2025 was heavy. Bohot kuch badla, in fact lagta hai sab kuch hi badal gaya. Jo scenarios dimagh main banaye thay reality uske bilkul opposite nikli. Lekin sabse bara change ye tha ke meri life ke 10 saal ka school life wala chapter close hua aur main us naye chapter main dakhil hua jiska naam "College" hai.
Scene kuch aisa hai ke hum sab bache apni zindagi ke pehle 10 saal ek umeed pe guzaar dete hain, wo College Life ka fraud jo humein becha jata hai. Hum sab ne ek list banayi hoti hai:
"College main heavy bike hogi, apna Gaming PC build karunga, doston ke sath Northern Areas ke tours honge aur raat gaye dhabon ki chai hogi."
Ye wo khwab hain jo humari desi families main "Beta bas 10th karlo" keh kar pending box main daal diye jate hain. Lekin jab wo waqt aya aur maine college ka pehla saal guzara tab realize hua ke ye Golden Days nahi ye toh survival mode hai. Ab wo 9th class wala comfort nahi raha jahan parents aur teachers aapko pamper karte thay ke koi baat nahi sab theek ho jayega. Ab achanak se aap se expect kiya jata hai ke aap bina kisi support ke deep water main swim karo because apparently ab aap baray ho gaye ho.
Mujhe life main kafi regrets rahe hain, wo Facebook ka purana cringe daur ho ya ghalat logon main apni jagah banane ki koshish. Lekin 2025 main ek naya aur sabse heavy regret add hua aur wo tha Ghalat College ka Intekhab.
Ab isse pehle ke main apne college ke experience par baat karun main ek baat clear karna chahta hun. Main parhayi ke khilaf nahi hun, na hi main college education ya ache marks lene ko bura samajhta hun. Education aur academic excellence ki apni jagah hai aur wo bohot zaroori hai. General knowledge aur subjects par grip hona waqai matter karta hai. Lekin mera masla us tareeqay se hai jis tarah hamare haan education ko ek factory product bana diya gaya hai jahan parhayi ka maqsad seekhna nahi balkay sirf ratta maar kar number lena hai.
Mama ne poocha ke beta kahan jana hai. Main jo andar se doubt main tha ke Matric pass bhi hoga ya nahi maine bari research start ki. Punjab College? Nahi yar wahan mere jaise tech-nerds aur intellectual vibes wale log kahan milenge. Concordia ki deewaron ka wo black paint dekh kar hi depression hota tha, aesthetic sense ki maut.
Phir meri nazar pari ek pamphlet par. Neela rang, professional design, perfect alignment. Being a designer myself main uski aesthetics par marr gaya. Maine socha KIPS College, yahan zaroor mere jaise geniuses honge jin ke sath main Linux distros, Cloudflare networking aur automation par baat karunga. Maine socha tha ke ye mera Social Network movie wala moment hoga.
But boy was I wrong. I would call it the Greatest Misconception of My Life.
Yahan mujhe Quaid-e-Azam ki wo warning yaad aati hai jo unhon ne colonial education system ke baray main di thi:
"The system of education which you have got is a system which is not suitable to the genius of our people... it was mainly meant for creating clerks."
Mera college ka pehla saal iska zinda saboot nikla. Ye college nahi ye ek corporate chakki hai. Daily test, monthly test, send-ups aur subha shaam bas ratta. Wahan creativity ka gala ghont diya jata hai. Agar aap book se hatt kar koi sawal pooch lo toh teacher aise dekhte hain jaise koi gunah kar diya ho. Palestine issue par baat karna? "Beta don't be controversial." Bag checking without consent aur students ko prisoners ki tarah treat karna, ye mahol hai wahan.
Aur hypocrisy ki hadd dekhein ke jo staff shuru main freelancers aur online work ke khilaf lecture deta tha aaj wahi log shaam main college building main Amazon Courses sell kar rahay hain.
Khair abhi picture baqi hai. Maine realize kiya ke academic way main shayad mera ye pehla saal struggle main guzra lekin life lessons ke hisaab se nahi. Jahan college ki char-deewari ne mujhe mentally qaid karne ki koshish ki wahan Jamiat ne mujhe wo roshni dikhayi jo syllabus ki kitabon main nahi thi.
Agar mujhe ye platform na milta agar mujhe ye exposure na milta toh shayad main aaj bhi kisi kone main baith kar Physics ke numericals rat raha hota aur apne andar ke insaan ko maar chuka hota. College ne agar mujhe "System" ka hissa banana chaha toh Jamiat ne mujhe Maqsad-e-Zindagi ka ehsas dilaya. Mujhe samajh aya ke zinda rehne aur jeene main fark hota hai.
Abhi is system main ek saal ka safar aur baqi hai. Future ka scene IUB ho ya kuch aur, twists toh part of life hain. Lekin ab farq ye hai ke aankhein khul chuki hain. Ye baat samajh aa gayi hai ke marks sheet par likhay huay number zaroori toh hain magar wo kisi insan ki poori qabliyat ka measure nahi hotay. Asal jeet ye hogi ke jab college gate se bahar niklen toh sirf hath main degree na ho balkay dimagh main ek clear vision bhi ho taake banda sirf system ka purza ban kar na reh jaye.
"ستاروں سے آگے جہاں اور بھی ہیں"