It was 5th January 2018, I told my mother; “mom, I am scared. I don’t know if I am taking the right decision.” And she said, “It’s OK if you fail, but take it up bravely.” And since then, my new journey started.

By noon I reached Woodstock Ambience. I was nervous, as it was my first time staying alone and away from family with random strangers. But I was enthralled to see how things change. Well, things did change and maybe I did too.

I entered my new room. It had two small single beds covered with clean white sheets and a big fat pillow on top of each. The cupboards were small and cozy. The bathroom was neat and decent. I opened the window which was looking at the setting sun, the cool breeze hit my face and my lips curved. I looked at my mom and said, “This is it, my new home for a while.”

I waved goodbye to my parents and got back to my room. I didn’t understand my own emotions for a while. I was energetic to explore, eager to meet new people and overwhelmed with every new thing happening around me. With these mixed feelings, I opened my room door with a warm heart to meet some people. But all I could see was an empty, long, dark, lonely corridor. Me being an extrovert didn’t go back and shut my room door. Instead, I went knocking doors to find people to talk. I did interact with few, but they were all tired and were least interested to talk. Few even shut their doors on my face.

Soon, the sun went down and it was time for meeting the whole batch and the teachers at an informal dinner. I was dressed pretty well and grabbed a lot of attention, even though it was not my intention. I saw a lot of new faces, a few fake and uncomfortable smiles here and there. People were sweet but you can’t predict how they are at a first go. In no time I was completely out of my comfort zone. I spoke to a lot of people and simultaneously hogged good food. Time flew, the bright moon hit the vast black sky and it was time to go back.

Next day, I walked into the campus all suit up! I took my first step with a hope of getting a job, just like others around me. I know it sounds lame to think about a job on the first day of college but that was the only thing running inside my curious head. My imagination and expectations were crossing the clouds and everything was new and different. Soon we got into the curriculum, initially, everything seemed intimidating. We had to learn one single subject for the entire day with a couple of breaks in between. And the same subject was taught for the next few days. It took a while for me to soak into the whole new world of learning but slowly I got into the rat’s race!

On the other side, hostel life was very new to me. I started sleeping late, eating more junk, skipping workouts, keeping my dear diary pending for days and the list continues. On the bright side, I enjoyed celebrating festivals like Pongal and Holi. Being a south Indian I am not used to celebrating Holi, but this time it was different. I saw the diverse batch fighting for a holiday to play with colors. And eventually my batch mates taught me a lesson how unity is the only thing that keeps us standing firm and deep rooted. Festivals are a traditional way of bringing people together and on Holi this is exactly what happened.

In the early months, interesting things were happening which kept me engaged. We learned throughout the week and chilled during the weekends. Our Sunday morning badminton sessions followed by jamming, which was my favorite. Weekends were not the only time to connect with people. Post classes people used to spend time playing TT, basketball and the rest of them just walking and talking till the guards start blowing their whistles, ending the day formally.

One of the special days for me was my birthday. I woke up with no expectations but was pampered with love, chocolates, and gifts. The celebration went on for the whole day and I could see smiling and laughing faces everywhere.

Time flew and soon things started fading away. Assignments, presentations, quizzes, exams, and placements showed all new colors of the same old people. Well, this was the actual place where I learned most of the life lessons. I started understanding human behavior and psychology. In no time I became a very busy person from being an academic coordinator to placement coordinator. Also conducting and coordinating events and seminars from scratch. I got so inundated with new people and things that I completely lost track of time.

At the beginning of the final term, a new batch came to the campus. I was enthralled to meet them all. I was expecting people to be as crazy as I am but they weren’t to my expectations. In the first week of their arrival I accompanied the warden to explain the rules of hostel. I thought they will bombard me with questions, but the only question I got was, “Can we wear short skirts?” Wow! I tried retaining my smile and said NO. One thing I learnt was that people have a lot of things in life as their priorities which might be insignificant to us.

Finally, it was time for placements. A day before the placements started, I was nervous and petrified. Something that I was waiting for from a long time, didn’t seem pleasing anymore. One of my friends comforted me by saying, “Hey, it’s okay if you don’t get through tomorrow, there are a lot of companies out there waiting for you”. This actually helped me stay calm and go to bed quietly. Sometimes all you need is someone to tell you, “It’s OK!”

Next day, I woke up early and meditated for a while before I dressed smart, and soon I was on the campus. I sat there in my place gutted and waiting for the shortlist to be announced. Well, I got through the first hurdle. Then we had a couple of rounds throughout the day. I was happy and confident with my performance after every single round. Finally, the three of us were left. My bestie, who was coordinating the drive, walked into the room and told me, “Sush, the recruiters are asking about your internship”. And then he accompanied me till the room. The walk to the interview room seemed the longest walk till date. My heart was pounding like a stereo. And my brain was processing my thoughts ten times faster than a Ferrari. I opened the room door with trembling hands, thinking about all the possible questions they might ask me again. There I saw three recruiters along with my placement coordinator standing and waiting for me. One guy broke the silence by saying, “Welcome aboard Miss. Sushmitha, we are happy to have you.” And I was like, what? What did he just say? I stood there puzzled! I didn’t know if I had to smile politely and say thank you or jump around with joy. Well, I chose to stay formal but my face couldn’t hide the jubilation. This was the most memorable moment which I will cherish through out my life!

Post my placements, I spent most of my time through the day helping others get a job. In the evenings, I spent quality time with myself, writing articles, diary and researching for my new project. People around me were all fighting their own battles. I stood outside the field trying to help but couldn’t do as much as I wanted to. Yet I didn’t give up. Every day at Manipal, I learnt a new lesson and one of my favorites is “Survival of the fittest”. Yes, Charles Darwin quoted this long back but I learnt it the hard way.

During the last few days of the course, I invited few dear ones to my house on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. We all ate my mom’s handmade special delicious festival food in typical south Indian style. Our palates were dancing with joy for tasting somethings so good after boring them with hostel food for nine months. Rest of the day we all chilled at my place. At night we all laughed our brains off pulling each other’s leg before we hit the bed.

Next day morning we woke up and decided to take a day off and get lost in the nature. Thanks to my parents, we took their car and left for Mysore. It was a much needed break for all of us. The long drive was magnificent. The weather was perfect, songs played were all our favorites. The lush scenic beauty outside the car kept me lost in my own thoughts. We reached Balmuri falls by noon, took a dip in the cold torrent of Kaveri. It was rejuvenating and peaceful, far away from all the stress. By evening we left from there and stopped on the side of the highway to grab something to please our hungry tummy. While having food one of my friend promised me something. He said, “Ten years down the lane, when we all are successful in life, I will come to your office and take you to Woodstock Ambience, will make you sit in the common cafeteria and talk about our beautiful journey at Manipal”. That was the exact moment when I understood that the journey to success is more beautiful than the destination itself.

Well, today is 28th September 2018, my last day at Manipal. My exam went fine but the most important thing is this article. I spent couple of days to write my heart out and share one of the most significant chapters of my life. This is one such spectacular piece that will stay close to my heart!