The first semester is almost ending and as I stub someone else’s half-smoked cigarette, my brain goes back to the first time I took a puff of Menthol. It seems like forever ago and yet it has only been two odd months. I sit outside the Rec, the chilling place/lounge/eating place and shiver as the cold air hits the nape of my neck and i peek through the window panes. I can see Zoha and Fishie sitting, trying frantically to complete their Writing and Communication essay and I see Dazam catching the last of the Mancity-Liverpool match and those faces make me happy. This place has been so therapeutic and refreshing for me and i realize that I’ve grown up so much. In these four months, Ive realized the value of home, the importance of self-control, the need for discipline and also the joys of independence.
As we walk back to the lab, Sarah and I discuss how we’ve gotten used to the cold in Lahore and we don’t need many layers anymore. This makes me genuinely happy- as if i suddenly belong. We also discuss how she and I have started talking like each other.
As i look at her affectionately I realize i’ve found amazing amazing girl friends. These are the girls I’ve spent nights/mornings/evenings with. These are the people whose rooms i crash in, whose food i eat, whos shoulders i sleep on. They are my family and I love them so much and have grown to rely on them in such little time.
Lugging groceries up stairs, haggling with rickshaw drivers, waking up late and running to class in pjs, eating bad food without complaints and spending whole nights just laughing and sitting around doing nothing. It has all taught me so much and I’m so glad I came here.
I’m going to miss the “Where” texts and the 4 a.m khoka trips when I go home in a couple of days.
LUMS, stay safe. I’ll be back in a bit.
:O
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