Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Living alone in a hostel as a young woman can be scary. Here are 10 hostel tips and tricks for all-round safety and intelligent survival in your new home!
Living in hostel brings independence, and freedom has its own sweet taste. Staying away from home brings along a sense of ownership. It instils a sense of responsibility, accountability, and a rise in self-esteem. But we all could use some hostel tips and tricks to make new life easier.
Hostel life also comes with a lot of tricky cons that needs some smart handling time and again. Especially personal safety when it comes to young women.
Here are the 10 hostel tips and tricks for all-round safety and intelligent survival in your home-away-from-home:
When you shift to a new place, you cannot expect it to be the same as your last space. Hence, when you observe, you make notes (not literal, but mental) of the environment, the surroundings, the people. It is the most important tip and trick for hostel life.
It is a known fact that anything unusual grabs our attention in the first place. But that is not always the case. Pay attention to the smallest of details, especially conversations in a dining room.
Now, I am not asking you to eavesdrop on personal affairs. If you realize that the conversation is about difficulties in the hostel, take it in. Or chime in, if you feel the same.
Be Sherlock Holmes and say, “You know my method. It is based on the observation of trifles.”
Humans cannot survive in isolation. Hence, when you’re away from your home, it is essential to have your own team. Having people who will help you out in times of danger is a crucial safety measure.
Be nice to people. Build a rapport with the ones you come across daily. Greet your security guard, and ask them about their day. Acknowledgement and validation goes a long way.
Along with it, gratitude is a strong bond builder. Help a fellow mate when they need it, and support your seniors when they voice their difficulties (only if you judge them to be genuine).
One of the best features of a smartphone these days is their SOS feature. Upon pressing the lock button for 5 consecutive times, the message reaches your contact. It updates them about your location.
Also, as another safety measure, you can send your live location to your friends, when travelling alone.
Different phones have different settings, so it is advisable that you look up for the same in your own handset model. Moreover, select an emergency contact who would be closest to you in terms of distance.
They can inform your parents or guardian later, once the immediate danger is fixed. Time is golden during emergencies, hence, one cannot afford to waste it in cross-communication.
No matter how friendly or heart-warming your living environment is, your valuables are always meant to be kept in your personal cupboard, under lock and key.
You cannot thrust everything in the matchbox-sized almirah of your room, but take care of things like money, watches, jewellery, personal documents, etc.
This is not a hostel trick, but a tip. There would always be people who would pick up things as meagre as a facewash. But you can forget about it within the next 2 days.
However, you will regret a lot, if they decide to go for your precious belongings. Hence, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Friendships and close camaraderie have a certain limit, post which any asked favours can take a toll on your personal well-being.
As difficult as it might be, learn to deny any requests that you think are beyond your own capabilities. Exploitation can be in emotional, financial, physical ways. Set a limit for yourself.
Sometimes, favours are a way of striking a bond with the other person. Hence, in an alien environment, there would be a tendency to carry out more of them in order to create a positive image.
However, take it from the experienced, it never works out. You will be the one being taken for granted. That feeling is not nice.
Do you happen to know that your ultimate saviours are electric kettles in your room? Ask your seniors, friends, or cousins. They’ll inform you about the benefits of this new-found trick to survive hostel life.
Be it a mid-time coffee run, or midnight maggi, get a small electric kettle that is easy to carry. You can either buy it with your roommate(s), or buy one for yourself. But I promise you, electric kettles are great for making friends.
For you to have a friend circle, you need to socialize more. I know, it sounds like a nightmare for the ones with social anxiety. But try baby steps? If your friends invite you for a fun outing or a one-day trip, check your wallet, and hop onto the wagon.
Have a life outside the college campus. Remember hostel tip number 2? This comes as a continuation to the same.
It is always advisable that you keep your friends circle tight and limited. Hence, the more you socialize, you get to know different types of people. This makes your choice much easier. It will give you different perspectives, and over time you will be able to have a circle that you can trust.
School friendships are special, but friends made later in life are the real deal.
There is a hostel trick that no one will tell you about. Remember the favourite corner of your house, where you would run to console yourself after a bad event.
Find that spot in your new place. It can be anywhere outside as well. A park, a café, a random corner on a street. Anything that soothes you, but doesn’t draw attention, can be your comfort spot.
Against your knowledge, your five senses register every single detail you experience. Hence, your comfort space holds some elements that work in your favour, to recompose you after experiencing a bad event.
But carve a corner out for yourself, your thoughts, and reflections (read: overthinking brain).
This is the reality check to your expectations of a fun life. But it is a necessity. Take a week or 2 to figure out your average grant and subsequent expenses.
Then, chalk out the necessary spendings against the impulsive ones. Exclude your emergency funds from it. Try to save up as much as possible for the next month.
There are multiple apps available online that would help you track your budgets. You can use your savings either as an extra grant for the next month or for your future.
But fix an amount limit as your savings goal, and try to stick to them. You can also seek some expert advice and invest in financial schemes.
Change is a rolling stone. It takes time to come about. Since childhood, we are brought up with a lot of prejudices. But in a new environment, you might fall out of favour if you hold on to them.
Hence, learn to let go of biases that are fast changing.
In the process of unlearning, you might realize that your parents were wrong. Sometimes terribly. Do not hate them. Know that they had passed on what they were taught. You can choose to be different.
Try to understand the origin of those prejudices within them; make them understand why it needs to change. However, you can choose to avoid those topics altogether if you think that it is a dead end.
At the end of the day, always remember, it is you as an individual who matters. If you do not prioritize yourself over everything else, living away from your home can grow to be an unbearable challenge.
Image Source: Still from Girls Hostel 2.0 from SonyLiv Trailer, edited on Canva Pro
The author is a Gen-Z kid who resorts to writing to vent out about the problematic ways of the world. Having majored in Theatre, English, and Psychology, I take a guilty pleasure in complex read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Menopause is a reality in women's lives, so Indian workplaces need to gear up and address women's menopausal needs.
Picture this: A seasoned executive at the peak of her career suddenly grapples with hot flashes and sleep disturbances during important meetings. She also battles mood swings and cognitive changes, affecting her productivity and confidence. Eventually, she resigns from her job.
Fiction? Not really. The scenario above is a reality many women face as they navigate menopause while meeting their work responsibilities.
Menopause is the time when a woman stops menstruating. This natural condition marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years. The transition brings unique physical, emotional, and psychological changes for women.
Please enter your email address