Disclaimer: Vox Populi, IIT Kanpur, is the exclusive owner of the information on this website. No part of this content may be duplicated, paraphrased, or interpreted in any other way without written consent from Vox Populi. If you want to reproduce any of the content on this page, please contact our chief editors directly or reach out to us by email at voxpopuli@iitk.ac.in.
In this 51st edition of As We Leave 2026, Vaibhav Jha, a Y22 graduating from the department of Chemistry, shares a heartfelt account of growth, belonging, and the people who made IIT Kanpur feel like home. Through friendships, leadership, cherished memories, and lessons learned along the way, she reminds us that sometimes, the place we were searching for had been home all along.
Disclaimer:- The views presented below are the author’s own and are not in any manner representative of the views of Vox Populi as a body or IIT Kanpur in general. This is an informal account of the author’s experiences at IIT-K.
So, yes, I never thought I would be writing an AWL. I had read a few of my seniors’ write-ups before, and honestly, at that time, it always felt like something very far away. It feels unusually surreal that my turn came this quickly. To be honest, I had been postponing writing this for quite some time because I had absolutely no idea where to start or what to write. Every time I sat down to begin, I ended up staring at a blank page, wondering how to put the last few years into words. So, dear readers, I’ve mostly written about the things I remember the most and the moments that I think I would love to read again myself ten years later. It might sound like a fairly normal college-life experience, and maybe in many ways it was, but for me, it was a one-of-a-kind journey that I’ll always cherish.
Let’s start from the beginning.
I came to IIT Kanpur carrying way too many expectations and an overly excited version of myself. But the moment I entered the campus, all those thoughts paused for a second because I was genuinely awestruck. I still remember staring outside the car window thinking about how beautiful everything looked. The roads, the greenery, the vastness of the campus, it all felt unreal.
Then we reached Hall 4.
At the gate, I met my Amma, my student guide, Kalika, who became one of the most helpful seniors I could have asked for during those overwhelming first few days. After all the formalities, I finally went to my room, E1 304. I do not think I can ever forget that room number for the rest of my life.
That room gave me one of the biggest constants of my life: my roommate, Manisha. Funny enough, we were both from Bihar, and we instantly vibed. At that point, I obviously did not know that this random roommate allotment would turn into one of the most comforting parts of my college journey.
One thing I remember struggling with during those first few days was remembering people’s names. There were just so many new faces every single day that my brain genuinely gave up at one point. And then there was the whole “Vaibhav” situation. Every time I introduced myself, people would get confused for a second because they expected a guy instead. I think I spent most of my time explaining, “haan, mera naam Vaibhav hi hai” while laughing awkwardly.
My first semester passed in a blur. Everything was happening for the first time, orientation, wing meets, meeting wingies, Freshers’ Night, randomly roaming around campus, trying to understand what IITK life even was. I still remember CHM labs and the strange feeling of seeing all those instruments and lab setups for the first time. There was something oddly exciting and intimidating about it all.
And then there was my CPA, Taekwondo. Attending those sessions made campus life feel even more real.
Academically, the first semester was pure confusion. I think I spent more time enjoying the “college experience” than actually understanding how academics here worked. MTH111 genuinely felt like a nightmare back then, and like every fresher, I was constantly trying to figure out how everyone else seemed to know what they were doing while I was still completely lost.
I think another thing that quietly affected me during the first year was my branch. Being in Chemistry sometimes made me feel like I was somehow less capable than a lot of people around me. In a place filled with exceptionally talented people, comparisons became very easy and confidence became very difficult. I remember wanting to change my branch because somewhere deep down, I thought maybe I did not belong where I was. Looking back now, I think the first year was not just about adjusting to IITK, but also learning how to stop measuring my worth through comparisons all the time.
The second semester, though, felt different. TA sem was something I genuinely enjoyed, and during that time, IITK slowly started feeling less unfamiliar. Techkriti and Antaragni brought a completely different energy to campus. One memory I know I will carry for a long time is Mohammad Irfan singing Baarish during Antaragni. The entire atmosphere felt dreamy for a moment, almost like time had slowed down in the middle of all the chaos.
But between all the events, academics, confusion, and excitement, the best thing the first year gave me was people. Some really good people. The kind who slowly became friends, comfort, familiarity, and eventually, an inseparable part of what IITK came to mean to me.
My second year was probably one of the best phases of my IITK life.
Around this time, I had also come to terms with the fact that I would not be able to change my branch. But looking back now, I think things happened the way they were meant to. Chemistry gave me some genuinely amazing people, and a few of them slowly became some of my closest friends here. So maybe I am glad it all happened this way after all.
