RESIDENTIAL SEMESTER REFLECTIONS: ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

September 12, 2024

If I tell you all that the 90 days in BRACU Savar Campus are among the best days of my life, many of you will disagree and think I am exaggerating, but if you look at it through my lenses, you might get it.

Being the youngest daughter in a joint family, I have received a lot of love and care throughout my childhood, but being the sister of six brothers was not that easy. As much as they used to love me, I was also graced with overbearing protectiveness and occasional intrusiveness. Therefore, I was very excited about RS but also a bit anxious thinking about how will I live without them. The goal I set before embarking on the journey was to have fun and boost my confidence. Furthermore, we were a group of eight friends, companions with whom I had shared my teenage years. The fact that we all went to RS together made the entire experience even more captivating and memorable.

On January 19, 2024, we arrived at the residential campus. Our orientation was scheduled for the next day, and the next day, our classes started. Since the weather was quite cold, so everyone got busy with various indoor and outdoor activities.

Within a few days, we learned that we were going to have sports events in which we had to participate. Accordingly, all the preparations began from registration to joining teams and choosing partners for indoor sports.

In the same way, the practices began and we settled into a routine: breakfast at 7 am, classes from 9 am to 2 pm, lunch at 2 30pm then snacks and practice till 7 pm, also study hour from 7 pm to 8 pm and then dinner at 8 30 pm to night walks till 10 pm. During the sports events, we would all sit together to watch the matches one after the other in Duronto and Durbar. This time was the most exciting, as we cheered for our houses, rooted for our teams, engaged in friendly banter with others, and built bonds through practices and matches. However, since Ramadan was approaching in a few weeks, the sports events were cut short.

Despite the shortened schedule, we made many new friends, bonded with different people, and learned a lot of valuable lessons. For instance, we discovered how to deal with difficult situations maturely, how to be considerate, and also how to tackle people of different personalities. Simultaneously, our presentations, quizzes, and vivas were ongoing, and with all of these one month quickly passed by.

Moreover, the Fridays at RS are the core memory. Due to different class schedules, it was difficult to have lunch with friends and roommates so on Fridays we used to get dressed and have lunch together then we used to take pictures. Also, used to meet our family members who came to visit us and Friday dinners were always special as we used to have mostly homemade foods left by our visiting family members.

Furthermore, as we neared the end of our sports events, our museum visits and SLL days began. Every week on Thursdays, one-fourth of the students would visit museums, while another one-fourth participated in SLL activities. Tasks were divided according to section numbers. Some groups were assigned to cook, others did the laundry, some cleaned the dorms, a few did the dishes, and others cleaned the fields. Before Ramadan, we had our cultural nights for two days we had lots of fun and made buckets full of memories.

Finally, Ramadan started we had our seheri and iftar together and also went for Tarabi prayers in Sulla.

Initially, the first week of Ramadan was somewhat manageable, but after a few days, we started to feel bored since the midterm exams were over. Despite this, the academic pressure remained high, and the group work was challenging, especially after fasting all day. As time went on, everyone began to miss their families. Then, the much-anticipated 16-day-long Eid vacation began.

After the vacation, we had only ten days left at RS. Those days were the hardest, as we all started to realize that this once-in-a-lifetime journey was ending. We tried to make the most of our time, cherishing moments with friends with whom we might never share a classroom again. Despite, the pressure of the final examinations, we did our best to create lasting memories in the hot and humid weather.

May 01, 2024

On this day, we left the residential campus. After spending the previous day studying for BNG103, packing our belongings, and crying all night, we sat for our BNG103 final exam. Once the exam was over, we bid farewell to everyone and promised to stay in touch. Despite all the challenges, we cherished and enjoyed every bit of the journey.