Experiential Learning

 

Some endings lead to beautiful beginnings, which is when our college life starts—snapping out of high school and leaving our homes behind. It’s scary but exhilarating, filled with excitement– a sea of emotions. Entering into a new world, out of your comfort zone gives you a frightening feeling and makes your stomach churn. Every day, the new energy we get is on a whole new plane, learning various details, curious about little incidents, and being in awe of exploring new places and overall the campus.

The Student plaza is one of those places, where most of us met for the first time and bonded over fascinating things, discussed our hobbies, tried our first MFC meal, and, of course, collaboratively played music. It became the go-to place when you left your hostel to have fun.

The cravings of a sweet tooth brought us to Flurry’s to experience a variety of delicious desserts. The beauty of Student plaza is often highlighted with decorations during different events and makes the place surreal. The fountains with colorful lights, brings a sense of excitement just like when a child plays with colors. 

Your umbrella became your guide in this unpredictable weather. Playing with the lazy dogs in the Student plaza and feeding them biscuits gave us a happy feeling. The huge food courts took our breath away, along with the number of people you see there daily. We used to find it crowded  during the peak hours and the quiet during the evening when students were studying.

The vast campus got us tired every day, from running to the AB blocks for 8am classes to racing against time for hostel curfew to exploring various routes on campus to getting bored and tired from climbing the temple run. The first few trips outside were as fun as the inside ones; going to the beach with our friends and having fun was the time we realized we would enjoy this place. Auto expenses emptied our pockets initially, but bus rides were more fun and feasible.

The long lectures with no breaks were annoying and gave us an excuse to enjoy Friday’s special pizza hut deal or a nice Vada-pav near Gate 1. Sometimes not staying in the room and hanging around the student plaza gave us an extra edge to apply to one of our most awaited clubs, which most of us grabbed and tried our best to get in. It was that time when we learned about our potential and offered a chance to unleash the talent within us–showcasing it to the world. The ones who were too shy to speak gathered the courage to sing and express emotions through poetry and jokes–on stage.

Our experiences allowed us to embrace our strengths, work on our weaknesses, and strive to win. College gave us the stage to be ourselves simultaneously molding our skills and sharpening them as desired, it gave us people who we can call family and a new home away from home.

The Student Plaza holds the emotion through the years, even if you no longer live on campus. What started as an urge to play your guitar at SP, slowly evolves into a curiosity to see what fresh hell the freshmen brought this year.

The new umbrellas we bought every time we lost one start looking like a stupid memory as we get into the sinful ‘Umbrella Exchange’ loop. Those few fortunate might even find their original umbrella in the process.

Ever thought having a cycle would be great to reach your classes on time? Wait till you climb the slopes from FC 2, drowning in the constant rains. And as the semester wears you down, you eventually lose the willpower to walk back to your Food Courts and camp at the cafeteria on every full day. With that development, you even start calculating your attendance to decide which classes to attend.

Although, there are a few constants in life. The dogs at SP that stay the same size through the years, the beaches you never get tired of, the skies you always swoon over, and the rains you learn to live with.

 

Written by Darshan K S and Mayuri Sapre for MTTN

Edited by Aayush Niraj for MTTN

Featured Image courtesy of Envision Experience

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