After a thorough boarding school experience, Sharanya Ramesh is no stranger to living independently. Here, she talks about the transition to college and how being a hosteler at the Sophia College, Mumbai is an experience worth having.

I remember first stepping into college and thinking to myself “Woah! There are way too many girls here!” This, in hindsight I guess was a tad obvious, considering that Sophia College is an all-girls college. I was new in Mumbai a year back – a complete outsider with no experience whatsoever of living in the city of dreams and here I was, in a whole new world because all my life my education had been in co-ed systems. So as weird as it was to not have any guys around, I adjusted. I guess it took a little while to get used to that. But then you realize that the perks totally outweigh the cons. Sophia College has a place for every girl; young, rich, fat, tall, skinny, the nerd, the blond, the sports’ woman. Everyone. You meet them when you are in class, you see them in the canteen and most of all, you start to form an identity of your own. You can pick who you want to be… a participant during the various college festivals we take part in, an organiser for the tons that we organise, a student, a hostelite and yes, in some cases… even a fridge secretary. True story.
So I live in the hostel and believe me when I say that living on college campus in an all-girls hostel is an experience you might want to try out. Picture this. 8 a.m. lecture, I wake up at 7:45. 8 a.m. lecture cancelled, I walk up a flight of stairs and sleep till the next lecture. Hostelites also have a distinct style of dressing. You might notice us, walking around in our shorts, t-shirts and chappals. Our hostel is pretty clean compared to some of the gruesome stories you hear from other hostelites who talk about gremlin-like matrons who patrol corridors till late at night scaring the daylights out of you when they open your door and croak your name out. We have nuns who yes, do stroll at night and give you the jeepers when they catch you awake when you’re not supposed to be, but for the most part of it its actually tons of fun. Sure, the hot water stops when you’re just about to take a shower and yes, the food is a little weird  and YES we have a FRIDGE secretary (seriously people, get over it) but I think that’s what adds to the entire thing. I can guarantee you one thing. Living in a hostel… not boring.
So the next time you think about an all-girls college or even the hostel that we live in think about it as the best place you can be in. After all, you really shouldn’t underestimate the girl on top, right?

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