I have never studied in a co-ed school/college ever in my life! If you go "WHAAT" at this, then may be I should tell you Post Graduation is on its way! People tell me I have missed so many things in life by not being able to study with 'guys.' Funny but I have never felt so. I have had my share of fun and feel I couldn't have done so many things in my life had I studied with guys! My fond memories date back to class 9. The fun we had interrogating our biology teacher about sex! I can tell you with guys in class none of us would have come out of the inhibition and dared to ask anything on the subject.
But frankly sometimes even I find it funny to realize I have never studied in a co-ed school in my life! I spent 12 years of school life in convents across different states in India and then spent the boring college life in another Convent-ish college! Funny!
If there is one reason why I did not enjoy college then it should be that I always compared it to my dear school. But, I'd like to mention I did have my share of fun in college too, thanks to my dear friend B. If not for her I would have gone mad! I vividly remember bunking classes to buy the very French 'crepes,' jumping the compound wall to watch a dumb movie (yeah I jumped!), getting multiple fraud signatures on gate passes, entering the wrong classroom for the wrong lecture (on purpose), and the list goes on! All this and more but if someone gave me an option to choose between school or college (traveling back in time), I'd choose School, any day!
What makes school so special?
1) Uniform: The only apparel that could accommodate the rich and the poor equally. No one in school was rich or poor, we wore the same dress that cost us all the same!
2) Teachers: You may be in 12th, 9th, 6th or even in 2nd grade, but to your teacher you are always a kid! They come behind you for everything and try to teach you everything and make sure you score well, and are always concerned about you! All of this may have annoyed us, but I yearned for all this in college. In college, it was the 'who-cares' attitude...I know they only meant to make you more responsible or mature or whatever, but school made you feel special and wanted.
3) The canteen: The not-so-appealing yet hunger gratifying food that the school canteen sells! The Re. 5 corn puffs, Re. 8 pop-corn, Re. 10 lemon rice, Re. 15 fried rice, Re. 2,3,5 samosas, Rejoice cold drink!!!, agreed not very tasty, but then where else will you find all this? Sometimes you can be served the best gourmet meal but you'd yearn for the time you spent in your school canteen, may be not for the food, but definitely for the company!
4) The funny faculty: Every school must/should have someone called the funny-guy/lady! Luckily, I met the world's most funniest sir in school! I was healthy in class 12, reason: I studied under this sir! He made me laugh all the time, during class, after class, at home, with friends and even today his memories bring laughter! If you meet your friends 10 years down, you'd say "Hey, remember so-and-so, she used to say this! LOL."
5) P.T Time: Sports period as we all called it, was the most annoying or best (always depends on whether you are the sports field types or not!) period of the day's time-table. We were forced to go to the school grounds and display our athletic or other skills! The best part is the 'P.T misses' (in context to my school) were all not-fit-trim and got tired easily and they would leave us on our own! And...P.T periods became chit-chat sessions while pretending to throw the damned ball somewhere!
6) Sports Day: Yes exactly what should follow after P.T class. Sports day, goes without saying, is the best time of the school year! You are made to march, perform drills, run relays and play silly games while proud parents watch you running around the field and the occasionally yell words of encouragement! I could march decently, but I always got lost in the huge crowd, thanks to my (short) height! I would try my hand at skill games like Pot balance, balloon burst! :D But deep down inside my heart, I always wanted to run...well! Ah and drill! It was the most beautiful part of sports day, we were always given funny costumes and made to hold weird props and DANCE! Yes drill was nothing but 'Dance' to the loud drum beats, LEFT LEFT LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT!
7) Food Fair: Only time guys were allowed on campus. Reason enough to celebrate (for some!) and do we need an explanation when I say 'FOOD?'
8) Children's day celebration: Some fond memories bring tears! Gosh, teachers present a cute assembly, they transform into kids and entertain us, basically our day....No words!
9) Teacher's day: Our turn to show our gratitude to all these blessed beings!
10) Examinations: Oh yes, the finale! School cannot be school without the numerous mid-terms, half-yearly, blah! But, funny, exams are the only things that follow us from school...absolutely nothing else does...It's like we are leaving behind the child in us back in school :(
Did I forget Annual day?? :)
Oh and yes, that's me sleeping in class, surrounded by my friends giving the victorious look, for reasons I do not understand!
