Two years of pandemic panic, the altered frustratingly-homely life of the quarantine era, and the nerve-wracking pandemonium of the online education… and now breathing the fresh air of anticipation, the thudding excitement coursing through your veins is a refreshing turn of events as finally the much-awaited reopening date sneaks into your email. 

It’s not just the college that creates this symphony of thrumming delight inside our minds but also the new city, the environment, the hope of creating friends and a new family, and not to mention the newfound freedom away from the sheltered life with our parents. In college, we are the free birds. 

Manipal is a shelter to thousands of students from across the country, willing and thriving for a better quality of education and career opportunities. But along with that, it also becomes the haven for the most fun kinds of activities, and notorious experiences that everyone is bound to create along with their cherished peers. And when you come to this town, life opens a brand new door of opportunities that will make your soul happy and your heart sing. 

And it’s just not Manipal, but the college life that wins the top position in everyone’s memories as they step into the days of wistfulness. The friends, the bonds, and the memories you create in college are the ones that stay for life, they say. 

And like every other fresher, one, too, settles into the hostel life with the expectations of a ‘Student of the year’ lifestyle, all while forgetting the real struggle of ‘Kota Factory’. So here are a few instances, picked from the life of a fresher about their lifestyle in Manipal. Some might just continue to be a problem for the rest of the college life, some struggles might just turn into nostalgic memories someday, while the others might just ‘poof’ with the course of time and friendship. Who knows? 

Oh god! Just look at my tan!

Well, speaking from experience, while the long roads with aesthetically pleasant views are quite nice to walk on, the intense scorching heat of the sun, and the extremely sweaty weather sucks the fun out of it. And let it not be said that everyone at some point of their Manipal life hasn’t shouted, “Brooo! Just look at my tan!” revealing a very distinct tan line. And isn’t this the number one struggle of every Manipal fresher? 

The tan struggle is something that this fresher might or might not get over, but what I will say is it definitely deserves the first page in the ever Fresher diary of Manipal. 

Mr. Sun, can you shine a little less brightly? 

Kal morning class hai, yaaarrrrr…

Aren’t morning classes the most irritating? Exactly! (This is the fresher expecting the answer to be yes.) To wake up at 7am, get ready all the while struggling to keep your eyes open, and then half-running to the college…. And then sleeping through the lecture – a novel experience, indeed. 

Two years of online classes and now morning classes feel like a curse, don’t they? 

The first breakdown is when you realize how much you miss home. 

The breakdown is inevitable. Along with the excitement and giddiness about staying in a new city, there is a small, soft place in the heart which cries out for its homesickness. The real cry comes out when there is food in the mess which reminds you of your homemade food, or just the nostalgia hitting you full force at the weirdest time of the day. Maybe a particular festival in your city. Or just…. You know, home. 

Sometimes, a simple phone call to your parents just tugs at your heartstrings, when their voice breaks and they desperately try to hide it behind a forced jolliness of ‘When are you coming home?’  is enough to send you tumbling to that edge of a breakdown. When you miss your friends back home… 

That’s a feeling that never goes away, does it? Fresher or not. 

It’s Wednesday! Let’s go clubbing!

Yeah, are you even a fresher if you haven’t gone clubbing and drinking yet? Edge and Deetee are lifesavers when it comes to experiencing the student nightlife of Manipal. The excitement, the fun, and the thrill of doing something daring are what pumps the students every week to experience clubbing almost every week. 

Everyone has at least one mirror selfie of themselves in the painted bathroom of Deetee, right? 

 

Bhook lagi hai, let’s order in.

Healthy food, who(?) when you can order the Chipotle cheese fries and sandwich from Pavilion Cafe, or a chicken motu burger from MFC or anywhere you want. Late-night orders and the hostel talks basically define a fresher life. 

Dotfood, you are a savior. 

The late-night conversations with your hostel friends. 

“Yeh startup khole kya?” 

“Arre, sahi hai, chalo kholte hai.” 

Late-night ideas are the best. And this is what you won’t have back home – the late-night fun and conversation that blooms between you and your friends in the hostel room, the peals of laughter, the innocent exchange of the innuendos, and the most importantly fun are the best. And for a fresher to experience those from the claustrophobic quarantine period is nothing less of a blessing.

The weather change, phew. 

Sickness and fever stemming from weather and water change are yet other struggles trophied in the pages of the fresher’s diary. The running nose, sore throat, and the coughing – yep, that’s what happens when you move to a new place. Though, as an extra precaution, make sure to wear masks, carry sanitizers and maintain a social distance. Covid is still lingering folks. 

Amidst so many lifestyle changes, and the essential tilt in the axis of our life, Manipal life is the most fun, exciting, and life-changing. Any kind of college life prepares you for future hardships, struggles, and opportunities. Yes, one will make mistakes, but then again, it’s all a learning process. Make sure to make as many memories as possible, and enjoy college life. 

Signing off, 

Fresher in Manipal.