"Loads of the Ah, wells and none of the what ifs"

Wipe that sweat off your foreheads, fellow freshmen, for we have arrived! The nail biting uncertainty of the past four years, the MCAT woes and all that drama about waiting for the list to finally be uploaded and reveal our one true destiny is past us. Yes. 2013 is past us. And here we are, walking in awe as we still struggle to grasp the fact that yes, indeed, we are here at Allama Iqbal Medical College.

How about that, huh? It really has begun. Our own special journey: on our ways to becoming daacter sahabs. It's surreal; don't tell me you still don't accidentally say Allah gee please MCAT ma top mai he karun. I know I do.

To all our seniors reading this: Some of you may find this nostalgic (Oh I remember when I first came here) while some of you may be scoffing with condescension (not another freshie rant please). Tell me this though: Do you remember walking through the doors of this college the very first time? Roaming through the hostels (for all you, err, lucky hostellites) for the very first time? Idling in front of the Shaheen Mall for the very first time? (When is that pizza place reopening anyway? Just saying.) And oh, using the phrase "UDL" for the very first time? I could go on and on. Those might be memories for you, but they are life events for us. So please bear with our apparently nonsensical enthusiasm. *wink*

New white coats ka swag aside, they sure know how to drop a bombshell on the meek, new, unacquainted-to-the-mean-ways-of-the-world-of-medical-colleges students. The First Substage. Instead of discovering the whereabouts of the college and chilling in the canteen, the freshies resorted to the library (why is it so quiet in there?) and indulged in group study (who are we kidding even?). The charm wore off in the last few days before the substage, while everyone frantically tried to memorize as much as they could from the notorious laal kitaab (If you know what I mean).

Meanwhile, every hostellite struggled to gulp down the oh so delicious food in the mess. The Prayer Hall girls learnt to live their life as if they were out camping. I personally gave someone a tutorial on how to use the shower. (Don't lock, clothes on top of the door means occupied, the works.) And oh! The chirping around when everyone saw the freshly arrived geysers! Priceless, I tell ya!

So here we are. Getting comfortable in this new place where we have much to look forward to. Making friends, forming memories, weaving dreams. Here we are. A new chapter of our lives. Learning to groan about the things we would groan about for the next five years. Learning to love and appreciate the things we would be loving and appreciating the next five years. Scared, are you? Bubbling with excitement and anticipation as well? Well, I am too. Let's do this. Let's make these years a time to be nostalgic about fifteen years from now. Loads of the Ah, wells and none of the what ifs. Let's do this. 

By Maheen Farooq Pasha
A freshie from 1st year

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'Hahaha.. Trust us things will get better with time. Stay ambitious and keep praying like that. And Indian authors have done a meticulous job with that red book. Our teachers are a bit jealous. No offense. Your article was a delight to read.'

From team AIMCites