Top 10 Discoveries of a Freshman at SEECS

One thing we’ve all heard at some point is that university life is just chill. If you ask someone, they’ll say, “don’t worry, you’ll manage.” But if you ask me… Well, I’ll present a whole listicle to you, so buckle up for a bumpy ride!

1) It is going to be very fun

Mind the italics. For starters, stepping into NUST was plainly daunting for me. Pretty much out of place, demotivated, and quite quiet, my introvert soul was crushed from the beginning. (And it did not get any better.)

2) You’ll be pushed out of your comfort zone

And it will happen quite a lot. Public speaking, social interactions (or literally anything) are not my forte. However, even as much as I tried to avoid them, I still encountered these quite a lot. Turns out, you are not Harry Potter and cannot wear a cloak of invisibility at all times.

3) Suddenly all of Urdu adab will make sense

You will adapt Jaun Elia’s indifferent, depressed attitude towards everything happening in life. At times when you think you are actually capable of doing something productive, the philosopher in you will be invoked as is in Iqbal’s poetry. You’ll be dealing with equations and terminologies as complex as Ghalib’s wording.

You will find yourself laughing at your misery like in some Pitras Bukhari’s novellas. Tangled in your routine from Monday mornings and onwards, you will crave for a meeting with the weekends the way Faiz waited for his Mehboob while being caged in the spring season. In short, life will be very poetic.

4) You will be awestruck by the beauty of the campus

Situated in Islamabad – the green capital of Pakistan, NUST promises a vibrant view: from shrubberies to the scenic skies, it is breathtakingly beautiful. All the nature will literally call out to your aesthetic side – even if you thought it never existed. Every sunset turns out to be unique, telling a different story, unknowingly healing a part of you.

5) Life will get fast

This is no lie. University life is fast: the course will be rushed, and you cannot afford to lag behind. There’ll be quizzes, assignments, OHTs, presentations, projects and whatnot. Everyone will be in a plethora of societies calling to all their events. You’ll see some crazy competition, amazing talents, and people talking about applying for internships and freelancing from the very first semester.

Truth be told, even if you do a lot of stuff, you will still feel like you are missing out on something, so don’t worry. Take a long deep breath and here’s a bit of advice from me: set priorities in your life, because you cannot do everything at once.

6) You will meet Snakes

“I swear, yar, I did not study a thing but somehow I got an A and topped. I honestly don’t know, it just happened.” But beware, because nothing ‘just happens’. Also, it is polite to be a nice person and help everyone, but honestly, do not let people run over you. Save yourself from the severe after-effects of snakebites.

7) But you will find the cutest cats

If you get stung by a snake, worry not and enter the company of the cutest cats. You will find them anywhere and everywhere, especially in the main cafes.

8) You will discover new torture mechanisms

(Also known as the university’s transport system). While the standard time for departure is 5 PM, it’ll be truly miraculous if that occurs before 5:30, and the wonderfully long routes are strategically curated so as to prevent the students from reaching home before 7 PM. If you listen closely, you can almost hear “Ao bachon sair karayen tumko Pakistan ki” in the background. So, you’ll be spending at least 3 hours of your daily routine cooped up like a chicken in a life-sized hutch, bumping here and there – if you are a day-scholar, of course. It is needless to predict how productive you will be upon reaching home after such a series of events.

9) You’ll stumble upon uncharted territories of your abilities

Who says you need to research for weeks and work for several days on a paper or assignment? You’ll discover that you can beat any challenge and prove such claims wrong by nailing that the night before the assignment is due. Nothing beats the Cinderella feels of uploading an assignment due at midnight at 11:59 PM. (P.S. don’t try this at home.)