not like the conventional education and started studying at home under several home-tutors! After undergoing his 'upanayan' (coming-of-age) rite at the age of eleven, Tagore and his father left Calcutta in 1873 to tour India for several months, visiting his father's Santiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. That is where he read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of Kalidasa!

Information source: Internet