Did you know what you were getting yourself into when you gave the entrance test which disclosed not even the tip of the iceberg? Come to think of it now, it seems fabricated just to lure us, naïve students.
There are 5 years into the course, yet someone saying we never forget our firsts sits so well.
Let’s revisit our firsts.
1. The First Day You Walk In
And let’s be honest the first thought while stepping foot on the first day of the campus was
I am going to create a masterpiece. Be the creator of the 8th wonder.
So, fascinated with the glitz of our imagination and the improvised terms like studios and cognitive mapping we didn’t see what we were in for the next 5 years. We never thought in our wildest dreams that we would be practicing alphabets again.
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2. The Ninja Tools
We know what kept us broke for most of 5 years. How can we forget the tools? The ones we used to carry as fashion statements.
We have all felt like a superhero while yielding our t-scale, sheet container, and portfolio bag as if they were our very own sword, arrow case, and shield. We have all had people who carved their names from their B-range pencils to every single belonging.
3. Words We Will Never Forget
REDO–This is the very word we have all been familiar and terrorized with for years. This word sums up the course of the design process for the entire semester. Let’s be honest, we have all had nightmares of it.
An architect’s life is all about rejection.
We have all been called ARCHITECTURE at least once in their life and each time it gets more annoying.
4. The Most Infamous Subject
Yes! Here comes TOS.
We all knew what was coming. TOS is that subject we thought we left behind with board examinations.
But alas! Architecture students never lack to be in for surprise. Speaking of which, remember the surveying and leveling lectures, we used to feel like BOB-THE BUILDER. We thought by the end we could do anything which is ironic considering the years ahead tested the very belief.
5. Drafting
Drafting was such an activity during the initial stage. First time using the set squares, being cautious not to smudge the sheets. Remember watching students getting caught by the faculty for G.T. the sheets. Those were some hilarious times.
6. First of Many Heart Attacks
The first fright when you were introduced to the term FINAL SUBMISSION, trying to cover a whole semester’s worth of work within 15 days. The fear of those words still feels so real. The night before submission when the whole class used to vote on the group chat, not to submit, but the next day the betrayers would walk in like royalty with rendered sheets. We have all had those in our batch.
7. The All-Nighters
The row of all-nighters we used to pull till the very last day of submission. Headphones used to be the sole companion semester after semester. Real fright used to surface the next day while waiting for your prints among the crowd and then rush to submit within the half-hour time limit. Then finally crashing and not waking up for a day straight. No wonder we are called the night-owls. All the brilliant concepts take form in the middle of the night.
8. Speaking of CONCEPTS
Like CONCEPTS we evolved too. We were taught concept was the base of a design, but then it became the very last thing to be decided. From dots to folklores to the weirdest ideas one could imagine. We have heard it all. My very own concept for my thesis was a ufo. So, nothing surprises us anymore.
9. Most Contrasting Day of All- Viva
The fact the work never ends till you are being called in to face an unfamiliar person waiting with haunting questions in their eyes remained true for 5 years. The entire day is stressful, but no one is as stressed as the person who goes in first to test the waters for the entire studio. We are so thankful for your insights on the external faculty for the past 10 semesters. Remember the journals one person used to write with so much heart and then it was copied by the whole studio, yeah, that journal never got opened!
At the end of the day though, you know you have finally finished one semester of many. and the first thing you do post-viva is to reward yourself with the most awaited sleep time. Truthfully those were the most peaceful ones of the entire semester.
10. Study Tour
This was the most awaited get-away to release that post-semester stress. We know well enough the ratio of study and fun in this scenario. The best part about tours was exploring new places. Measuring, sketching, and studying maps seemed so foreign at first. Then wait for the next 2 weeks to get your hands on the heavy folder consisting of a few hundred pics of actual data while several thousands of pictures of people posing.
Our journey has been a rollercoaster ride. What might seem overwhelming for most times was worth it. We evolved for over 5 years. We walked in clueless with dreams and left with a vision that has meaning. We saw challenges and the need for change. We will have new adventures in the coming years but nothing can compare to the memories of these 5 years.
