#OhThePlacesYouWillGo- From fitting in to finding home

Your first day at Ashoka is scary. You are in a new place, surrounded by new people, in a completely new academic environment, and, most of all, in a new chapter of your life.

I have always been what people call an “overachiever.” It is a very backhanded compliment, I must say, as if we are to assume there is a fixed level of achievement we must aim for, or else we are either underachieving or overachieving.

Naturally, when I came to Ashoka University, my plan was the same as always: assess and adapt. I intended to change myself to fit in with new people and standards, and to do the bare minimum required to be accepted.

Yet, on my first day at Ashoka, and even now as I write this, I remain stunned. The feeling I had by the end of that first day is the same feeling I carry with me now: the feeling that I was finally at home. I did not have to change anything about myself. I did not have to hide my achievements, passions, mistakes, or interests, no matter how big or small, serious or silly they might seem. I could nerd out about Marvel movies with people. I did not have to hide the fact that I am on a scholarship. I did not have to change my music taste or my accent. Even when I was bad at something, this place and these people never made me feel ashamed or embarrassed.

Ashoka has been a place where I could grow with all the help I needed and without judgment. To explain, consider why many people do not take up the violin. They are afraid of sounding bad. And so, in the process, they never get good. At Ashoka, you are encouraged to blast away at your strings. The noise is music to our ears.

It is true that I have missed home while being here. But I must also share that even when I was back home during the holidays, I still felt far away from home.

I am the oldest sibling in my family. I have not had anyone to look out for me the way I have looked out for my sister. At Ashoka, the seniors become your family from the very first week. I grew up studying science and playing sports, and not much else. But in my first year at Ashoka, propelled by encouragement from the Student Life Office and my seniors, I discovered a talent for filmmaking and comedy. Within a year, I founded a production house, directed paid projects, performed stand-up comedy shows, and carved out my own niche. I became more of myself than I had ever been before.

From my first day to the end of my first year, this place has always felt like home.

Adesh Naidu