Youth Incorporated Magazine

Are projects, lectures and deadlines making you glum? Vatsala Chhibber gives you a bucket list to add some excitement to you college life before you graduate.

When we are in school, confined to our boring uniforms and living under the rule of the school bell, we derive hope from one thought: “Soon, I will enter college”. College life seems like the panacea for all our pre-teen problems. While it may seem like college life will last for a long time, it won’t. So we suggest you make the most of your campus life so that you graduate with an abundance of memories.

Try Everything in Your College Canteen

If you feel the food options in your canteen are limited or boring, we assure you there will be a time when you will crave the spicy pav bhaji or the unique chinese bhel offered there. Make sure you try everything your college offers – the samosas, vada pavs, even the suspicious looking cheese Maggi. Your access to tasty, affordable food will reduce one you graduate, so enjoy your college binge sessions.

Be a Part of the College Festiveal

College festivals help you meet new people in your college and also add great value to your CV once you graduate. Join the organising committee or enroll as a participant and you are guaranteed laughter sessions, gossip and maybe some fights as well.

Declare Your Love

Ahh… sweet memories of that college romance… oh, wait. To have those memories you have to first gather the courage to ask someone out. Don’t waste time pondering over the consequences or fearing the possible rejection. Go up to your crush and tell him/her how you feel. If you’re lucky, your college years will be enriched with movie dates, couple homework sessions and shared icecreams. If the answer is no, rest assured you will laugh at the incident some day.

Sneak into Another Class

If you find your boredom levels escalating to dangerous heights during a lecture, try and sneak out through the door while your teacher is looking away. If you manage this without being captured, step one of the mission is complete. Next, try and sneak into another class. Why would we ask you travel from one torture chamber to another? Because it’s a great way to explore another subject, especially without the pressure of having to write an exam on it. Psychology, biology, photography, political science – whatever subject suits your liking, get some free knowledge.

Have a Meal with Your Teacher

Gather your friends and share an informal lunch or dinner with your professor. You might be surprised by how different teachers can be outside classrooms; chances are the session will be full of candid conversations and laughter. After listening to their stories, you may also realise what teachers have to put up with on a daily basis!

Make a Friend for Life

You might have hundreds of friends in college but the numbers will mostly dwindle in the years to come. New jobs, new friends, marriages and families will contribute towards increasing the distance between you and your buddies. But spot that one (if you’re lucky maybe even two or three) friendship that you would like to preserve for a lifetime. New friendships will form in the years to come, but this person will probably know you better than anyone else.

Be Part of a Prank

Firstly, ensure that the prank will not cause any physical harm or emotional damage to anyone involved. Keep it light-hearted and fun. Maybe play an annoying song in class and smile secretly while the teacher tries to figure out who it is. Or maybe call your friend and tell them there is a surprise test the next day. Be creative but keep it harmless.

Create Something

It could be a book lovers club, an antiragging campaign, a new college song, an annual costume party or even a new word that becomes popular in your college. Use this time to explore your creative side. You might end up creating a college tradition that is carried forward by future students.

Make a Time Capsule

Get all your friends to write down where they see themselves in ten years’ time and lock all the answers in a box. Someone takes the responsibility of holding onto the key and the box will only be opened ten years later (no cheating!). It’s a great excuse for a reunion and looking back at your teenage aspirations can be very entertaining.

Say the Right Goodbyes

Yes, you will have that big farewell party and fill ‘slam books’ with loving messages. But take a moment to say goodbye to the watchmen who let you enter college without an ID card, the librarian who excused your delays, the peon who told you when a teacher was absent or the canteen boy who custommade your sandwiches. College life is never sweet without these generous, loving souls.

College life is something that adds the most exciting colours in one’s lifetime.  You make sure you don’t miss out on anything before you graduate.