End of an era....a new journey awaits

As the day comes near, it is becoming even more difficult to absorb this feeling. An overwhelming sadness, an agonizing pain amidst the sweet memories of this wonderful life that is fast approaching its culmination is what describes my present state of mind. Yes, I speak of the end of graduation life or should I say my BITSIAN life.

It feels like only yesterday I got down from the Haryana roadways bus only to find out that the BITS campus has an entrance no grandeur in appearance than a dilapidating school building in some remote corner of the country. My mind is fresh with the memories of the initial registration process, those ill-zoomed clicks which happen to appear on our ID cards for the next four years, that long walk around the campus with parents and the speech by the vice-chancellor welcoming us to the campus.

For the past four years, I have always dreamt of the destination - having an engineering degree from a reputed college and passing out with a decent job in hand - but now as the destination has made its way clear of the clouds of fear and chance, it feels like the journey was far more memorable and enjoyable. Even as I write this post, there is this submerging feeling of nostalgia, this yearn to have the chance to relive these four years over and over again.

The gen lacha sessions, interactions(euphemised ragging) with juniors and seniors, late night ANC and Cnot sessions, PD trips, early morn Nootan hangouts, OASIS and BOSM thrills, LAN gaming, chill-outs at Ganga stores, QT cricket and volleyball, Assoc nights, Music nights, movie and cricket match screenings in Audi, various sports tournaments, OASIS and APOGEE Inaugs and what not. There have also been moments of stress and concern-the first hour tutorials and tests, the pressure of the Comprees, the night-outs before exams, just missing out on a grade in a course, applying for make-ups with fake reasons, CDCs, last hour assignment and report submissions, for that matter anything related to academics!

What is even more stressful and concerning is just imagining that once I step out of this campus there is a very hostile and brutal world waiting to plunge me in. A world full of competition and corruption where at every step there is a quest to prove oneself better than the others in the race. There would be no friends who you can speak to without giving a thought to the aftermath of the dialogue. Today when I have a problem I have friends who, I know, would do anything just to make me feel better,who would celebrate my happiness and share my sorrows putting all their issues aside. The fight for grades never compromises the values of friendship. Maybe I am being cynical but I would not want to learn the lesson a harder way.

Without a doubt, one of the most priced possessions I would be taking back with me are my friends (although after a couple of weeks the phone would most likely be the only way to keep in touch). It’s been a true privilege to have known you guys and to have been with you guys. I can proudly say that BITS would not have been this beautiful and graduation life this memorable but for my friends.

It feels like the end of an era, the climax to a rather romantic and relishable journey that all of us embarked on four years ago.

Three Cheers to this wonderful time :)