Such A Long Journey

Yeah, well, we've all heard ENOUGH about such topics. But I want to rant about this, it has a certain cathartic value for me.

I remember myself entering college, a nervous wreck of a fifteen year old, savouring my new-found happiness at being out of school and FINALLY into college; yet a little unsure about how life would now take its course. I remember looking up at the imposing college building and gaping in awe; because it uncannily resembled Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry (the place I secretly wanted to attend). And yes; true to my dream, it did become my real-life Hogwarts for the next two years.

I still remember the class full of unknown people I was put into; and how I came home that day, gushing about how much I liked the place and the few people that I had got to know (they're my best friends now :D) 

I miss about all my lectures in the spacious, high-ceilinged classes and all the fun we used to have, napping, eating, listening to music, staring out into space, or simply talking away to glory. I remember my disappointment when I received my marks for an examination (they weren't up to my standard of "good marks") and a friend telling me that I was too young to have my life revolving solely around academics; and that there was much more in life to experience and enjoy.

I remember my English teacher; who gave us some very important life lessons. Sitting in her classes all those innumerable Tuesdays and Thursdays, we learnt a lot about everything in particular. She converted even the most boring topics into something new; something worth pondering upon. I miss those lectures we had with everyone clamouring to have his or her say on the topic being discussed.

I remember my heartbeat accelerating whenever I saw that one person I admired and looked up to. Raging hormones, you'd call it. But for me, it was the realisation that the "love" they talked and sang about in numerous songs and films really existed. It was the very first time in my life that I started maintaining a personal diary to clear my confused mind.

On the last day of college, I felt strangely empty, like I'd never see my friends again; that life wouldn't ever be the same for me. The fact that I was going to be leaving to go to another college; and that my friends would be staying back, didnt help either.

My initial trepidation at the thought of being somewhere else other than Hogwarts has long gone. Now I feel perfectly at home, bending over a smoking pot of stew and sporting burn marks on my hands and fingers. I have many new friends. But somehow, a small part of me still yearns to be in Hogwarts once again, to re-live all the good times I had there.

My friends say that Hogwarts has lost its charm. But I beg to differ. Whenever I visit, I still feel happiness burgeoning inside me. For me, it is and will always be where I spent the most memorable and most defining two years of my life.

Hogwarts gave me wings: to dream; to fly; and most importantly, to be myself.