I became FAC and DNA club secretary, and at that point, it genuinely felt like one of my biggest achievements because digital art and painting had always been something very close to me. The Fine Arts Club ended up giving me some of the best memories I could have asked for.
I do not think I will ever forget all those movie nights with the club. The people around me made everything feel lighter and happier. All my coordis were amazing, and I was lucky enough to get the best co-secys too. A few of them slowly became really close friends, and looking back, I think that is what made the experience so special.
There was always something happening. Performing during the orientation for the Y23 batch, guiding freshers for their Freshers’ Night performances, painting for the Antaragni art exhibition, studying together in libraries before exams, celebrating Diwali together, helping during Galaxy preparations, every little thing added up to memories that now feel impossible to separate from IITK itself.
One thing I still feel a little sad about is missing Inter IIT Cult during my secy tenure. At that time, it hurt a lot because I really wanted to experience it with the team. But the club had already given me so many beautiful moments that the disappointment never stayed for too long.
And then came the coordinator interviews towards the end of second year.
Honestly, I had almost decided not to apply. I did not think I was ready for it, and a part of me felt someone else would probably do better. But my friends kept encouraging me to give it a shot anyway.
And then suddenly, before I could fully process it, I became the coordinator of the Fine Arts Club alongside Nilay, Divya, and Shivani <3
I do not think I realized it at that moment, but IITK had slowly turned from a place I was trying to adjust to into a place where I truly belonged.
My third year was definitely a roller coaster.
It started with staying back on campus for the Fine Arts summer workshop while most people around me were preparing for the internship season. Honestly, I never imagined I would become a part of all that because in second year, I had convinced myself that I wanted to pursue higher studies. But then came the inevitable FOMO. Suddenly everyone around me was preparing for interns, talking about resumes, tests, interviews, and I got pulled into that atmosphere too.
I did try, but deep down I knew I had not prepared enough, so not getting an internship did not come as a huge surprise. Still, that phase felt emotionally exhausting at times. But in the middle of all that confusion, I was constantly occupied with academics, Fine Arts Club responsibilities, and Techkriti work, so life kept moving.
One thing I will always associate with third year is CHM labs.
Those lab sessions brought all of us closer. The “result chhap ke lab se chale jaana” energy, random conversations during experiments, post-lab exhaustion, hangouts at Nescafe, CCD meetups, all of it slowly became a routine that now feels strangely comforting to think about. Chemistry, despite everything, gave me some really wonderful people. And I think I will forever be grateful to Auhona because honestly, I do not think I would have survived CHM without her.
Being a FAC coordi also gave me another chance to finally experience Inter IIT Cult, and this time we went to Patna.
Practicing in December ki thand was another experience altogether. The campus there might have been small, but the memories we made there were anything but small. I think that trip brought me much closer to Shivani and Divya too. Staying awake gossiping about literally everything, laughing at random things, surviving exhaustion together, those moments ended up mattering more than I expected.
The competition results obviously were not what we had hoped for, and I think all of us felt disappointed somewhere. But at the same time, everyone genuinely gave their best, and maybe that is what mattered most. It became a huge learning experience, especially for our secys, and by the end of it all, I think we were strangely happy despite everything.
And then suddenly, before we could even process how fast time was moving, it was already Semester 6 and Techkriti ’25 was much closer than it seemed.
I became Design Head in September, and honestly, I never thought I would end up being part of the team organizing one of the biggest fests on campus. Designing sounds fun until you realize creative ideas do not magically appear every second. And the toughest part was that we had no juniors in the design vertical that year.
But I am genuinely thankful for Nikhil, my co-head. I think without him, we probably would not have managed to complete half the deliverables we did. Through all the chaos, deadlines, stress, and sleep deprivation, things eventually worked out.
And then came the final days of the fest.
I do not think I can fully explain that feeling. Standing near the pit area after everything was finally running smoothly, seeing months of effort actually come together, watching the campus alive with energy, it felt surreal in the best possible way.
And during all of this, I ended up finding a few more really good people too.
Towards the end of third year, we had our Amma Party, and that brought me closer to my wingies all over again. For the longest time, I felt guilty about not being able to spend enough time with people because I was constantly busy juggling responsibilities, club work, academics, and everything else. But during that phase, things slowly started falling into place again.
I think third year changed me the most as a person.
It taught me how to stay calm even when things are not working out the way you planned. It taught me that heartbreaks do not end your world even if they feel like they do for a while. And most importantly, third year taught me the value of friendships.
Because at the end of the day, no matter how stressful or chaotic life became, it was always people who made things feel manageable again.
