The First Day of College Offline

Well, it had almost been two years since the international lockdown due to COVID-19, a lot of institutions were closed for the general public. Including our beloved colleges.

It's a fact that college life has a greater meaning in any student's life. It is usually where the students discover new stuff in life. It's another thing that they are often expensive. But personally what sucked was that they all went online for the entire year of 2020. I honestly hate being in an online lecture, especially after 2020.

It's almost 2022 now and the University of Mumbai has finally decided to start offline lectures, the only condition being students must follow all rules and regulations and be fully vaccinated. I mean sure the rules also include no fooling around in the college canteen, meh. We at least get to see something other than the eye-tiring screen.

Day 0

Well, the day was quite normal; we all knew that the college was gonna go offline, I on the other hand wasn't quite excited. The last set of instructions that we got said "Students must be fully vaccinated." This meant I wasn't eligible to enjoy the very thing I hoped for. I'm under 18, just fall short by a few months.

Well, when all hope seemed lost the timetable for the offline lectures arrived with a new set of instructions. And what a piece of news they brought. I was dancing internally that very moment. It said that under 18 students can join offline lectures without being vaccinated with the proof that they are under 18. Heck, that means that SRK though I'm not a fan was right.

Quoted Still from Om Shanti Om

This formula however is only true when it wants to be. Anyways, the most accurate way of putting this will be my favorite, "Thy Will Be Done"; which by the way I learned from the book The Game - Nothing is as it seems, by Heather Noel. It's an excellent read available in audiobook.

Great, I was going to college the next day. Now the only things necessary were packing and taking out my college bag. I was nervous, not because I was heading out, rather for the bag. It was kept locked up for 2 years. I was worried about its Zippers and Rats. That bag was rarely even used, I remember Momma bought it for my junior year at college. Well if it was damaged she'd be pissed on me for asking her to open the cupboard so late and that too for nothing usable, even if it was the rats' fault.

Lucky for me everything was fine. I put the backpack on me and it felt like a decade has passed since I had the sensation on my back. Sure, I bought a mini backpack, but can it compete with a full-on college bag. Yeah, that's a category of bags. Don't correct me if I'm wrong, cause I know this part. Anywho, the crazy part was even though I've used it, I was fascinated by all those compartments and perks it came with. Heck, this pandemic messed up with me.

I quickly packed whatever I can think of. And slept. Technical I wasn't able to sleep thanks to the excitement I received.

Day 1

Despite using Metro for the entirety of my Junior College years, I was considerably early. I woke up, took a nice shower, and headed to the station. You can imagine how early I was that the 2nd ride was late.

Getting into the metro isn't that challenging as getting out is. I had to race everybody before they block the gate. Just like the old days.

Anyways, I get into the lecture just on time. At first, it might seem boring or old fashion to the young Gen, but an offline lecture is a key to the study. The environment is what kicks you to study rather than just pretending to.

As it was day one, it was quite amazing to meet the professors in person. I mean it's way better than a virtual chatbox. Communication is much fast this way. I also noticed that I often asked and answered more often offline than I would have on the online alternative. There was no double guessing involved.

I was in the first batch for online learning, only 5 of 56 came for the offline lecture at first. I mean it was a low number but because the rooms were capable of holding about 40 students, the social distance wasn't an issue. Having a smaller group helped us focus more on the lesson at hand.

Perk

The perks of offline lecture. Well the very first for me is I get to go out have a walk, more like a dash in the morning as I sprit my way to catch my ride. Yeah, I get that morning sunlight too.

In the classroom, because we're in a small focus group sleep doesn't seem to bother me at least

This one's quite controversial. You get to be on teachers' good side or bad side depending on what you do in the offline lecture. Being less in number means there's a higher contrast in the crowd.

Next one. You can make new companions, travel, study, lunch, whoever you want. Look I've been to college for like two days, but the level of interaction I had was just amazing. I talked with teachers and my peers freely. You can get more intimate while you talk with them too. Go into deep conversation avoiding the small talk. Also speaking with someone is better than typing it to someone. 

Also, activities are more fun. We did an activity today, it was fun, everyone was involved in the process. There were no household distractions one can face while attending an online meeting.

Sometimes we just got carried away in a conversation and that was quite fun.

Conclusion

Some lectures could be unsatisfactory but in the end, you're doing a task because your friends are doing it and they are doing it because you are doing it. This positive peer pressure makes up for an excellent studying environment.

My college hasn't started completely, but there are slight changes experimentation going on, and every day my bag packs something different.

I met my Junior College professors too. They all had one thing in common they were all fed up with online. Junior college students were coming in for the offline class, though it isn't fully done. The fact that everything is going back to normal just with a slight change is enough for me.

Lunch at Park

There's a park near my college, a pretty good one indeed. When the lockdown started. It was mostly left abandoned, hardly a few people took a stroll there.

I don't was it the timing or the offline lecture, after a long time, the park was the same as it was before. I was sitting on a bench eating, observing the people as they interacted with each other. Reminded me of my time on free lectures.