As the college year finally comes to a close, it makes you wonder, it’s time, isn’t it? Time for what, you may ask. The most dreaded moment for any college junior who likes their seniors. It is the arrival of the much-dreaded yet anticipated farewell…

Well, it’s not quite the time for goodbyes just yet, but it sure feels like it. For most people, this is just another part of the year. But then, there’s a few of us who find this moment tough – I’m one of those people. So, I thought, why not do something different with this feeling? That’s why I’ve decided to put together a sort of interview-style article as a piece to remember them by and catalogue our fond experiences forever. I interviewed both seniors and juniors to dig into their college life, hoping to get some cool and interesting answers out of them.

Query: Did you like your juniors?

Insights: The friendliness between the batches is unmistakable. Here our seniors expressed a fondness for their juniors (why wouldn’t they?), describing them as “cute fluffy juniors” deserving of nothing but respect. We also had seniors recounting how initial confusion transformed into deep-seated bonds, all thanks to strange encounters that brightened our seniors’ final college days.

Query: What’s one thing you wish you knew before joining college?

Responses: Seniors shared wisdom tinted with hindsight, highlighting the importance of preparing for university entry tests during summer vacations and cautioning juniors about the rigorous demands of A-levels. These insights serve as both a warning and a guide for those following in their footsteps.

Query: If our college had a survival guide, what would be the number one tip?

Responses: The responses were as unique as the question itself. From practical advice to steer clear of the volleyball court to how the first rule of fight club is to not talk about fight club… (Aren’t our seniors great?). Seniors shared their top tips for navigating the college experience. The advice meant for the hall of fame revealed itself: “There is no survival.” Personally, I think that’s not true and our seniors are nihilist (it possible can’t be that I’m living in a delusional reality). 

This wouldn’t be an article about seniors and JUNIORS without juniors. Therefore I asked them even more strange questions, because if I didn’t, then who else would?

Query: If you could inherit one trait from your graduating seniors, what would it be and why?

Responses: Now being a junior myself. I felt like a single response from me would be appropriate. Therefore, my favourite trait from my seniors is just how down-to-earth they are; now this doesn’t apply to everyone (definitely not throwing shade), but the sheer humbleness some of them exude can make them feel like an actual older sibling and I love that: it makes you feel like you’re in such a homelike environment, and truly as soon-to-be seniors, that is a trait we should inherit. Ok, that’s enough sappy writing from me.

Query: Which senior do you think would be most likely to come back as a ghost to haunt the campus, and why?

Responses: My original answer was going to be our Editor-in-Chief herself and how if someone ever dissed Naruto she’d come to haunt them, but she ensured us she wouldn’t leave witnesses if that were to ever happen. A concerning amount of people had the same answer, championed by Faizan Dar (drum rolls please): he would be disappointed in us for not upkeeping his volleyball legacy (he ain’t wrong) and that during his ghostly haunting he would proceed to hit kids with volleyballs, something that he tends to do even when not dead…

Moving on from the abuse a certain senior might or might not inflict, we turn to the final questions. 

Query: What’s the best memory you have with a senior that you’re going to miss the most? 

Responses: Now the first response we got was “there was nothing to be happy about” and after certain council result announcements, I would have to agree with that but anyway, he had some actual answers as well which summed up were about the extremely unhinged conversations with a certain group of our seniors (we won’t disclose them but it might be related to a certain managing editor…). But in my experience, the best memories I’ve had were the ones of just playing basketball with my seniors without a care in the world. 

With that, we conclude our slightly odd questionnaire/interview, where due to my slight lack of social skills, our interviewees might’ve been quite scarce in number but it’s the thought that counts. And now you know how close we are to our seniors and how the thought of the bond we’ve formed with them wavering over time eats at all of us when we’re alone. Unfortunately, we have to come to terms with the reality of this world (and appreciate the Stoics while missing our seniors in empty hallways). 

By Hamiz Ather Khan
TLC Writer (2023-2024)

Note: the views expressed in the article solely belong to the writer and do not reflect TLC.