LSR : The far-fetched dream! by Manveen Kaur

LSR : The far-fetched dream!

Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke, LSR ko dekha karti thi
Jab bhi guzarti thi uske saamne se, yahi socha karti thi
Ye LSR kya hota hai? Ye LSR kya hota hai…””

‘”Aik ladki thi deewani si, Bluebells mein woh padhti thi

Getting into my dream college LSR’ had always been a far-fetched dream; a dream you often dream but never dream of it ever coming true. With the sky-rocketing cut-off’s and the hype that the boards are, assured me that i will never be able to make it. After a long and exhaustive period of vacations that were spent in anxiety and fear, one morning, CBSE, FINALLY decided to release our board results. Chills ran down my spine as the realisation struck me. THIS WAS IT. My destiny stood right in front of me. I gathered the guts and logged on to CBSE’s site. The internet had never taken this long. It seemed as though the gods were also having their bit of fun. What made the situation even worse were the incessant phone calls by the relatives and peers who had been long forgotten. Finally, the page loaded. My marks were right in front of me. To my, amazement. I had surpassed everyone's expectations. 97.25%! WOAH. They were way above my predictions. I was elated. I do not remember being as happy as i was that morning. But, the suspense still continued. The cutoffs were yet to be released. After a long wait, the cutoffs were released and to my stupefaction, i got into LSR in the first list itself. All this felt surreal. A dream that i had never thought of coming true, had been achieved.

On July 1,2015, i finally got the first opportunity to enter the gates of LSR. We were made to stand in queue outside the college. At 9am sharp the gates were opened and we all ran inside. This was a little hysterical. It seemed as though birds locked in a cage for years had finally been freed. On reaching the auditorium we were reassured by our college president. Everything was well planned and organised. After filling up the college forms we were sent to different rooms for other important formalities. I was pleasantly greeted by my department faculty and the president of the department. After a short interview with them i was sent to pay the fee and finally a photo was clicked for my identity card; a card that would now be a treasured possession for the rest of my life.

JULY 17th, was my first day at college. The memories of which are so vividly entrenched that i can narrate them in a wink of an eye. I woke up quite early, took a shower, had some nice breakfast and then got ready as quickly as possible, to avoid getting late. I was welcomed by a big bunch of friendly faces of fellow students, and many very friendly and helpful staff members were around to guide us around the building and tell us where we should be. The first morning in itself was very organised. The department welcomed us by performing various dances and songs. We also had an introductory talk by the principal, welcoming us to Lady Shri Ram College, and explaining what we should expect over the next several months we are going to spend as a part of the LSR family. The talk by my principal was one of the highlights of my first day at college. She really lifted up my spirits and made me proud of being an LSRian. We were shown the campus and were also asked to plant a sapling, after which we had a meeting with the faculty and the union of the department. The faculty introduced themselves and asked us if we had any queries or doubts. All queries were addressed adequately.

There were quite a few breaks during the morning to give me a chance to talk to a my fellow students, so when we were told to break up for lunch, I already had a new friend to go have refreshments with. We spent an hour or so getting to know each other, and we even got a couple of people to join us, so we immediately felt much less nervous about the whole “first day at a new college” thing. It was lovely to chat with someone who was in the same boat as me.

After the tour was over, we were free to go wherever we wanted to – this meant grabbing coffee with one of my new friends and chatting for another hour or so. So, as you can see, all in all, the first day of college really is nothing to be worried about. First of all, most of the things that you will be doing are administrative in nature, and all the rest is just socialising and having fun with your new class-mates. Trust me; my first day in college did not even approach the scariness that I had managed to build in my head by the time it arrived! And I am sure; it will be the same for you!

Its your life, time to make it large by Shubhra Sharma

Its your life, time to make it large!

Getting out of school, they say changes your life. Now, this life change can be good or bad and that’s what most youngsters always fear. This dilemma makes many questions pop up in the minds. They can be about the kind of life, the type of studies, the level of exams or the behavior of teachers in contrast to school.

Rule number one of getting yourself tailored for college life is taking advantage of all the given opportunities and spending as much time in studies as in other activities.

School starts with a bell and ends with it. There are no gaps between classes unless the teacher is absent and you get a substitution. In college you may have gaps of even hours between classes. Can be so long that you can even go watch a movie in between, well that’s great in a way right? 

Merely attending the classes is not enough. The course/syllabus is described by the universities with complete details including essential or additional readings and presentations. It is important to go through this information. The books or readings mentioned could be provided by the teachers but they don’t always spoon-feed you in college so you’ll have to search them up in the libraries. And don’t worry, you won’t be called a geek if you go to libraries sometimes, perhaps because that’s necessary. 

In college you don’t study different subjects like Maths, Science or English. Moreover since the FYUP has gone.  You specialize in a particular field and so the syllabus is vast. 

At this level you’re not taught by teachers, professors instead. Their job is to provide you with knowledge not sit and make you learn because learning is your part of the job. The idea of college is to make you self independent in all aspects. Listening to what the professors teach in class matters a lot as they guide you through a huge heap of books and inform about the important topics to be read from them. It saves your time and energy during exams. 

The holidays between exams differ among universities. Usually not much time is given between exams apart from the 10 days preparatory leave, notably by Delhi University. The pattern of question papers is quite simple with mostly long answer question. So there’s the relief from those 1 and 2 mark questions for which every minute detail is to be learned.  Study smartly and wisely.  Don’t let go a mountain while you’re busy collecting stones. 

This is the time of your life. Make the most out of it. 

College life gives you plenty time to gossip, hangout, discover new places and indulge in socio cultural activities.  The debating, dramatics, dance, music societies add to it. Try and be a part of as much things as you can if you love exploring. Undoubtedly the most relishing time can be the season of fests where you have various competitions and amazing performances by the stars. It’s the best platform to showcase you talent, if you’re lucky gain fame too at this age. 

Its going be an amazing journey, just make it worth it.

Enjoy with thrill and study with passion.

Cheers