Rumours. Some excite you, some frighten you, but most of all they leave you intrigued.
I had heard a lot of questions before entering MIT.
“How is MIT, Manipal?”
“Which one is better: (insert engineering institute name) or MIT Manipal?”
“Which hostel blocks are haunted in MIT, Manipal?”
The haunted hostels aside, what I was really curious about was – How would life at MIT be? How would the people be and what would the whole academic experience be like? There was this gigantic bubble filled with mysterious questions above my head and I had to find the answers!
Well, I’ve just completed a semester here, so I have the answers to some of the questions.
Mysterious me
Growing up as an introvert, I was quite apprehensive about college life. It’s implied that college is where you build your personality and develop your identity. So I began my journey, aiming to discover something about myself, and of course, answer the mysterious questions mentioned above.
Unsurprisingly, I found myself feeling lost the first few weeks. Moving to a classroom with close to 100 new faces was a massive change for me. Besides the academic side of things, there were multiple opportunities to be grabbed, oodles of clubs to be joined and whatnot!
And thus began the quest for self-discovery! Or to put it this way – to uncover the mystery of me!
Experience is the magnifying glass
So here is the great part about MIT. The sheer diversity that comes across, in every sphere, is the perfect stepping stone for a student just getting to grips with college life. So many different people, so many clubs, so many activities. In short, so many experiences.
Soon enough, I joined two clubs and a sports team. And what did I learn? I learned that books and movies aren’t wrong. You don’t need a lot to have fun, the silliest things suffice. Be it admiring someone’s tattoos or failing miserably at decorating, you’ll always have people to have fun with.
I learned that while the future may look bleak at times, it is exactly that step beyond your comfort zone where you will uncover the mystery about yourself. In short, these new experiences were like a magnifying glass, which helped me look into myself and the world outside from a clearer perspective.
Without a doubt, Manipal is a beautiful place. Being a localite, MIT was not a strange territory for me. It was just that I had heard so much about it from so many people. However, the answers I have received have gone a long way in satiating my curiosity. MIT is a great place to learn, both academically as well as personally.
There’s magic beyond the mystery
From being lost to savouring every day at college, MIT waved its magic wand at me and cast a spell stronger than anything Harry Potter could ever conjure up.
As I said earlier, I can’t answer all the questions, but after completing one semester at MIT, I can assure you that none of the hostels are haunted. The mystery of MIT, and me is solved…for now. However, I am sure that there are a lot of exciting adventures which lie ahead. The show goes on!
