A new life, a new beginning?

Well, this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. And finally, as the bore-child of a 4-day long weekend spent in college, here it is. My blog. There were a lot of things on my mind that I wanted to write about. But as one of my friends aptly put it, it should be about the beginning of final year and all the jazz and spiel it brings along with it. So, here goes my attempt at keeping a blog. Hope you all enjoy it :).

For the first time (for most of us), we had just completed our internships and just had our first peek into the corporate/research life. Some of us liked it. Others had a clearer picture of what they wanted to do next. And some others were just as confused as they were the first time we stepped into this college. But each one of us had one thing in common. We were all looking forward to 'Final Year'. As a person three months into final year, I can safely say that this is something that is completely different from the image one constructs when he enters college. It has so much more to it that it has to be experienced to be understood completely.

All conversations leading to the return to college were all about how final year is going to be the most exciting year of our lives and that its going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And so far, its lived up to those expectations! The first week of college was all about catching up with friends, especially the ones who had gone abroad. It was about exchanging those spicy stories that made our summers worth remembering. These 'exchanges' were, of course, made over some memorable trips to Sai Bhavani. The 'fun' times didn't last long though. Within a week, the most opened webpage quickly changed from Facebook to the college placement website.

The good news was that the placement season seemed pretty good this time. The bad news was that we didn't really have all that long to prepare. But, as they say, all's well that end's well. This was one of the major hurdles that needed to be crossed in final year and as luck would have it, most of us were able to cross it pretty early. Everyone says that one can do anything and can choose to study anything he wishes. While that is true, what is also true is that a graduate from an engineering college in India has more or less three choices - Job, MBA or MS. Once one of them gets decided, it makes the rest of final year that much more gratifying.

This brings me to the last aspect of my final year. Basketball. This has been a passion for us for a long time. 'Practice at 530' is probably the most read message by most people on the team. And most days, all you do is while away time in any way possible till 5:30 comes. Its that part of the day that you enjoy the most. Its not just the game that makes it so jolly but the people also. As some would say, it is 'more than just a game'. Though most practice sessions were marred by rain, the few that did happen were sure to leave us hungry for more.

I would say one major difference between final year and the other three is quite simple really. It all comes down to just one main factor. Free time. At 9-10 hours of classes and just 3 working days a week, this is the biggest noticeable change when one enters final year. The excess of TV shows, movies, spirit, games etc just follows as a direct consequence of the enhanced amount of free time we get. The need to attend classes occurs more as an afterthought. Most people's attendance status corroborates that fact.

On that note, I'd like to bring up a question that I was just asked. Considering all this, and the obvious change that corporate life is going bring about in most people's lives in a year, is final year really 'a new life, a new beginning'? Think about it, and if it is, I sure hope we can all make it count.