And then came the summer before placements.
The stress before placement season was unreal. The endless hours spent grinding in the library, everyone suddenly becoming serious about aptitude, resumes, interviews, tests, it felt like campus itself had changed overnight.
Fourth year became the most unforgettable year of all because both semesters were complete polar opposites.
My seventh semester was filled with stress almost every single day. Placement prep, resume reviews, mock interviews, placement tests, life had become a constant cycle of anxiety and uncertainty. And as if all of this was not enough already, I started facing health issues and had to go back home right in the middle of placement season.
Honestly, that phase is something I would never wish on anyone.
At one point, I genuinely felt like I would not be able to do it anymore. Day 1 was getting closer, and I had absolutely no shortlist. Watching everyone around me getting interviews while I had nothing made me feel terrible.
But then suddenly, just one day before placements, things started changing. I got interview shortlists from Navi, Meesho, PwC, BlackRock Extended, and a Seekho walk-in.
And the result?
Rejected from every single one of them.
I do not think I can properly explain how broken I felt after that. By the end of the Seekho process, I was mentally exhausted to the point where I genuinely believed, “kuch nahi ho sakta mera.”
Then came Day 2 with zero interviews.
And somehow, I think that hurt even more than the rejections themselves.
But one thing I will always remember from those placement days was the room allotted to us in Hall 13. All of us were there together, some already sorted, some still trying, some pretending to stay calm while internally panicking. Looking back now, I think handling myself during that phase would have been much harder if my friends were not around me.
Then finally came Day 3.
There were fewer companies, and honestly, placement season itself felt like a joke at that point. But I still had two interviews left, Uni Orbit and ICICI Lombard.
And finally, I got placed.
I still remember that exact feeling. It genuinely felt like an unbearable weight had suddenly disappeared from my chest. Going back to my room after almost three whole days was something I do not think I can ever describe properly in words.
And slowly, within the next few days, all my friends got placed too.
Our placement group which was originally named “Hum Honge Kamyaab” eventually became “Hum Ho Gaye Kamyaab.”
Best feeling ever.
And then came the eighth semester, the complete opposite of seventh sem in every possible way.
The chillest semester ever.
This semester was filled with trips, random parties, late-night hangouts, emotional conversations about leaving, and trying to spend as much time together as possible before everything ended.
Finally, this semester I went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal, which genuinely felt like an absolute wonder. Then came Tanya’s house and the comfort of home-cooked food after so long. Then Lucknow, which I think I will always associate with fruit custard from Lulu Mall.
And then there was the pahad trip(most important in college life).
I genuinely wish I could relive that trip once again. The snow, the adventures, the chaos, the laughter, and most importantly, the people around me, it became one of those memories you know will stay with you forever.
Also going to shivpuri for sangam ki behen ki shaadi was the best. It basically felt like a Techkriti road trip disguised as a wedding 😉
Last semester definitely became part of my core memories.
Late-night patte sessions, making the cringiest reels possible, coat-and-shorts photoshoots, random night walks, movie nights, gossip sessions, pulling all-nighters for absolutely no reason, performing at DE, learning makeup together while getting ready, farewells, chhat wale nighouts, doing our wall painting, Shivani’s house party, the smallest things ended up becoming the most special.
Sometimes I did feel overwhelmed because I realized I could never spend enough time with everyone. Managing four different friend groups and trying to be there for each one was honestly not easy. But everyone was always understanding, and I think that is one of the biggest reasons I feel so grateful to have them all in my life.
And then finally came the hardest part, saying goodbye.
Honestly, I think saying goodbye to these people felt harder than getting placed.
Because how do you let go of the people who stayed through every version of you? The people who saw your breakdowns, your happiest moments, your worst phases, your most chaotic days, and still chose to stay?
How do you leave behind the people who understand you in ways no one else possibly can?
Maybe that is why this goodbye hurts so much.
Because during these four years, these people became home.
These four years taught me much more than I expected.
Along the way, I became stronger, more patient, and a better version of myself. IITK gave me memories, responsibilities, failures, achievements, heartbreaks, and most importantly, friendships that I know I will cherish forever.
I think that is what I will miss the most, the people. The ones who stayed during the hardest phases, celebrated the smallest wins, and made IITK feel like home.
And honestly, if 10-year-old Vaibhav ever met 21-year-old Vaibhav, I think she would be proud. Proud of the person she became and proud of how she handled herself even when life was not going her way.
I came to IIT Kanpur thinking it would only shape my future.
I did not know it would shape me too.
Written by: Vaibhav Jha
Edited by: Medha Dokania, Shriya Suravarapu
