It was just before my board exams when I filled out my college registration form. With a heavy heart, but knowing exactly what I was doing, I completed it. Choosing a college was my worst nightmare. After having the best high school years, I was not ready to enter a class full of people I didn’t know.

I felt guilty, but it was my decision to go to a different college because I knew I had to consider my family’s financial situation and what would be most comfortable for me and for them. Another thing that overwhelmed me was that I wanted my friends to come with me, at least for the admission tests, so we could enjoy the process together.

But life is unpredictable, and eventually you have to leave people behind. That doesn’t mean you have to replace them. Perhaps it simply means they have played an important role in your life and will always be there whenever you need them. For now, though, you have to focus on your future, the challenges ahead and the new friendships that await.

When I got the date for the admission test, I realised that, unlike many other students, I had no backup plan. It was either this college or nothing. That meant I had to study, but studying during the holidays felt almost like a crime. So the days passed and I didn’t study.

On the day of the test, to my surprise, I wasn’t anxious because I hadn’t prepared. Instead, I was so excited that I couldn’t even sleep properly. With only three hours of sleep, zero preparation and a cup of coffee, I entered the college.

The campus was big, with a basketball court, a padel court and a beautiful garden. Loving the place almost felt like a betrayal of my school. We were told to form a queue and head towards the girls’ wing. Then we were sent to our examination rooms, which somehow felt like the setting of a survival thriller, only with much kinder rules and regulations.

Entering the room, I couldn’t decide where to sit until the teacher informed us that our seats had been assigned according to our roll numbers. The cherry on top was that I ended up in the very first seat. An attendance sheet was passed around the classroom, and we had to sign it and write down our parents’ WhatsApp numbers. Somehow, that made the whole exam feel even more like a thriller, as if we were signing a consent form before entering a game where we would either escape victorious or remain trapped forever.

More students arrived and, before long, the exam began. I looked around the room, and all I could sense was anxiety. Students tapped their feet, clicked their pens and quietly waited for the papers. The teacher handed out the question paper and, to my surprise, it was a piece of cake. I even finished before the allocated time. Afterwards, one of the teachers asked me about my school, which made me realise that I was representing it now.

Once I had finished, I looked around the classroom. It carried the marks and memories of the students who had studied there before us. A note pinned to the soft board read, “Grade XI cannot function without the dose of Miss Tayyaba,” which instantly reminded me of my chemistry teacher. She was the dose our class needed to function too.

Then another invigilator walked in, and astonishingly, she looked exactly like my former class teacher. The college entrance exam brought back far more nostalgia than I had expected. Suddenly, I found myself wondering what it would be like to actually join this college. Would I miss my school life every single day?

I think every high school student has these questions. But that doesn’t mean college life is something to fear. Think of it like crop rotation. The seeds planted during your school years have now been harvested, and new ones are being sown to produce an even better harvest. In the same way, college brings new opportunities, valuable lessons and meaningful friendships that help you move forward, become more resilient and prepare for the future.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 1st, 2026