My College Experience

The college experience is one that holds many pleasant memories for me. I began the journey as a scared rat out in the open desert, but made the best of it and trudged forward becoming a willful tiger.

It all started after I completed secondary school knowing that the next sure step was College, which made my stomach turn at every thought of it. It started from “What should I study?” to “Where should I go?” and ended with the dreaded, “Will I survive on my own?”. The saddest thing about embarking on this journey towards my tertiary education is that many childhood high school friends have to be left behind and many times than not, the comfort of your own home as well.

With all this in mind, I began for my search and discovered that Mass Communication was best suited for me in terms of course outline and career pathway. I enrolled in a college in KL which meant that I had to stay out, as it was ridiculous to think of travelling to and fro from Klang every day.

I signed up for my courses for the first semester, picked out a room in a student house nearby and then waited for the first day to begin.

I distinctly remember stepping into my first class. The lecturer was rather amusing and he gave us time to settle in that day. It wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. In fact I suddenly found myself gaining more confidence and determination from that week on. I began reshaping my work style and schedule to fit into the mold of college life!

 The first thing that hit me was the workload. It was definitely much heavier and intense than what I was used to in high school. The major challenges to get past were the large volumes of reading, the short deadlines and the intensive writing, writing and more writing.

On some of these long, seemingly endless nights of mugging the books and writing, it is only natural for one to long for the good old days when friends were around to mull over a problem together and mom was there to take care of your dietary needs and quick fixes of Oreos and milk. But hang in there. Trust that this will pass when morning comes. Whatever you do, don’t make major decisions about your courses, your major or even what you’re going to wear to college the next day during one of these down periods.

However, even with these initial challenges, college was the phase in my life where I started finding myself. I grew to learn what I really like and dislike, what work style was best suited for me and most importantly what I was naturally good at. In other words, being forced to be independent was a nudge I needed at that time.

Once I grew comfortable with myself, I began to enjoy the subtle opportunity given; to meet new friends and exert my creativity.  I ran for student council and was subsequently elected president of the board, joined some friends in a drama team and made the Dean’s list for 6 semesters in a row.

Student Council members at a retreat in Port Dickson

Getting involved in Student Council and theatre was challenging especially as assignment deadlines drew close but it was a challenge I was more than willing to accept. In fact, it was more of a balanced diet for me rather than a full plate. I wanted to excel academically and get good grades but I realized that in spending most of the day in college, I had to give more to gain more.

Mass Comm girls posing with Ferhad during their visit to the Astro studio

In becoming more involved, I not only met more people, be it students or staff, I also developed and honed my soft skills; communicating, listening, engaging in dialogue, giving feedback, cooperating as a team member, solving problems, contributing in meetings and resolving conflict that is invaluable in everyday life as much as its needed for work.

Sharmini acting as an aunty in a short play produced by The Oral Stage

It definitely made me more assertive and more aware of my surroundings. I no longer longed for things that used to be, instead I was keen to make more lasting memories and make the best of where I was at.

Sharmini promoting the Halloween party as the Student Council President

One thing I remember best was planning for a Halloween Party in the college hall. We formed a team and together thought of the programme flow and highlights. We then discussed decorating the hall which was the most fun part. We gathered skeletons, scary masks, and lots of black cloth for this. The idea was to make a haunted house as the pathway to the hall and decorate each corner of the room as a little cemetery. We stayed up until 4am in the morning for the finishing touches, trust me, we did get the chills in between but it was too late to turn back then. The party the following evening was a success with a good crowd of about 200 students and everyone had a fun time. I can boldly say that we left behind a legacy that students are still competing with until this day. These moments are the special things in college that one will not get to experience at work or elsewhere.

All in all I found college life to be demanding and unexpected, but I had my fair share of fun, and that’s what mattered most. I successfully made the transition from high school, to college, to the working world, with my sanity and health intact. Considering all things past, I would never change it even if I had a chance!

Resource: ymagazineonline.wordpress.com