A four year long experience is difficult to jot down in one essay, especially when each and every moment of these four long years is cherished and treasured.

My life at IITK has been instructive, joyful, also a pain at times and a gradual journey from boyhood to manhood. I’m having the same feelings of nostalgia for IITK today that I had for my home four years ago. This place has started to feel so secure, so cozy that the grief of leaving this place sometimes overwhelms the joy of beginning a new life as an adult.

My first year at IITK was a difficult walk. Like many others, I joined the place to win more laurels in life, climb higher on the success ladder. IITK, to me, was a mere step towards success. And when I look back at those four fortunate years I’ve spent here, I realize how wrong I was back then. No sooner than I had accepted IITK as my home, life became much more easy and enjoyable. I started to enjoy every moment I spent here attending lectures, studying for exams, taking time off the campus and visiting the city for treats, regular ‘bulla’ sessions with my wing mates, those thrilled moments when I destroyed enemies in Quake III. Opportunities IITK provided me to interact with different people with varying interests helped me develop my personality and changed from someone who had absolutely no interest in world affairs to a well-informed global citizen. I found interest in fields previously alien to me. At IITK I learnt to have an opinion while also having consideration for others’ opinions. I went through the usual ups and downs of IITK life that everyone has to go through, but I can confidently say that I enjoyed the ride all along.

Some of the most cherished things I’m taking from IITK apart from a degree in Electrical engineering are lessons in philosophy and a "new me". I feel much more ready to face the world and its challenges then I did four years ago. I know myself much better than I did four years ago. I owe so much to this place which taught me not just how to live, but more importantly to live – a sentence I don’t expect others to understand.

As I now prepare for a new start, I know that I’m going to miss this place like hell; and it leaves my heart paining to even contemplate that I’ll be out of here soon. I never, realized during my four years here that it would be say difficult to say goodbye.