I was born and brought up in Delhi. It was my dream to study from the University of Delhi. Well, that dream came true when I got admission in Maitreyi College. It is situated in the posh Embassy area of Chanakyapuri, surrounded by greenery and linked via beautiful roads. It’s the best thing that happened to me. When I was new, to the college, my parents used to drop me to college and wait outside its gates till my classes were dismissed because my college is two hours away from home. In the beginning my parents were very worried about how I would travel so far, daily. I am not the kind of a teenager in fact I never was the kind of child who went out of her house for any other purpose than school or the sports complex near my house but, now I had to travel two hours, in a public transport to attend my classes and then come back home in a public transport. I told my parents that, I know Delhi is unsafe, but everybody in my college doesn’t live near to the college, they also travel but maybe not as much as I would have to. I told my parents to trust me and I told them that I would keep them updated via calls and WhatsApp. Then I started travelling alone to my college daily. I observed people all around me. As a child I was always fascinated by public transport, I thought how do people sit next to each other without talking and reach their destinations. I thought it was boring but to be honest I love the two hours I spend to reach college.
This travelling part was the first change I experienced when I joined college. The second change was a pretty big one for me. It was shifting from a co- educational institution to an all-girls institution. I’ve always had better guy friends than girls, there came the challenge of adjusting. To be honest, girls are the most complicated beings to understand, even for girls let alone, guys. “Girls are hard on girls”, I’d just heard about this statement but it was soon proved when I spent some days in an all-women institution. Apart from all these observations, or assumptions, I made friends! Now I roam with my gang of some amazing girls. We hang out in the beautiful Rose garden of our college and hang around in Satya Niketan, it has been the best place for great food and lots of fun.
The day I joined Maitreyi I came to know about the various societies in my college; Dance, Music, Photography, fashion society etc. I was very excited to join at least any one of them. I got selected in the Photography society of my college, “Vista” and I joined a lot of internships which have given me many other experiences and have helped me recognise and showcase all my talents. Joining college has shaped me into a better person. One more thing that I experienced was make-up, it is all around, and a lot of it. I’m not saying its bad or something, I also love make-up but not like I’ll put it on every day! You’ll not see any one girl in my college who is not up to date with the latest fashion trends. Everyone is well- dressed and the ones who are not, well they have to deal with head to toe stares from all around and that’s kind of funny. If I talk about my own experience, I dress up good every day, not for a showdown in college but for myself. There is something about the Delhi University or about college that everyone wants to make an identity which is unique and that’s the main reason for dressing up in a certain way or talking in a particular manner to present themselves as a better representative of this elated institution. Coming to college made me realise that the world is full of all kinds of people, we have to be smart enough to choose the better ones for our friendship. Every student goes through this phase of coming to college from school, which is very different for every individual. Joining Maitreyi was a wise decision for me because not only it has a beautiful campus and ultra clean roads around, it has been my overall learning and personality developing experience. After joining Maitreyi I’ve been flooded with amazing opportunities. Personally, I also observed that joining college has shaped me as a better version of myself, someone who is self-dependent, I know how to deal with people, well at least, a bit but, I have become a much more confident person, and that’s for sure.
Antra Sinha
Content Writer – DU Times
