It’s been a day where I engaged with just 10 people in face-to-face conversation. 3 of whom were over dinner, and 2 of whom came to my room. I hate to think that I’m losing touch with people on campus because of how I’m working. It’s rather sad.
I’m not that good at staying in touch with people. It takes some effort to be able to connect with people on conversation when there’s a lack of context to that conversation – because of the lack of a shared experience. At school, you had your schoolday, and subsequently, most people attended/had the same after-school activities and interests. As you go to college, however, that frame of reference to conversation disappears. I feel like that’s partially why I haven’t been able to stay close to a lot of my school friends.
It’s also that I don’t message them too often, which is entirely my fault. Matters are also compounded because I’m a law student, and (this is something that’s true for every stream), my co-curriculars are so different to what my friends are doing. It’s tough to explain what a moot is, for example. But it means so much to me, that it’s bound to pop-up in conversation.
I was talking to a friend who studies Media/MassComm about this. I had to read up additional stuff to figure out what a ‘shoot’ entailed, and what a ‘DoP’/’Assistant Director’ actually did. Moreover, I had to read words like ‘storyboard’ and not understand them at all.
It’s weird. As you specialize, you start talking like your specialization. An economist can barely speak maybe, 10 words without using the word margin/maginal. Show him/her a problem, and it’ll take less than 10 seconds to hear ‘cost/benefit analysis’ out of his/her mouth. Similarly, lawyers will speak legalese really quick. It becomes habitual for us.
Because it takes this much effort to, say, provide context to conversations, I find it tougher to keep up conversations with school friends. I noticed this when I went home this time and met a couple of classmates.
Coupled with that, we have the entire thing about how people change and stuff. Which, with all this distance between you and your friends, makes it tough to understand them. And vice-versa too, I would imagine.
Essentially, I’ve been making more effort to stay close to my classmates from school. I loved being around them, and the idea of losing those friendships, it sucks.
And, it feels worse at college. You literally spend 14-16 hours a day in the same compound. There’s no problem of a lack of context. And distance isn’t an issue.
Yet I’ve spoken to my friends so little.
Can’t wait to finish the week.
This has been such a random blog entry, yikes. Definitely need to get more flow into tomorrow’s thoughts.
Tejas Rao 