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 the 12th edition of As We Leave, Sharah P S, a Y22 student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, looks back at three and a half years of plans that fell apart, people who showed up at the right time, and moments that felt ordinary then, and everything now. A reminder that it all makes sense, just never when you’re expecting it to.
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 IITK.
It is incredible how, in just a few years, a place can start feeling like home, and random faces can turn into a family of their own. Today, as I sit down to put years of memories into words, I keep thinking about the girl who stood in the corridors of Hall 4 with teary eyes, hugging her mother tightly 3.5 years ago. I still remember what I felt that day – the uncertainty of what lay ahead, the fear of not fitting in, the sadness of leaving the only home I had known for 18 years. What made it even harder was that my very first day on campus was also my eighteenth birthday, the first birthday I had ever spent away from my home. But that day, I was woken up to a big surprise – a birthday cake brought by friends I had only just met, and a room full of so many new faces, smiling and wishing me. Somewhere in that moment, without me realizing it, the place had already begun to feel a little like home.
The next 10 days flew past, meeting new people, almost falling asleep in the long orientation sessions, “filling the gap”, and all wingies squeezing into one room for late night conversations. Little did I realise then that the sentence echoing everywhere during orientation – “these will be the best 10 days of your college life” – would end up being so true. Soon, the euphoria wore off and academics took over, bringing with it the nightmare that was MTH 111 and my very first (and not the last) zero in a quiz. In the middle of all the chaos began preparations for Freshers’. During the orientation club showcases, though my over-enthusiastic self wanted to be a part of at least 10 clubs, there was one club I was completely set on getting into. So when the Music Club auditions for Freshers’ were announced, I didn’t think twice before auditioning.
Looking back, I would easily call that one of the best decisions I made in college. The club gave me my people – the first set of people I truly resonated with, the ones I could open up to, the ones I had been looking for ever since I arrived on campus, the ones who became my constants throughout these four years. The rest of the semester went by surprisingly quickly, filled with numerous dinners at hall-10 canteen and endless night-outs with friends.
After spending the month-long end-sem break at home, I reached back with my “Mallu girls” (our very creatively chosen name for a group of girls all from Kerala) just in time to catch the last day of our first Antaragni. That night was quite an experience for so many reasons., the details of which are best left untold. Most of my second semester was spent at the music club, and with it came so many firsts – my first Musical Extravaganza, my first year-end party, and eventually, becoming a secy. The rest of the time was spent either on the top-floor of the library or in the student lounge, where all of us collectively tried to compensate for all the shenanigans and the fact that absolutely no studying was done until the night before a quiz.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I signed up for an ICG semester project – another random decision that ended up shaping almost the whole of my campus life. I ended up having a great time in the project; getting introduced to ML (the favourite buzzword of our batch at the time and apparently, the taker of all our jobs) and meeting some amazing seniors. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was filling out nominations for ICG secretary. Being a secretary at ICG was one of the most intellectually rewarding experiences at IITK. Through projects, sessions and competitions, I slowly saw myself grow in ways that went far beyond just academics or professional skills. It gave me seniors I still run to for advice and batchmates from whom I learned a lot along the way. That, I think, is the best part about being part of clubs and councils at IITK. They give you the space to explore new interests, experiment and learn through failures without huge consequences (although remember to not lose any reimbursement bills). In the process, you also build some truly valuable relationships with peers and seniors, who end up being important parts of your college journey.
Second year of college also gave me six bachas, all of a sudden we weren’t the kids of the campus anymore, we were the “experienced” ones somehow supposed to guide freshers. Around the same time, I kept hearing my best friend talk endlessly about the Inter-IIT Tech Meet, and eventually it made me want to be a part of it too. From bootcamps to selection tasks to interviews, I became a part of the contingent. What still amazes me is how many things had to fall into the right place for me to finally make the team, and somehow they all did, without me even realizing it at the time. Experiences like these made me realise how important it is to grab opportunities without overthinking them, because they often end up influencing you more than you imagine. For me, Inter-IIT was exactly that. Beyond the amazing memories and friendships it gave me, it pushed me to assess myself honestly, step out of my comfort zone and most importantly, gave me clarity about the direction I wanted to take ahead. And even if some experience does not show you what you want to do, it might at least tell you what you do not want to, which is equally important.
