On our university campus, I can easily tell which level a student belongs to by his or her looks.

First year students always look lost. They’re always asking for directions to various departments and hostels, even when they’re already standing at those places. Some can be seen staring at magnificent buildings on campus. Those ones are usually from the hinterland, in the city for the first time. They’re the ones that easily fall prey to players on campus seeking opportunities to add to their long list of conquered girls. Some first year students try to act like they already belong here, but an old dog on campus can always see through the cracks in their acting.

Level 200 students look like rescued kidnap victims. They have this “Good to be back” mood about them. They’re happier when first year students arrive. Now they too are seniors in relation to some people. Most of the girls in this group are usually in some love relationship with someone higher up, and when you eavesdrop on their conversations, you’ll hear something about where they’ve been, things they’ve done with lovers during long vacations when we all were gone home, and new items their dates got them. Among any bevy of ladies where such talks take place, the silent ones who seem to be faking smiles are those who haven’t caught the love fever. They’re still single – probably due to some inexplicable bad luck or…. Well, let me end it there. I’d rather not say.

Third year students look like they’ve been whipped by the wind after traveling a really long journey. They tend to have worn-out faces and they easily blend in with the university environment of medieval architecture. When in groups, they’re always discussing how a certain lecturer has been unfair in grading them and how there’s nothing they can do about it. They are the group that have plenty of stories about campus heartbreaks, either personal or about close friends.

Final year students. They’re easy for me to spot. They look whipped by the wind alright, just like the third year students. But there’s this look of optimism in their face. The end is within reach, so they’re confident that pressing on is worth the grind. Fellow final year students easily recognize one another. Partly due to bumping into one another for four solid years of undergraduate life. Partly due to how a soldier easily recognizes a soldier, even in civilian clothes.

If you’re looking for rich, moving stories of life on a university campus for undergraduate students, final year students are the best to approach. Stories of how many times they’ve come close to giving up, coursemates lost to suicides, rumors of lecturers that have used and dumped some ladies over failed promises of better grades, and… the list goes on and on.

But it’s life. And life life goes on, on various university campuses. Similar stories, different faces year after year, and occasionally some hit story that many years after school witnesses can hardly get over.