Beyond Books

I remember the feeling of heaviness of leaving your own city behind and trying to connect to a new city, especially a metropolis. While I'm only 19 and think I know everything, Istanbul proves to me that I don't know anything and even taunts me with it. And the thing I fear the most is happening to me... I feel alone. Moreover, for some reason I was sure that I am the only person in whole Istanbul who feels the same way. When I look back, I realize how funny it was. Of course, then you don't understand that every new university student was in the same place as me. I'm sure there are various ways to get rid of this situation, but I haven't seen anything as effective as "campus life".

Campus Life is a place where students can go to have fun with friends, talk about relevant topics, and have their voices heard without judgment. This is a place where students are challenged to make decisions and lead in their school. (CampusLife.com. (n.d.))

As I started the last year of my university life, when I collected all the memories I had, I saw that almost all of them were on campus. Group homeworks I do, the tables where we work without sleeping, my morning walks...

When I recalled these memories, I can only come to this conclusion.

Campus has become my home.

This is the purpose of the campus anyway. Giving the student a place to connect. To ensure the formation of society by gathering students who are try to keep up with adulthood in the same place. Bringing lonely adult-like people together and turning them into real adults.

It is really difficult to fulfill your responsibilities without getting lost in a metropolis like Istanbul. At least it's harder for people like me who have spent their entire lives in a small city. The facilities and boundaries within the campus offer almost a real-life simulation. It gives you your hospital, your tailor, your hairdresser. It provides a public transportation system that is only within the campus. Besides all of them, there are social events scattered around the campus to spend your free time. You meet your own needs and desires on campus and learn the system. At the end of four years, you are ready for real life.

After a short research, I saw that there were people who disagreed with me. They say that they feel like they are "in a trap" and "stuck" on campus. Honestly, I can understand. Campus life may not be for everyone, and not every campus is for everyone. A campus without various opportunities can turn into a prison instead of a place for living and learning. Therefore, it is very important for schools to make their approach to campuses an experience beyond just a living space.

In fact, I believe that designing the campus by thinking of it as a kind of city can be very beneficial. I can confidently say that designing the campus elaborately, without forgetting that the entire area is also an education center, will have a hundred percent impact on the personal and academic success of the students. Areas for collective discussion, buildings where classrooms and common areas are intertwined, and plenty of green areas...

To sum it all up, even if campus life isn't for everyone, it was definitely for me. It taught me how to maintain a healthy social and academic life balance. It gave me little by little the adult life I was about to become a part of and made me more ready than I had ever been before. It helped me re-establish the feeling of belonging that I had always sought and missed. If I had to sum it up further, it helped me not to get lost in the streets while I was looking for myself.

I'm now getting ready for the last "first day of school" in my life. Happy new academic years for everyone!

CampusLife.com. (n.d.). https://www.campuslife.com/#:~:text=Campus%20Life%20is%20a%20program,sites%20located%20throughout%2040%20states.