MUKHERJEE | How Did a Year Go By?

As the months of March and April loom by, the hearts of students in India fill with dread, anxiety and terror. These months mark the peak of final exam season. For high school seniors, this season is the worst, as it not only induces immense stress but also huge bouts of nostalgia for the school years gone by. As a college freshman, it seems almost unbelievable that a year ago, I was in the same shoes as present-day high school seniors. To be quite honest, I feel like an entirely new person.

MUKHERJEE | Inner Child

Prelim season is officially back and we are all caught up in the midst of assignments, problem sets, homework and the occasional fun night out. In the whirlwind of all that work, the one thing I truly miss is the freedom of being a five-year-old child. As a kid, I never worried about assignment submissions or grade point averages. All I cared about was whether or not I had to eat my vegetables, and when my favorite TV shows were on. The biggest unanswered question of my life was, “Who moved my toys?” and the biggest feeling of triumph came when I managed to convince my parents to push back bedtime by another 15 minutes.

MUKHERJEE |Inner Child

Prelim season is officially back and we are all caught up in the midst of assignments, problem sets, homework and the occasional fun night out. In the whirlwind of all that work, the one thing I truly miss is the freedom of being a five-year-old child. As a kid, I never worried about assignment submissions or grade point averages. All I cared about was whether or not I had to eat my vegetables, and when my favorite TV shows were on. The biggest unanswered question of my life was, “Who moved my toys?” and the biggest feeling of triumph came when I managed to convince my parents to push back bedtime by another 15 minutes.

MUKHERJEE | Where’d the Winter Go?

Gloomy gray skies, thick blankets of white snow and slippery roads — this description of Ithaca winters was reiterated to me multiple times before I stepped on the plane headed to Cornell. In fact, the entire winter break, I spent half my time getting mentally prepared to come back to a cold land where my best friends would be a coat, gloves and cap. So you can imagine my surprise when I came back to Ithaca and saw green grass, clear blue skies and a temperature close to the fifties. However, I’m not complaining! I come from a tropical country and one of the few things I was dreading about going here was the harsh winter that I would have to face here.

MUKHERJEE | Brace Yourselves… Prelims Are Coming

By CHANDREYEE MUKHERJEE

Now, let me begin this post with a confession — during the first two weeks of college, I found Cornell easy. I remember sitting in my dorm room and wondering what was so difficult about university that it made everybody crib and complain about the workload and the sleepless nights? I thought that I had some extraordinary powers that gave me the ability to cope with the work and that I was going to skate through college. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong! We are now midway through the semester and I cannot remember the last time I have been able to completely let go and relax.