Architect, something that I never thought I would become, at least until I was 15. I didn't even know Architecture and Civil Engineering were two different things. I still remember my teacher asking the 15-year-old me about what I wanted to become, and I answering "Doctor". And now 8 years later I ended up doing something entirely different from what I planned then. Now, I have "Ar" instead of "Dr" attached to my name, I am having T-Scales and Set-Squares instead of stethoscopes and Thermometers, and I don't have bad handwriting as well. What an unexpected turn of events, I still wonder.

         The first year of Architecture School was a bit harsh. "Sketching, Drafting, Tracing, Repeat". That sums up the entire year. The first 5 months felt like ten years for me. I wasn't able to do what I always loved to do. " Sleeping". Nights out made me exhausted and furious day by day. I even thought of dropping out, just because I couldn't handle the stress. But then I realised I wasn't the only one feeling the same. That made me cool down just a little bit. Towards the end of the year, I almost adapted to the system. I wasn't feeling the pressure I used to feel 2 months ago. That gave me the boost I needed for the rest of the year.

         The next 2 years were flashy. I think it was because I've seen almost everything in the first year itself it wasn't that painful surprisingly. These were the two years where I enjoyed college life for the first time. College day, crushes, hand-cricket, gossiping etc. These two years were full of memories. For the first time, nights out were not for working. The heavy load of work wasn't bothering me too much anymore. I always sorted an easy way out for everything. The fourth year was fine as well. It was the internship period when I was working under a genuine architect. This was the year that moulded me as a future architect. I learned a lot this year, more than what I learned in the past three years combined. Overall, the year was very productive.

         And then, the grand finale. "The Final Year". We were the seniors and we loved being it. But it wasn't easy at all. The first year kind of almost repeated, but we were prepared for it this time. Even though they made us work like machines, we enjoyed it. I can't say everyone enjoyed it, but I did. The final Thesis was the ultimate showdown. Submissions and discussions stormed towards us, but couldn't drop us. We kept our cool and faced them like bosses, and we won.

         After all that, after 5 years of living with pencils, papers, models, laptops etc. All those stressed out evenings, sleepless nights, and messy mornings finally paid off. I can now call myself an Architect. For the entire five years, I waited for the day this would happen, but now I know I waited for some of the best days to end. Now when I look back, those were some of the happiest and memorable days of my life.

Rohith