OhThePlacesYouWillGo – A Year of Adapting and Exploring

Coming to campus, I was terrified. I had only ever seen Ashoka in photos, and suddenly, I was about to move my entire life here. But seeing the campus for the first time was surreal, and I immediately knew that the view would never get old.

Throughout the day, I explored campus and discovered different places I was excited to return to. I had already declared the Dhaba my favourite spot by the end of the first day. That night, everything started to feel a little more real. I met people from online groups, played games, explored the campus, and somehow ended up making my way back to my room at 4 am.

As the semester progressed, I found the Foundation Courses particularly interesting, although balancing academics, clubs, and extracurricular activities was challenging at first. The transition from high school to college-level coursework took some time to adjust to, but regular office hours with professors, conversations with seniors, and quite a few study sessions with others made the process much easier.

I saw myself adapting to different environments and roles, a significant part of which was due to the clubs and societies I became involved in. My experience with the Ministry of Technology was particularly transformative, as it allowed me to contribute to the university’s digital systems. Collaborating with other members, understanding real requirements, and building solutions that would actually be used by people on campus helped me see technology in a much more practical way.

Another defining part of my first year was getting the opportunity to play Ultimate Frisbee with the Ashoka team. Coming into the team was a bit of a shock. I had played Ultimate before, but the structured and competitive style of play at Ashoka was very different from what I was used to. Suddenly, there were systems to learn, strategies to understand, and a level of discipline and coordination that I had not experienced before.

What made the experience special, however, was the people I learnt from. The seniors on the team were incredibly helpful, whether it was explaining a strategy, pointing out something I could improve, or simply encouraging me to keep trying after a bad play. Over time, I became more comfortable with the structured style of play and learned to adapt to different strategies and playing styles. The team became more than just another extracurricular; it became one of the communities that helped me feel like I belonged at Ashoka.

Looking back, my first year at Ashoka was a year of adapting and exploring. I came in unsure of what to expect, and I carry forward countless memories, new communities, and so much more to look forward to.

Shashwat Bhajanka