The experiences and learnings from Inter-IIT really boosted my confidence, and that led to filling out the Leader nominations for ICG. Taking up a third year POR can definitely be time-consuming, but it was completely worth it. I got to work with an incredible team of batchmates and juniors and it became a whole new phase of learning – as someone who led, made decisions and took responsibility for the people.
By then, Mechanical courses had fully kicked in, and life was stretched between labs and cut-throat DCs. Fortunately, I found some really smart people to struggle alongside, and I genuinely think I survived because of them. Before I could even pause for a breath, internship prep season had already taken over campus. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” – said Albert Einstein and it best describes that phase of college life. Yes, it helps you find a job eventually, but more than that, it helps you discover your real people – the ones sitting beside you through endless DSA grind, mock interviews, rejection spirals and late-night breakdowns. I am really grateful that I found both along the way. Stressful phases have a strange way of bringing the right people closer.
Once the internship wave passes, most of third year becomes a phase of recovering from the burnout of the previous few months. Thankfully, the streak of festivities of the odd semester- Udghosh to Diwali and everything in between – helps the process. ICG helped me keep myself busy, and kept away the strange sense of emptiness that quietly starts creeping in otherwise. Third year gave me my first college trip, some of the most chaotic and fun memories I got to share with some amazing people. It also brought a few new people into my life who later became some of my closest friends. At some point, you realise that the time spent knowing someone becomes irrelevant. Some people just instantly feel familiar, as though they were always meant to be there.
Towards the end of third year came the bittersweet realization that the seniors we had once looked up to were now preparing to leave campus. People who had quietly become such an important part of our everyday lives were suddenly saying their goodbyes, and with it came the first real feeling that college was not going to last forever. Right after, the excitement of stepping into the corporate world for 2 months took over. Internship felt like a giant “baby’s day out” experiment. One day you are a college student barely holding your life together, and the next day you suddenly find yourself in formal clothes, sitting in office meetings, trying to act like a functioning adult. Strange as it felt at first, it also became one of the first glimpses into the life waiting for us beyond campus.
Final year brought with it the looming anxiety of placements along with the constant realization that we were slowly living through all our “lasts” on campus. Throughout, it felt like a desperate attempt to savour every moment amidst all the chaos. Though I was lucky enough to get a PPO, after seven semesters, placements no longer feel like an individual journey. You carry the pressure and anxiety until all your friends and loved ones find their place too. And just when placements end and life finally starts feeling peaceful enough to truly enjoy with your friends again, you suddenly realise there is barely any time left. You are already in blazers, running around campus trying to capture one last reel or picture with every friend group that you shared a part of your life over the years. All of a sudden, you start noticing the red bricks, the picturesque roads lined by blooming trees, the familiar corners of the campus that had always been there. You start trying to relive and re-create old memories, have the last conversations with people whose presence you had taken for granted in the middle of the rush and visit every rooftop one final time. Overnight, your perspective shifts; instead of complaining about the mess food, you begin to see it as a privilege. That’s the thing about IITK – it keeps you so busy these years, that you often forget to pause and notice the little things that quietly make life here so beautiful. In the words of Andy Bernard “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
I came to this campus with many expectations, but IITK turned out to be nothing like I expected, and I’m so glad it did. Looking back at these years, I realise that some of my best memories and most important experiences came from things not going according to plan. Every time life here did not meet my expectations, I complained, I ranted and I wondered why things had to happen that way. But almost every single time, there eventually came a moment when I felt relieved that things unfolded as they did. I have learned a lot here, but I think the most important learning was to trust the process – to believe that even the confusing phases make sense in hindsight.
The person leaving campus today is very different from the one who arrived 3.5 years ago. Somewhere along these years, IITK gave me clarity, courage, friendships, memories and lessons that I know I will carry for a long time. And maybe that is the beauty of this place. In the moment, nothing ever makes complete sense. But when you finally stand at the end of it all and look back, somehow, it all does.
Written by : Sharah P S
Edited by : Amirtha Sreya S, Lavanya Srivastava
