THE MAKINGS OF A BRILLIANT YEAR

I am not the new year kind of person. In fact, my family hardly ever manages to stay awake till midnighton the 31st. Somehow I tend to view my years according to the academic year. Thus, my new year is approaching!

Third year starts in 2 weeks and I just HAD to write about the brilliant 2007-08 I've had.

The "No Denim" Campaign

I hated wearing jeans in first year. Thus, my first agenda for second year was to stay as far away from denim as possible. I don't know how so many people are ok with walking around in that fabric in the heat. I found that I had enough skirts to last me an entire summer! So, I'm happy to report that the campaign was a success and I plan to re-launch it on July,16.

Saloni Sood for College Vice President

I was quite surprised that she wanted to run in the first place, but I'm proud of the job she's done over the year. Managing a campaign that eventually was a success, was the highlight of the year. The hours spent over making posters, deciding the agenda, trying to stay ahead of the other candidates and getting Saloni's hair to look presentable were all worth it. I also made some great friends along the way.

I will never forget the day of the election. To actually sit there in the control room and count the votes was just scary. But then nothing beats the feeling of knowing that Saloni had actually beaten everyone hollow.

Debating and all that jazz.

JMC discovered Parliamentary Debating. After a year of trying to work out the debating scene, we finally manged to get two respectable teams. We found our own practise place near the Amphi Theatre. We sometimes also manage to get an audience. I also discovered two amazing partners. I don't think JMC-A will ever be the same again without Natasha. I loved everything about this team. How we'd scream at each other and still be ok, how Natasha successfully inserted Economic theories in EVERY debate , how Saloni unsuccessfully tried the same with Psychology, how I screamed my lungs out every single time & how we gelled as a team so well. I can't wait to get back to all of this and more. And yes, we have to find a third.

Play something Country

After years of searching I found my type of music. If it weren't for World Space I'd still be listening to Pop(not that there's anything wrong with that). I love everything about Country Music. I am at that stage right now where I love all kind of Country. I'm still developing favourites. I love the lyrics, I love the sound of the Banjo and I love that Southern twang. I am also still trying to find somebody who ALSO listens to and loves Country Music. Maybe Nashville's the place where my search will end :)

Of Birthday treats and lots of chocolate

I still remember the first day of second year. How 5 of us piled into one auto to have dessert at Big Chill. It was the best day ever. We had 7 different types of dessert at 11 in the morning. That sort of set the tone for the year. We've had some great birthday treats this year. Luckily there was one every month so we always had something to look forward to. We went everywhere from The Nirula's at Chanakya(which has now been shut) to Nathus in Bengali Market, we even experimented with Mexican at Rodeo and braved the smoke to have some great humus at Hooka! All of these treats of course ended with some great meehta :)

Of 9 in a row

January brought all of us back to reality. Nothing can prepare you for nine exams in a row, not even the fact that we had given eight consecutively last year. I think we just became numb after the first 5. Beyond those, the rest suddenly just didn't matter. The fact that it was FREEZING didn't really help us. On top of that I am not the sort of person who can stay awake night after night. By the time I reached the first Saturday I was just flipping pages by twelve. But then it's an experience we'll never forget and all of us did manage to stay alive at the end. Kashika and Kari's long due birthday treat at the end of last papers was godsend :)

Van sisters,night stays & some more bonding

I love my Van. I don't know what I would have done without them. College would be so dull without the constant gossip,teasing and giggles. We've bonded even more this year. First year was all about trying to to get to know each other. By the time we got to second year we were inseparable.

The night stays on Saloni and Susan's birthday were so much fun that I can't wait to have another one. I don't know how and why we became so close. I think it's the fact the originally we weren't really expecting anything of each other. In fact the only thing we had in common was that we're all from Noida and that we all needed transport to college.We accept that none of us is perfect. And yes, we've had our fights but somehow everything works out perfectly in the end. The discovering-each other process has been great fun. Mumma used to always tell me about how I'd find great friends inc college and I know I've found mine.

Six weeks of trauma

If 9 papers in a row weren't enough we ended up having the same 9 papers stretched out to six weeks for the university exams. It wasn't made easier by the fact that there was a 2 week holiday exactly mid way. Again I am not sure how I survived through those but I am just glad they're over. It was hard enough to have Susan and Saloni laugh at us after they finished their papers way before us. It's something that I know is going to happened again next year but I don't think we'll ever be prepared for such kind of trauma. But then again we had a great post exams celebration complete with a triple scoop hot chocolate Fudge :)