Graduating from school is a novel experience. The feeling of accomplishment, especially after having worked extremely hard in matriculation, is simply out of this world. So, when I stepped into college after graduating from school, my enthusiasm knew no bounds. I had managed to come up to the merit list of this college everyone aspires to get into. No wonder I was excited! I was going to be a part of our country’s most prestigious and well known college Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. At the same time, I was agitated as I had a terrible feeling about it. Would I be able to cope up with the standard? I guess my fear was understandable. Walking in the footsteps of alumni like Bano Qudsia, Bapsi Sidhwa, Asma Jahangir, to name a few, and thinking about emulating them can be quite a daunting prospect.
According to my mother, mostly girls work hard and achieve excellent grades up to their matriculation. Very few maintain their pace at college. So, I had to maintain my pace.
When I decided to write about my college and my experiences for Us magazine, I was perplexed. What could I write about my college that had not been written before? For me, describing my college is like describing my favourite shade of graphite pencil. Prestigious buildings, botanical gardens, state-of-the-art cafeteria (which rightly becomes crowded with a cacophony of girls’ chatter and laughter between 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.), captivating beauty of the splendid and ever blooming old trees, interactive assemblies, tremendous tutorials, bake sales, plays, concerts, parties, international conferences and much more.
I have developed a close association with each and every element of this college.
When I entered into the premises of my college for the very first time, I was a different person. I used to get jittery over petty matters. Today, I am a different person. Two years’ span of my life spent at Kinnaird College has groomed my personality in a positive way.
Today, I am able to analyse each and every situation around me and give my stance on it. And the credit goes to my college. Being a part of KC has instilled confidence in me to develop a positive change in myself for my betterment.
Now I know how to apply mascara and eye liner early in the morning when I hardly have fifteen minutes to get ready. I know how to get up one hour early in the morn to straighten up my hair. I have not changed but learned to groom myself. Not like ice which melts in water and loses its identity but like almonds which bedeck and embellish the black forest cake when they are placed on top of it and look beautiful themselves because of the cake. Grooming is the right word for me. I have groomed myself not in terms of dressing or hairstyling but in terms of time management, catching on my priorities, being dauntless, being intelligent and being beautiful.
I often used to wonder what Kinnaird has given me. Why I love it so much?
The answer has lived within me for a long while, but slumbering deep in my subconscious. More like the human heart which lies inside a man but still man can remain oblivious of its feelings for a certain period of time. But then my mind’s struggle to awaken it came off finally and brought it over to me.
And then I discerned. I don’t love my college. I cannot love my college. There is nobody in this world who is audacious enough to love something inanimate, and same is the case with me. I have never loved my college. Veritably, my love for my college is actually my love for all those people who have provided me succor and guided me throughout my journey here. Just like an ordinary human being, who loves his Creator because He provides him food and other necessities to remain alive.
When I gained entry into college, I was incognizant of everything. I did not know anything. Even though like all other new comers, I was bemused over buying fries, wondering where to pay the money, from where to take the token and how to purchase pasta!
And then, there were always some great seniors who helped me understand the electrifying and boundless world of wonders inside this prestigious college.
I never got ragged by anyone, nor did I get treated like scum when it was my first day here. Being a first year student, I became friends with an 8th semester student, Iqra, when we were both sitting at the same table in the library for five continuous hours preparing for our respective exams. I befriended with a 4th semester student, Amber (Ambreen), when fortuitously we spent an early hour one mirthful and frigid morning and had a great time in each other’s company in the Siberian and shivery winter of January.
I love them all for always understanding me, guiding me, helping me grow and making my time memorable and worth cherishing at college. And my affection for my college is actually my love and regard for these people.
Ultimately, I would ask all the students out there to always help each other. Try to make others comfortable when they are with you. We are the ones who make up Humans of Pakistan. We are the ones who have to uphold our respective colleges. If we are helpful and friendly with all students, every student will love and adore OUR college, and our place.
