Ever since I packed my bags and moved into the Krea dorms, I’ve not only seen myself change as a person but have also been introduced to several other versions of myself that seem to have emerged only after I left the state borders of Tamil Nadu. Some of them I like, some of them surprise me, and one or two I’m still trying to get used to. Think of it as a cast of characters I never auditioned for, but who turned up anyway. Let me introduce a few.
First of all, there was the classic ‘responsible one’—the version that college-goers all across the globe are familiar with, the one that their parents hope will show up once they get accustomed to dorm life. I always thought that this trope was somewhat of an exaggeration, asking myself, “How does one magically transform from lazy to responsible once they move?”
But I have come to realize that this transformation isn’t sudden or extreme in any way; rather, it shows up subtly as one starts to adjust to their new surroundings. Small actions, such as washing my used cutlery, making sure to lock my room door when I leave for class, and organizing my own laundry, have become part of my daily routine rather than a chore that was forced onto me after eight hours of school. Responsibility has also started to make an appearance in my day-to-day relationships: checking in on a sick friend and picking up food for the ones too lazy to get out of bed is now the bare minimum one could do. We all help each other to, essentially, keep our lives together and stay out of trouble. The actions we were once repeatedly taught to perform have now naturally woven themselves into the fabric of our lives, proving that sometimes, adulthood simply hands you a laundry basket and walks away.
Next up, there was the observant version of myself that surprisingly helped me the most during my first few weeks at university. I’ve now understood what it means to “pay attention to my surroundings”, and, more importantly, use those observations in regard to my own life. Listening to other people’s orders at the juice shop told me which drinks were best-sellers, and which ones would make me regret opening GPay. Overhearing seniors refer to the open-air theatre as “OAT” (one among a variety of Krea-specific terminology) has now made me adopt this special language as my own. Most of all, reading the frustrated texts on residence hall group chats has rendered me forever averse to leaving my food in the common room fridge. I have learned so much about the campus, culture, and people around me simply by just looking at them. I’ve also started to pay more attention to body language and context clues, ones that I would have probably missed were I still in high school—I don’t know if this is a result of growing up, a change in environment, or even the sheer number of people living together in a single campus, but I do know that this skill has helped me figure out what to do in particular situations without being instructed to do so. All in all, I’d argue that this observant edition of me has helped me become, and feel like, a part of the larger community I’m now a part of.
Another version of myself, that I never saw coming, was the experimenter. Life away from home, at a completely different location, has opened my eyes to many opportunities for experimentation that I never knew existed. I’ve started to wonder what it would be like to take a course in subjects I have no previous experience with. Extracurricular clubs have helped me engage with topics and hobbies I had stayed away from during school, bringing to light some vastly different interests I perhaps had all along. I’ve become more open to ‘putting myself out there’, whether it be sharing my writing or joining an events team. The liberty of having my own room has even allowed me to experiment with how I want to organise and decorate it, and we’ve all had to get creative with our eating habits on days the dining hall food seems plain and unappetizing. Not every experiment has been a success, but every trial has taught me something about what I truly like and who I can be.
These are just some of the many versions of myself that I have encountered; there are so many more I’ve met, and am waiting to meet moving forward. I’ve seen these personalities not just in me, but in many others who are also discovering their own casts of characters, one questionable decision at a time.
We’re a campus of works-in-progress, and the best part is that we get to figure ourselves out together.