School age to Cool-Age

Remember when we were in school? Geeky, clumsy, not sure whether to laugh at a joke or not, and how we all used to go starry eyed about life at college? To us, then, college was like the epicenter of EVERTHING nice and cool. It was where we HAD to be, and frankly, our life did depend on it. We decided then that we had to learn, to be prepared, beforehand, so we pulled up our sleeves (in some cases, we even cut them), and went ahead with trying out their “modus vivendi”. The result was something none of us is proud of (and will carefully omit the next time we talk ‘life at school’). We got caught bunking school. We got caught while coughing after a puff of the forbidden stick. And as the fear of everything that moved still persisted, so though we dared to wear cool belts and colored ribbons or a current hairdo when we dressed for school, we also made sure they were all gone by the time we reached the school gates. We wanted to be something we didn’t have a clue about and we couldn’t wait. The promised land beckoned to us and before we knew, it hit us.

Some one said it damn right, “little information is a dangerous thing” and how wonderfully it proved itself. Starting college the first thing I missed most was the ataraxis; school was a heaven which gave u peace of mind, filled with angels (though, with horns, fangs and claws) who did everything for you. There was no worries about notes or what-will-be-wont-be’s. There wasn’t any temptation to deal with about bunking an important class to hang out with friends, cause u just couldn't. Thus there was no tension about attendance and as a bonus, your nails stayed safe and looking good. (In college nail biting is a catchy habit. TRUE STORY.)  Due to the absence of uniforms, you end up always, ALWAYS being late, cause u can never decide what to wear, cause its either too bright, or too clean, or too old, or just not good enough for the day. It’s a never ending list of “before and after”-s and its heartbreaking to recount as well. Gosh!! I miss my school days, but mostly, oddly, I miss being told what to do. Responsibilities, my dear friend, are damn scary, very scary.

But wait! Lets not forget the crème de la crème of the promised deal : Bunking, the USP of college (or so they said). Lets suppose you got a bunch of college buddies, and u decide to bunk classes and watch a movie the next day. Pretty exciting, huh? Now here’s what happens. The next day two people have tests, one of them feels sick, the other has a private tuition to attend (which he completely forgot to remember when the plan was actually being made), another passes on 'verified' critical comment about the movie being bad. By this time the entire ambience has dropped below sea level and the plan’s cancelled.

Now, like always, we have the tragic heroes, who really wanted to watch the movie but alas! They go home sad. But there IS a happy ending, cause there is always one smarty pants who actually did bunk college and didn’t bother to show up. She stayed home, woke up late, and watched her favorite movie in her pajamas (which, by the way, are never “too” old).

Cheers to all bunkers.