DSNLU was like a platter of diverse cultures and people, served cold.
As a 17-year-old local boy, given the luxury of home and already established relationships, I had some concrete ideas of people I wanted to interact with and some strict definitions of conformity. I didn’t know what it meant to be away from home, form a community, and find solace in a new set of people. I made very few friends initially because I was not looking for someone to fall back on DSNLU. This made me interact very little with people. But, through the years, I made some deeper connections, stayed in the hostel, and understood people better. So I would say that DSNLU made me realise how important it is to break your beliefs and only build them up again.
Professionally, it did teach me what to read. But it did not teach me how to read. As a lawyer, it is important to know how to read and analyse something. So, I believe DSNLU lacked that.
My fondest memory of DSNLU was when it was the MVP building in the city, and I couldn't wait to leave after classes. When the campus moved to Sabbavaram, I cherished car drives with my friends and playing PUBG. Sit on the basketball court and start talking and learning from new people. Reading each other like we’re books.
There are people from DSNLU who are a part of my life. My friendships with many blossomed really late in DSNLU because I couldn’t accept it until my 3rd year, but after acceptance, I formed some meaningful relationships that I still cherish.
In terms of extracurricular activities, I have been introduced to the world of parliamentary debating since the first year. I felt at home debating. I’ve had the privilege to be part of the team that founded DebSoc and work with them to the best of my ability. I never really enjoyed the administrative part of it as much as I did speaking. I would be away from the organising part in my initial years and only be present to debate. That changed over the course of the years, and I was given some responsibilities by my seniors, which I tried to fulfil a little vehemently but sincerely. I later felt I could contribute better to the debating community from the outside than by being a part of it, and I quit it in my 4th year. But yes, parliamentary debating was definitely my jam! It was an amazing place to understand people’s opinions on issues.
To juniors, I'd say it's okay not to have your career path figured out. Just be curious, and don't pretend to know everything. None of us have. Our lives move on with continuous hope and belief in ourselves. I am not saying to be aimless; I am saying it’s okay if you haven’t figured out what you want yet. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is a luxury to not figure things out and be okay with them; it might not be possible for all. Just know that you are not expected to know everything, so please don’t be pretentious about your learning; be curious and say ‘I don’t know’ as proudly as you can. Saying that will really help you learn more.
As teenagers moving into adulthood, we often inflict our insecurities and fears on others and ruin relationships. We really need to acknowledge the fact that (I say ‘we’ because even adults, at every age, still do that) it is very easy to brush aside who we are and fill our cups with expectations and ideas of conformity, just so we can fit in. Please acknowledge when you do that and use tools like therapy, people, and friendships to navigate yourselves through it. BE VULNERABLE; it’s not a weakness. I totally understand how our defences build up when we try to put our guard down, but trust the people around you with yourself. It might be broken, but you will build it and build it better again.
DSNLU has become bold and brave since I left, and I am proud of that! Thanks to the incoming batches.
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