The word “home” conjures up images of comfort, safety, and familiarity. It’s a place where one can unwind, be themselves, and find solace in the company of loved ones. But what happens when we leave this cocoon-like environment to venture into the unknown? For many of us, this reality hits when we leave our homes to pursue higher education in a different city or state. The idea of leaving behind everything we know and starting anew can be daunting.
I was, at the same time, excited and apprehensive about this new chapter of my life. But it also meant leaving behind the safety net of familiarity.
In the days that followed, I met new people - people with different beliefs, backgrounds, cultures, habits, and lifestyles. I didn’t even realize when they turned into my friends, confidants, and support systems.
Maybe it was somewhere between the late-night conversations, movie nights, jamming sessions, midnight Maggi meetings, discovering that some people don’t consider Maggi making as a cooking skill (I know, right?!!), and the best birthday parties you’ll ever attend. Hostel taught me there can be harmony in chaos and unity in diversity. I still can’t comprehend how we all manage to get ready at the same time for the lectures!
One of the biggest benefits of living in a hostel is the sense of community that it fosters. You become part of a larger group, a group of people who are all going through the same experiences as you.
Well, we were in a medical college, so it was more black than white but it still counts! After all, we survived the chin to sternums, 90 degrees, the “intros”, the “sorry sir’s”, the red diary, short attendances, the suspensions for GTs, remote batteries getting stolen,chairs being broken, nerves, vessels, & bones of anatomy, practicals of physiology and God knows how many cycles of biochemistry.
I remember once I was coming back from vacation, and my mother lovingly asked me to give her a call when I reached the hostel safely. As instructed, I called her, and I don’t know if it was a slip of the tongue or a reflection of how I felt, but I told her “Maa, I’m home.”
Hum doctor hein, Janab