4 years later
As someone who was born and brought up in the Middle East with most luxuries in life, moving to India for college was not something I looked forward to. My brother was a fourth year student here when I joined, and although some would see it as an advantage, he didn’t do an especially great job of making me optimistic. “Prepare to see other people’s shit when you use the toilet”, “You’re going to suffer with all the power cuts,” “The mess menu just looks good. But everything tastes terrible” were some of his ‘encouraging’ words. But there’s one statement he said that I can relate to so much at this point – “You’re in for a crazy four years.”
Four years later, I can confidently say he was right about pretty much everything he said, and these four years are the best I have had. But there’s one question that has been lingering in my head for quite some time, something I have been asked a lot these past few weeks –“Bro, are you senti yet?”
To be honest, not really. Perhaps it’s because I don’t understand what senti is, and what I am supposed to feel. You associate sentiment with certain moments, and personally, it is a challenge to quantify my time in NITT into certain moments. When I look back, these four years here have been more of a continuous journey, because somewhere between all those countless days and nights in campus, I made great friends, and even better memories. Somewhere between heeding to nature’s call with limited water supply, walking around campus under the blazing sun, and eating bland mess food, I learnt how to adjust to surroundings. Somewhere between working for two international level college festivals and being on the editorial board of the college magazine, I got the opportunity to meet and work with some absolutely amazing people. Somewhere between juggling academics, applications, and extra-curricular activities, I understood how much I needed to manage my time better. Somewhere between the disappointments and losses, I learnt how move on and work towards the future. Somewhere between these four years, I changed as a person.
That being said, I’m still not the person who I want to be. I still slack off and procrastinate from time to time. I’m still learning to manage my time effectively. I’m still learning to effectively keep track of my personal finances. I’m still not completely outgoing, and the very thought of having to move to a different country in a few months to pursue my masters induces some fear of the unknown in me. Is it the same amount of fear that I had when joining NIT Trichy? Definitely not, because four years here have taught me how to adapt to change. Plus, I know I’ll always have friends to go to when the going gets tough, friends that I made in this very campus.
So again, am I senti? Not much. Grateful? Definitely. Grateful for the experiences and people this college has given me over the past four years – friendships that will survive even after college.
NIT Trichy, thank you for everything.
P.S – If there’s any incoming first year who’s reading this because he/she over enthusiastically liked every NITT related page, there’s one thing I have to say – “You’re in for a crazy four years.”
– Sandeep Krishnakumar
