The first day of college was relatively unremarkable. Most of the students were introducing themselves and trying to make friends. Though I introduced myself to whoever came to me, I generally tried to keep a low profile.

The only exception was Mary. She was thrilled to be in the same college as me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone once in a while, and she already knew me.

Once the introductions were over, I noticed some of the students looking at me with some kind of admiration. I guess they must have figured out who I was. After all, the local newspapers were very vocal about my achievement.

I just tried to ignore it as much as possible.

Like that, my college life started.

As expected, life at a medical college was not easy. With very little time, we were given a shit ton of work and expected to finish it in a very short time.

Some students got into the college through the Management seats by paying huge donations fees. They were suddenly figuring out that it wouldn't be as easy to survive the course compared to how they got into college.

But for me, this was as normal as it could be, and I felt like a fish in water.

Like this, the first week of college passed. During the second week, I was invited to an unusual meeting. I was asked to meet the principal of the college. This was a bit outside of my expectations.

I went over as soon as the class was over.

The principal's office was on the ground floor of the central administrative building. It was at the centre of the entire college campus. I couldn’t but admire how the whole building and the overall campus were planned out.

Once I reached the principal s office, I informed his secretary that I had come based on the principal s request.

He told me to wait for few minutes. After 10 minutes I was told to go inside his office.

The Dean’s office was very spacious. The first thing that I noticed was the display of awards behind his desk.

I had heard a lot about him. He was very famous and had worked in some prestigious institutions during the peak of his career. He retired from his last post a couple of years ago and had joined as the Dean of this college. He had better offers, but he wanted to settle down in his hometown.

The college has gone through significant improvements since he had taken over with a very keen focus on improving the educational standards of the college.

He was busy with some work when I entered. I waited near the door for him to notice me.

Once he finished reading the file in his hand, he finally noticed me.

"Hey. Jacob. Come inside.”

"Hi, sir.”

"So Jacob, how do you find our college so far?”

"It's an excellent college, and I am proud to be part of it.”

"That's nice to hear. But I heard that you have opted out of our hostel program. Any particular reason?”

"No, sir. I just wanted to be alone. It helps me focus more on my studies.”

"Ok. Sure. If that helps. So, I'm sure you must be wondering why I had you called over.”

"Yes, sir.”

"Ok, Jacob. I'll be straight with you. I just got back from a meeting of all the principals of the colleges under the Karnataka State University. During the meeting, I had a quick chat with one of my colleagues."

"He was kind enough to point out that our college has not had any student in the top 100 rankings of the Karnataka State University in the last couple of years. I was wondering if you could help me with this small problem.”

"I'll work hard to achieve that goal, sir.”

"Nice. I'm happy to hear that. Anything that we from the college can do for you to help you with that?”

“Nothing I can think of, sir. Everything seems good so far.”

“That’s nice to hear. Let me know in case you have any feedback on anything we can do to make the college better.”

I knew he was just being polite with me, and I decided to follow the expected script.

“Sure, sir.”

"Good. Now one last thing. I have seen good students sometimes getting into the wrong company and losing their focus after getting into colleges. Remember that you are just starting on your journey, and you have a long way to go. You have started well and seem to have a lot of potential. Makes sure you don't waste it.”

"Sure, sir. I will remember that “

"Good. Now you may go. Don't want to use more of your time.”

I left the Dean’s office and went back.

Truthfully the meeting went much better than I had hoped for. And I was also proven correct in choosing this college over the other options. Good support from the Dean can go a long way.

Some of the other Dean s sometimes favour students whose families make more financial contributions to the college over students with better academic achievements. So I was confident now that I had made the right choice by selecting the ABC College for my course.

Now I just wish everything would go as per my plan and graduate from college without any major incidents. With that, I would be one step closer to my dream life of prosperity and richness.

If only I knew then what life had in plan for me.