As a student residing in Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall, I wanted to share my perspective on this transition. We typically get our hall allotment one or two weeks prior to the day our classes start.

We really try to prepare ourselves for the reality of moving outside the home, but the gravity of the situation is only felt before we move into the hall.

The biggest psychological shift that I faced is that I am leaving my home behind to survive in a completely different reality. Despite the noble aim of higher education and a better future for ourselves, for most, it’s hard to adjust.

The new environment, along with new students coming from all across the country with various mindsets, makes the initial days feel exciting and terrifying. For us to survive at such an interconnected university like Jahangirnagar, the social aspect of connecting with batchmates, seniors, and the environment is equally as important as the academics.

My first real shock was shared bathrooms. I had the luxury of having a personal bathroom attached to my room. I realised immediately that I have to leave this luxury behind and adjust to the shared bathroom.

Maintaining personal hygiene is nearly impossible in standard hall life. The lifestyle of a typical bachelor student, along with the hectic schedule, makes the shared room quite a messy place. It’s extremely different from the organised lifestyle enjoyed at home. Most hall rooms are configured in a 4, 3, or 2-person setup.

But today these strangers are now my closest friends. This experience taught me about compromise and compatibility.

Someone like me who is a morning person has easily gotten attached to the late-night addas on campus.

Another change for me is that hall life has narrowed my sense of privacy and personal space. All my personal items were shared with one other in times of need. This was strange at first but has really taught me cooperation and deepened our bonding.

After the issues of the hall room move-on, the new battle starts with feeding the stomach. I am the type of person who used to be very focused on hygiene. But at a public university, the priority is all directed towards efficiency instead of quality.

Most students in Jahangirnagar prefer hall dining. The quality of food is mostly good across all halls and canteens, but the taste is subpar and cannot be expected to match home cooking. This was the hardest thing for me to adjust to. After a few weeks, the food starts to feel repetitive, and my taste buds get adjusted. Hall life really reminds the students of the essence of home-cooked meals.

For me, the best part about dormitory life at Jahangirnagar University has to be the natural beauty. For older halls like Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Al Beruni, Pritilata, and Nawab Faizunnesa Hall, the architecture and the nature surrounding them create the best possible environment.

For newer halls like mine, the story is a bit different. These halls were designed with pure functionality, but still, the views from the top floors of my hall are supreme. The entire view of Switzerland (the iconic hilly/green expanse on campus) and surrounding greenery is breathtaking. Our new halls are much better at having an environment where students can focus extensively on academics. It has eased most of the difficulties faced in older halls. But the bonding among students across the newer hall is a bit loose.

Despite such challenges, the evening addas have allowed us to connect from across departments. The experience of shared difficulty is the exact thing that brings us together and creates a lifelong bond among us. The constant singing of groups along with intense card games with friends or just a cup of hot tea makes the entire adda memorable. Time fades so quickly, and hours after hours pass by. These endless conversations teach us about each other’s struggles and worldviews. The clubs at Jahangirnagar University allow the juniors to interact with seniors in a friendly manner and create an environment of mutual learning.

After a few months, these exact difficulties get organised into daily schedules, and life feels less chaotic. The university circle gets created across departments and halls, which helps to navigate the loneliness faced at the beginning. The allotted hall looks like a foreign space at first, but it gradually evolves into a safe space even better than what we have in our homes.

My hall life phase might look challenging at first, but it has laid the foundation for a remarkable time at Jahangirnagar University. This part of university life creates the most memories and connections that outlive the campus life itself.