Memoirs of a ‘not so crazy’ architect
Is there any architect out there who does not reminisce about their 5 years of crazy architectural journey in college?!
I have doubts.
It is just so impossible to not recollect that roller coaster of emotions, sleepless nights, rigorous design studios, lazy history lectures, and so on. Countless memories bring us back to those classrooms where we had spent more time with our classmates than with our parents.
Then arrives that beautiful moment after 5 long years (which however feels like a decade) when we finally become architects and our neighbour lady tells us, “So hey! You have finally become architecture!” or “Congratulations! Now you are an engineer!”.
Am I the only one to have faced that?!
I remember, during one semester, I happened to have a dance competition during our final design submissions. It got very stressful; I was torn apart between the hectic dance rehearsals and the sleepless nights for completing my sheets on time. Working for more than ten hours round the clock, then attending rehearsals, the loop went on and on, until, on the second last day before the submission when I finally got my sheets printed and the physical model was the only evil deed left, I almost gave up. Did I mention I forgot the North line on the sheets?
In these moments of despair, I wish I had a fairy Godmother whose magic seemed to be the only solution that could save me!
Thankfully, my mother (Godmother) and my school friends stepped in and made a deal that they will help me make the model.
Crazy, right? Well, it was a miracle for me; I brought the model to college and gave it to my jury and then re-compensated for that by giving treats to my kind fellows, which, by the way, I guess I have to continue for the next 100 years or so!!
Even though that help meant so much to me, have I stopped procrastinating?! The answer is quite obvious; although this incident has taught me that time management is an important skill to harness and once we get a grasp of it, no problem is a problem.
Nevertheless, there was another design submission where we were supposed to make a physical model of our contoured site and provide the primary design concept. The model came out quite to my satisfaction considering the number of cuts I got from the paper cutter.
Now, one of the greatest dilemmas in an architect’s life, I guess, is to carry a physical model safely to its destined location in one piece, which now that I have mentioned, it can easily be figured out where I am getting at.
Quite unaware of the incoming predicament in my life, while carrying my precious, more-important-than-my-life model to college, I took a bus and even got a seat. Then out of nowhere, the person sitting beside me in the bus puts his arm on it and I could hear a mild thud. My heart sunk immediately and I only hoped that the damage done was not that serious although the level of anticipation going on inside my head at that point was clearly visible on my face.
When I finally opened the newspaper wrap of my model after reaching college, there was a ‘beautiful’ dent on its left side with half-broken models of trees.
I was in utter despair and almost on the verge of losing my mind, but gratefully, the design teacher acknowledged the whole situation by letting me explain the design concept and putting me out of my misery.
What a relief!
Although these incidents left me vexed in those moments and I almost broke down, now when I look back, I realize that they come as life lessons, teaching me that giving up should never be an option; when one door closes, another one opens up and I giggle unknowingly because let’s face it!; college days were the best times of our lives and has been a rendezvous of memories that can never be replaced. All these bittersweet anecdotes and life lessons mould us into who we are now which makes them so priceless.
