11. TREND CHANGES - CAMPUS LIFE

 

It’s been about a month in the IIM R campus and I’ve been hearing remarks like these quite often than not:

n  “Walking from the hostel to the mess is such a tiring job, why don’t we just order food online?”

n  “I look like a hippie but I think it’s kinda cool.”

n  “Is the washing machine free? if yes, please put my clothes too”  *Insert puppy eyes*

n  “Let's go home after holi.” 

n   “Shruti I don’t know why but I don’t feel like studying and the worst part is that I don’t even feel guilty about it.

    n  “Leave everything else, let me teach you Garba.” 

n  “Guys let me sleep, my muscle needs to recover.” 

  n  “This green chutni is just so good”  

For my friends who have tired me out by reiterating these phrases religiously for more than 3 times a day, you already know how much you mean to me.

I know that you’re reading this, and I want to shout it out to you that you’re not alone. I think it’s the kind of energy we all are giving sailing through 2022- everyone is more or less wild and insane right now.

But the larger question is, “Are people really going into the ‘goblin-mode?’”

For those averse to this term, goblin mode is more like being a couch potato, spending the day on bed watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, wearing the most random pair of shorts that you could find on the topmost shelf of your almirah, while scrolling instagram and also pouring the end of a bag of Aalo Bhujia (a savory snack) in your mouth; not to forget the 12 AM Maggie made on a kettle with unwashed plates kept on the sink because you can’t be bothered to wash them so late into the night.

Ohh god, I can’t believe how skillfully I just summed up my hostel life!

Goblin-mode is about a complete lack of ‘aesthetic.’ Because, why would a goblin like you and me care about how they look? After all, it’s about what makes you comfortable.

Gone is the era of dressing up wherein men and women alike would make deliberate efforts to look presentable. The goblin-mode is exactly the opposite of trying to better yourself. It’s more of the era of mismatched sweat suits, room slippers and absolutely no make-up.

For people who like to keep things tidy always, this might sound very gross, but if you don’t try being a goblin ever, who knows what you might be missing out on!

And the best part is that the goblin-mode is not a permanent identity, but a frame of mind. It’s a transient phase that you can enter and exit at any point in time.

What amuses me more is the agility with which we transitioned into this mode. The early pandemic days were a standout period of wholesome bakery, embroidery and aesthetics. I wonder if it was just because of what people assumed would be only a few boring weeks at home in 2020.

But as the pandemic wore on endlessly, and people felt cheated by how the history of lockdowns kept repeating itself, they psychologically eliminated the need to keep up appearances. This is so, because at home, there’s no social pressure to follow norms, so you sort of lose the habit. There’s also this feeling that we’re all in the same clutter, so why bother?

It’s not all that bad as it might seem. I would like to characterize the goblin-mode as the healthy mode and the destructive mode. The healthy goblin mode people are the coolest. They have stopped to give a damn about deadlines, but have shifted focus towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle by hitting the gym, not the sack.

I would like to call it a vibe shift or a progression into nothingness after lengthy period of pandemic induced disappointment, but the goblin-mode for sure is here to stay. And why shouldn’t it? Who are we trying to impress anyway? I feel it’s maybe cool to be a goblin. Be it a webinar or a social media post, everyone tries to be so perfect online, it’s good to be in touch with the crazy instincts that live inside us.