See You on the Other Side of the Moon

[Medha Damojipurapu is a student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. She spent her childhood performing plays and harbours a dream of performing on Broadway or in a movie featuring the love of her life, Shah Rukh Khan. She loves dogs claiming that the few dogs on campus help her keep her sanity on stressful days. Read on to know what this travel-enthusiast and book lover NALSARite has to say about her life in college.]

Before I continue with my ‘gyan’, I’d like to briefly tell you about myself. I did my entire schooling in Bangalore and after completing my twelfth board exams in the Science stream, I refused to study for entrances despite the exhortations of my parents and sister. Naturally, my CLAT rank wasn’t satisfactory and I joined a college in Bangalore for another course. However, I still wanted to be part of a better institution and therefore, I decided to quit college a few months before CLAT 2014 to prepare seriously for the examination. The lack of a back-up option drove me to work harder and I was fortunate enough to make it to NALSAR.

It has only been two years at NALSAR and I won’t pretend to know everything about this place, but in my humble opinion, the past two years have been the most thrilling, inspiring and life-changing years of my life. When I entered law school, I did not have a set goal or vision for myself, unlike many other students. Frankly speaking, I had no idea whether I even wanted to be a lawyer. I was certain that I didn’t want to get into any of the other professions – I didn’t want to be a doctor, or an engineer, or an architect. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to be a part of a good institution, as I strongly believed, and still do, that the institution matters very much. This is not to undermine any of the incredible institutions that do not come under the purview of CLAT, and it is true that as long as you are willing to work extremely hard, and you are perseverant and patient, there is nothing stopping you from achieving your dreams. But I believe an institution has a huge impact on the way you view the world. My perceptions have changed drastically over the past two years. I have no qualms in admitting that NALSAR has made me more open to accepting others’ opinions, willing to engage in healthy debates, and see things from others’ perspectives.

NALSAR has served as a platform for me to explore avenues that I never knew existed. I entered law school as a shy, homesick girl who would run home at the drop of a hat, and with no clue a to what my future holds. Today, thanks to the incredible opportunities and co-curricular activities that keep us occupied round the clock, a great set of friends who have come to be somewhat like family, and seniors who pamper me and urge me to achieve more, work hard and put me in the right direction towards discovering what my goals are, NALSAR truly is my home away from home. The ups and the downs, the achievements and the failures have all been worth it!

NALSAR or any of the top law schools is the place to be if you want to be inspired to do more, to think out of the box and dream big. The incredible achievements of the alumni of these institutions are proof that no dream is impossible for you to achieve.  I have learnt to take things in my stride and learn as much as I can and not be bogged down by the opinion of others. I have watched and learnt how not to let minor setbacks (such as not qualifying the university rounds for a moot or a debate, the unexpected fall in your CGPA, etc.) pull me down. Most of all, I have learnt that experience is what counts. I have seen people come to terms with failure and thereafter, achieve greater successes than ever before. Once you are in one of the NLUs, it hardly matters who you were in high school. You have to start from the scratch and identify your strengths and weaknesses. In my experience, everyone has a healthy mix of both.

NALSAR has taught me how to prioritise things and never lose sight of the bigger picture. People are constantly discovering themselves and evolving in law school, and responding to the needs of the world outside, so we can do better and make a difference in the world. The atmosphere at a law school encourages people to take initiatives to actually make a difference in the world, rather than passively complaining about the problems we face today in our country and in the world at large. The diverse clubs in a law school engage in debates on various social, political, and environmental issues and serve as a platform for students to discuss issues that are close to their heart letting them do their bit to make a difference. On countless occasions, our seniors have gone off the beaten path to pursue dreams that they are passionate about and that would make leave an impact on the world.

On a less serious note, NALSAR is an incredibly fun place to be. Be it playing a sport after classes, going for long walks on campus, chilling in the hostel, or going to any of the dhabas in Shamirpet – living on campus is an experience of its own. Apart from Moot Court Competitions and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) competitions, there are plenty of other activities (for those who want a break from the law :P) such as the Film Festival, the NALSAR Inter-Varsity Debating Championship, Photo Booth NALSAR, etc. We have the Doers’ Club which engages in start-up initiatives of a varied kind to make the world a better place and basically, just do the things that people keep talking about and never get down to doing. Every other month, we have the regional fests at NALSAR, such as the Awadh-Magadh Fest, the Southie Fest, the Lohri Fest, the Rajasthan Fest, the Telugu Fest… the list is endless. People from those specific regions come together to give the rest of us a taste of the culture and food of that region. There are also several sports events that take place round the year. Finally and most importantly, we have our intra-college fest – Carpe Diem! Easily one of the most awaited fests of the year, each batch competes against the other in a variety of co-curricular activities such as singing, dancing, fashion show, tug-of-war, dumb charades, and the like. In addition, there are a bunch of sports events that take place. The entire college comes together and the batch spirit and unity is never more evident than at this time of the year. In true family spirit, we also celebrate Indian festivals on campus with much gusto. These are things only limited to NALSAR but let me assure you that this is in no way exclusive to NALSAR as most other NLUs have similarly fun events and groups on campus.

Like I said, I’m not sure if I even want to be a lawyer but having joined law school has not limited my prospects of pursuing something radically different. As a senior of mine once said, “You need to know about the law and the goings-on in the world, irrespective of whether you want to be a lawyer or not!” I’d like to conclude by congratulating all those CLAT aspirants who made it to the NLUs this year – the world is at your feet, make the most of it! To those writing CLAT in the coming years – give it your best shot! It is an Adventure of A Lifetime… you don’t want to miss out on it.

Good luck, and hope to see some of you in Shamirpet soon! 🙂