If you've ever stayed at a hostel, then you know that it's so much more than just a place to get some shuteye, it's where friendships are made over midnight Maggi, loud giggles drown out alarms, and memories can be made quicker than Wi-Fi (which let's face it, sometimes it may not be so nice), if your are at Parul University, then you are in one of the coolest hostel cultures in the market, because this place? Feels like home. 

So buckle in as we take you into the unfiltered, unedited, and rare look at hostel life through the lenses of friendships, food, and fun. 

  1. Friendships: From Strangers to Best Friends:

With a luggage trolley and an anxious excitement in your heart, you walk in. After introducing yourself in the mirror five times and worrying if you'll like them, here they are. A stranger, and a few weeks later, they are the person who knows your coffee order, your pre-exam panic face, and your bizarre habits and kicks. 

Hostel friendships are the real friendships. They are the outcome of accidental dance-offs on cleaning day, to conversations at 3 AM about "life," or having adventures in some new place together. They aren't just friends, they are therapists, fashion police, and sometimes alarm clocks so you don't miss that early morning class. 

Everyone establishing this hostel life at Parul University is producing a community you thought you didn't need, whether you are cribbing about assignment deadlines, staying up all night on a coffee and chaos fix, or sipping chai at the hostel gate and discussing what is next. 

Isn't it so amazing that making friends is not something you "plan" to do? You know, it just happens one samosa at a time.

  1.  Food Tales: The Real Masala of Hostel Life:

Now, let's discuss what truly runs a hostel - food.

Food is a big topic when you think about hostel living. The food part is not only what you see on your plate, but the experiences you create around it.

At Parul University, what makes food stimulating is the range of the menu offered. One day, you might be walking into something spicy (like a North Indian legacy of rajma-chawal), and on another day, it could be the South Indian Idlis and chutney. The best part is not the food itself, but the possibility of tasting the culture of the person sitting across from you as well.
Sure, you miss home-cooked food on most occasions, but you also learn on odd Sundays that even puri made with bhaji or gulab jamun has its loyal supporters. 

And when mess food is just across the threshold too far (normally around exam week or post-football practice), food courts come into the fore. The food courts at Parul University are each student's cheat day. You have soupy momos, cheesy sandwiches, and all the chaat counters that make your mouth drool.

  1.  Festivals, Feasts, and Firsts:

​One of the most understated perks of hostelling is how everything seems so much more vibrant when you're experiencing it with a hundred or so other people you've all decided have turned into your extended family.  At Parul University, any celebration is never about waiting for the calendar; it's always about finding a vibe. 

Beyond festival celebrations, small events, like the literature fest and food fests, serve to break the monotony, and they are the best break you can get. You may even discover things about people you have never met, such as someone writing poetry, someone dancing, or the person who showed up just for the free food, but discovered a love for being on stage at open mic night. 

Navratri is a little different. It is not only the fact that it is Gujarat; it is the fact that you get to see people dressed up, out of their usual unfancy hostel attire, and dancing like they don't have exams in two weeks.  

Still, those moments... are so real. They are chaotic, they are unplanned, sometimes overcrowded, but they become memories you will reflect on long after the hostel experience fades away.

  1. Late Nights and Life Lessons:

​But beyond the food and the fun, there is something special about hostel life, the growing-up part. It’s in how you begin to set your alarm clock (well, sometimes). You slowly learn how to do laundry without making your t-shirt shrink and figure out how to navigate your monthly budget. 

And how you begin to clean your room, not because your mom told you to, but because you want your space to feel like home. 

You learn to cohabitate, to adapt, to argue, to forgive, and to share space, both physically and emotionally. It begins to filter in that some people prefer silence at two a.m. with earbuds in and that not everyone wants to hear loud music. 

  1. That One Spot:

Every person who has stayed in a hostel has one place they gravitate towards.  It could be a bench near the garden where your friends gather after dinner. It could be sneaking away to a place just out of view of your block, where the Wi-Fi works like magic. Or maybe it is the balcony where you go to hide from the rest of the world. It's yours, whatever it is.  And before long, it becomes yours to own in your story. 

  1. Conclusion:

You might outgrow your taste, your playlists, and even your clothes. But you will never forget the friendships, memories, and the joy that hostel life provided

Because even after you graduate from Parul University, you will still be in Room 213 with your roommates, dancing to a random Bollywood song at one in the morning. So here’s to hostel life at Parul University, where every corridor holds memories, every meal becomes a discussion, and friends that turn into family.