The College Life Of Our Dreams

“I am just fed up of this college life…stupid assignments, unnecessary tests…simply maddening.”

These words pierced into my ears like thorns from Aralia bush. I was going to the pond to wash clothes when these words came hitting on me. There was a group of four girls going to college. All of them belonged to well-to-do families and their parents worked day in and day out to let their children get higher education in colleges. On the contrary, their wards carry such negative impressions about college life. This was really sickening for me.

I am Mansi. A woman of 20. Already married. Like every other girl, I too was a girl of high ambition. As a child I used to dream how would the earth look like from space! Eventually I took a fancy in astronomy and physics. While in school I was a sharp student. Physics was my favourite subject and I always scored well in science. My father was a rickshaw puller, so I had to do a part time job of stitching fabrics in order to finance my schooling. I never felt burdened. Instead my life was quite an interesting one. I had a huge enthusiasm to read books. I was a bookworm. I used to borrow books of famous authors like Rabindranath Tagore and read them a thousand times!

Disaster struck when I was in 12th standard and my father died in an accident. Bad luck and suffering fell upon me and my family. All the fantasies which I had regarding higher education and college-life were shattered into fragments in a matter of no time. My wish to study astro-physics remained an unfulfilled wish as after a few months, my mother decided to marry me off. “How will you survive if you don’t marry? Who will take your responsibility?” was what my mother used to explain me at all times. But that wouldn’t pacify me at all. All those beautiful dreams I had regarding college life was torn apart.

I was devastated after hearing what those girls were saying. I couldn’t resist myself and almost as if in a dream, I walked up to the girls and asked them the reason why they were abusing their college-lives. To this they answered, “You don’t know how frustrating it is. We all had fantasies regarding college life but the reality is very different. We are over-burdened by assignments and exams. Practical approach to education is zero. Our education system is to be blamed for this. Classroom and bookish knowledge are a school thing but today almost all colleges do the same!”. Hearing this I was taken aback! The girls added that laboratories weren’t a place where students could apply what they had studied but an examination hall in disguise. All that happens in the lab is exam! College life is supposed to be a place which would make a person ready to face the world but alas! The reality isn’t so!

I was deeply grief-stricken hearing this report of the college life. After all the girls aren’t to be blamed. A reform in the education system was an utmost necessity. College-life is and should be a phase when young citizens of the nation would harness their ideas and skills and help the nation progress. I wanted to shout out loud and make everyone hear but who am I... I am Mansi…an ordinary girl ..with no higher education ..nothing…

All my words of despair died out into oblivion like the faint waves of echo.

Maybe in another world we will get the college life of our dreams.