College Life
Hello intrepid reader. My name is Karthik Gomathinayagam. I graduated from HHS last June and am currently a freshman, or first year as we’re supposed to call ourselves, at Purdue. Purdue is a large university located in the NW part of Indiana. I’ve been here for almost a month, and I can say without that this is the best experience of my life. College has presented me with many new paths, and opportunities. I can try new things, step out of my comfort zone, and meet new people. Being at Purdue allows me to explore what it really means to be me.
In the past month I’ve been here I met countless people, and experienced many new things. Before college I had never lived away from my family for an extended period of time and admittedly I was scared. Your whole life changes between high school and college. You become independent. You are the master of your time, money, and work. You decide whether it’s time for you to work, or hang out with your friends. You decide whether or not it’s okay for you to spend extra money for the largest pizza the restaurant offers. You decide everything.
When I got to college, I was pretty lonely. Making friends in college is harder than making friends in high school or any other school. To make this easier, my school had a week long orientation called Boiler Gold Rush. Boiler Gold Rush, or BGR as we liked to call it, was an orientation week where the college breaks you up into small groups of around 13-15 students and assign you a TL or team leader. My group spent time together and got a feel for what Purdue is going to be like. Throughout the week we became good friends.
Your experience making friends could be similar to mine, or quite different, but the point is making friends is a natural part of college. I feel jealous sometimes of those student who are going to college with their friends, but then I realize, if I were here with all my friends I would never go out to meet any other people. In college you choose how social you want to be. If you want to become an introvert in college and spend all your time stuck in your dorm then sure go for it. On the other hand, If you want to spend your time at parties and hanging out with friends that’s fine too, but neither of those options allow you to fully experience what college has to offer you.
College offers so much to do. You can join clubs, organizations, sports teams, etc.. You have so many options and opportunities. There is something for everyone. Do you like anime? There is a club for that. Do you like improve comedy? There is a club for that. With so many options I’m rarely every in my dorm at all.
College is a place where we are able to shine and learn new things about the world and ourselves. I hope to write more about college in the future as I experience it more.
If you have any questions about college or the college process, please feel free to shoot me an email at
kgomathi@purdue.edu
