Kenya Education

Campus Life

A friend once told me, “We were conned” and this really got me curious and thinking; what was meant by that short statement. So I inquired and the answer she gave me was that someone had earlier on told her that campus life is really cool and interesting. Fun, was actually the word she used! She was made to work hard in high school so she could come to campus and ‘enjoy’ the so called ‘campus life’. It took only took three weeks into the semester as a first year for her to conclude that we had been conned. As I said, it got me thinking, really, how those words could be true, and whose fault is it anyway.  
Maybe I should start by saying that the definition of fun is relative and differs from people to people and place to place! No one can actually say that it is standard for everyone. Probably whoever told my friend that life in campus was fun and enjoyable, had their own opinion about it that was most likely different from my friend’s personal opinion.
It has been said that “fun is where you make it”. What is fun to one person may not be fun for me or another person. Individually, people define what is fun for them and goes with what works for them. This is a topic that can go on and on and no conclusion to it can be reached!  
In campus, this concept of ‘fun’ is widely diversified and every person or group has identified their own way of having it in abundance. For some, rave night is their perfect definition of fun. Others will go with missions, evangelism and crusades, while others it’s a weekend get-away or just hanging out with pals and catching up over a movie and a cook out. It is as diversified as others having sleep as their best definition of fun. This is true by the way; I have a friend who shares this sentiment.
All this has socially been accepted by the society and no one can say that his way of having fun is the appropriate and most sure way of enjoying life in campus. I gathered the reason my friend was feeling conned was because she had not identified her own way of having fun and making the most use of the time she had with her! Whose blame was it anyway? I would excuse her since she was a “fresha” as is widely known. There being no bells and no one ordering you around and telling you what to do in campus, it goes without saying that freedom comes along with all of it; enough of it for that matter. When a butterfly is enclosed in a jar, it fights for its freedom and if it had some good biceps, it would break the glass! Once it is released, it flies around for a while then get tired and just rests on the next available spot. It’s the same case with human, especially in campus. In high school, most people felt like that butterfly in the jar and couldn’t wait to breathe the fresh air of freedom. And they came to campus, where no one cares what you do with your life, unless you have your parents staying with you, otherwise, you are on your own! There is therefore a lot of ‘testing the waters’ with people trying to figure out where they fit best and what fits best for them.
It is very important to note that in the process of having fun, you have no right whatsoever to infringe other peoples’ personal space! What do I mean by this? We have seen and heard of people having parties in the hostels. The stuff that goes on in those rooms is none of our business, but the moment everyone gets all rowdy, drunk and disorderly, with ear busting music, it becomes a point of concern. It is annoying and very irritating. If you want to have a house party, look for a house and not a campus room! There is a reason they are called that.
When all is said and done, let us not forget what brought us to campus; the books! It is not a peculiar case to see people rushing to look for notes and handouts the last minute or just when the exam timetable is out. Eventually, it is all about striking a balance between life in class and life out of class! It could be very dangerous if someone graduated with excellent papers with no extra skill or experience to help them cope with the dynamic world out there! The point is that every student should strive to be all rounded; the world is in dire need of such.
Lastly, have fun, be a good student. Life is short, make the best use of it but take care what you do with it now since the consequences of our actions today determines how your tomorrow ends up to be!