When I was a kid, running around in shorts and not having breakdowns every weekend, I had these neighbor-friends who used to switch schools nearly annually. Name any school in Lahore, and they would’ve been there at some point in their lives. And sure, in high school people would argue ‘oh contacts are nice’ and stuff, but at that time, all that came to my mind was: why? Considering my sense of humor has been pretty unique all my life, I used to find it funny. I’d see them wearing different uniforms every other year and just go ‘haha’ to myself for the next 3 days or so. Now, the secret as to why they changed school so often may never be uncovered; but yours truly recently transferred to a new school and has uncovered what they might have gone through (or at least I did).

So, here are 3 things that bugged me (read: drove me insane) in the first few days of my new college:

1. The thing where seniors steal money from you?!
   Yes, okay. I’m talking about ragging, can we please appreciate some art here? Geez. Anyways, I wasn’t aware that this existed, that is until a guy came up to me on the staircase and said: “Yaar apko pata hai na main aapka senior hun?” Thank god my years-long experience of avoiding important stuff came clutch as I got away with only spending a 100 rupees on them. On the other hand, many of my friends declared bankruptcy after this heavenly experience, so I consider myself lucky.
   [Pro Tip: just do what they want, they’ll get bored of you eventually]
2. Trying to find new friends:
   So, there isn’t any sugar coating this. It takes time. Especially for someone who leaves an already established friends circle, with ‘sonoos’ around you.  You’ll actively have to go out of your way and talk to people. Again, coming from a group where you know everyone and everyone knows you, it can be quite overwhelming – especially when many people have different interests and hobbies.Leaving your comfort zone is pretty much essential.  And….eh… that super cozy comfort zone is where I usually hang out. So, my first few days weren’t a particularly pleasant experience.Lucky for you though, Harris Malik has got you covered with all you need to know in your quest to find friends. Check the post up on our Instagram! Although, *ahem* he could’ve uploaded it a little earlier though, would’ve made my life a easier.

    

3. Getting in the swing of things:
   Now I’m not one to make assumptions, but this one really frustrates the ever living devil out of you – trying to memorize your timetable, trying to get around the campus or just trying to get your school work done. You’ll have to run around like a chicken with their head cut off for quite some time before you get your bearings right.At least you’ll be burning your daily calorie requirement!Real talk alert though: The quicker you get through this phase, the better it’ll be for your grades. Do it any way you find it easy. For example, I like to make personal time tables for almost all of my activities. My academic activities, co-curricular activities and birthdays. NEVER FORGET BIRTHDAYS YOUR NEW FRIENDS WILL LYNCH YOU!

   Let’s be real here though, as time passes, it all works out. You find people you can relate to. You find groups that you identify yourself with. That really is, in the end, the beauty of college life.