And then there was the Final Year...

"Baithe hain mil ke, sab yaar apne, sabke dillon mein armaan yeh hai..."

The above phrase originates from a few lines of one of my all-time favorite songs - "papa kehte hain". I fondly remember this song as the background score from the video of my first birthday. The funny thing though, is that it has taken me all of 20 years and a bit to begin understanding it.

As I enter the final year of university, the realization hits me, that each day from now on would be vastly different come the same time next year. And as is wont to human nature, the true value of something is realized only when it seems to be slowly slipping through our fingers. With the final year looming large, the time spent in university thus far comes back to mind, and lingers on slyly. The memory lane wants to be traveled in, and some memories tempt to be traversed again.

Every time I think of the last three years of university life, I find just one constant defining the roller-coaster ride of changes occurring in college. FRIENDS. Invariably, friends who have entered your life, who have remained with you throughout, and at times gone away only to come back closer; they are the ones making and breaking these memories. Oft it is said that the days spent in university are unforgettable; that they define who you are, and how you face life ahead. It would not be unfair then to attribute that to the people who come with their stories, and meet you, to become a part of your own story. That story which in itself has evolved over these three years.

Ponder upon your own life, and think of your friendships. Surely there would be some which have lasted the distance, and some which haven't. College epitomizes the change of friendships and interaction between people. And all this is what makes you smile when you look back on these formative years, fondly after a decade or two.

Having come from home, it was friends who provided the home away from home. Those whom we could be ourselves with, without bothering to care who thought what. Cooking food together, breaking glasses together (surely all of you remember that!), and driving the security guards mad at 12am at least 20 times a semester. These are the things that will define National University of Singapore, PGP, and in general university for me. Surely it will be similar for most of you too.

At the current point of time, there are some of us NUS Final Year Indian students, who have a secured job, those who are interning trying their level best to secure one, those who see a testing time with many job interviews and applications ahead, and those who have their eyes set on further education. Despite the seeming variation in career paths, all of us share the same feeling - that of being the senior most students in college now. And with this feeling comes the longing for more time, the hunger to make this last year the best of them all. That in essence, is what final year is all about.

Welcome friends, to Final Year! Let's make every day in the coming year a Friendships' Day special!