A youngster’s tryst with independence
We make a lot of plans. When we’re in class 11 or 12, we think a lot about what our college is going to be like, how we’re going to make new friends, how we’re going to explore the city and the campus, how we’re going to play and sing our hearts out in the college canteen, and how we’re going to do all those fun things that college students do in those movies. We all dream of the Dil Chahta Hai-type trip and the Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na-type friendships, don’t we?
Some of us picture ‘independence’ in the form of unrestricted night-outs, parties, adventures, others imagine college in terms of research, opportunities, academic choices, meeting with faculty, and sorting our lives out. For the former, independence would mean no one questioning them and their choices; for the latter, independence would mean that they, themselves, would be responsible for their choices now.
At the edge of school ending, we find these imaginations and plans and hopes so reachable, just a few months away. As school ends, we enroll in a college or university. Some of us get the dream college, some of us get our second-choice college, and yet others take some time but find their way into college sooner rather than later.
But it all boils down to the fact that, amid those college adventures, finding friends, finding new hobbies, finding new hang-out spots and exploring all those fun things life seems to offer, those three years of college come to an end.
And by the last year, or the last semester, we’re back in class 12.
We’re back to picturing the next phase of life- the next big thing. Some of us want to study further, some of us are done with going to a classroom again, yet others want to go for higher education but life may have other plans for them. All in all, as college ends, we realise that ‘independence’ wasn’t really something we experienced in college, right? We were living on our parents’ money. We had close to zero responsibilities. We lived for ourselves, and only ourselves. Wasn’t college just School 2.0?
But now, as this college phase ends, it’s really up to us. It all boils down to our decisions from this point on.
After school ended, going to college was the next ‘obvious’ thing. It was as obvious as going to school for the past 14 years of our life. But the next turning point in life, once college ends, leaves us with no ‘obvious’ next step.
We don’t know what we want, because frankly, before this, everything was charted out for us as ‘obvious’. And now, as the ‘manual to life’ seems to tell us, “Now’s your chance. Take your decision. Do what you want. Be independent! Isn’t that what you wished for?” we realise that we weren’t really independent in college.
The real independence - the freedom to make our own choices - is really present now, without any guiding steps for the next few years. And suddenly we realise that all those flowery five-year plans we made for ourselves in the last year of college, were just plans - mere plans. It hits us that now, in this moment, those plans cannot be brought to reality through some ‘obvious’ next step of life. Now, those plans must be worked upon by us, not because it’s ‘obvious’ that one has gotta do some xyz thing after college, but because it’s our plan, our choice. As college ends, it gives us the most difficult question to answer, albeit with bittersweet independence, “What next?”
And here starts the apparent “quarter-life existential crisis”. Funny how we term moments of churning and betterment as crises.
The solution, perhaps, lies in redefining what true independence means. Not just the freedom to stay out late, choose your own subjects, or plan vacations with friends. True independence begins when we ask ourselves not just “What do I want?” but “Why do I want it?”
That’s where the shift begins from confusion to clarity.
In this conscious way of living, the moment of uncertainty isn’t a crisis, it’s a calling. It’s life nudging us to go deeper, to look within, and to reimagine independence not as isolation, but as inner alignment. It’s about not just making choices, but understanding the purpose behind those choices.
This is where a spiritual compass comes into play. Not the old-school, preachy kind. But the one that awakens us to our inner strength, values, and potential. Through tools like Brahm Gyan and the guidance of a true Guru, we begin to discover that we’re not just a confused twenty-something trying to figure life out, we’re powerhouses of transformation, capable of leading, creating, and serving.
What if, instead of being overwhelmed by “What next?”, we asked:
“How can I use my life for something meaningful?”
“How can I become a solution, not a seeker of one?”
Whatever path you take, be it higher studies, a job, or your own venture, let it be driven not just by success, but by service, self-discipline, and unity. That’s where real growth begins.
So yes, college may not have been real independence. But now, you have the chance to design your life, not just dream about it. And in this journey, you don’t have to walk alone. There is a whole generation rising, fueled by purpose, inner strength, and the desire to uplift Bharat.
The question isn't "What next?"
It’s “Who will I become now?”
And the answer is waiting within you!