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Flashback: September 3, 2019 / Author: Mushk (Age 17) / Location: Entering Alpha College My very first day at Alpha College feels like an absolute blur. I am 17 years old, wearing a brand-new outfit, and my stomach has been tied in knots since 6:00 AM. I won't even turn 18 until late December, so looking around the entrance courtyard, I feel like the youngest, most inexperienced kid in the entire incoming batch. Shakir was driving me this morning, casually blasting the radio and acting like it was just any regular Tuesday, while I sat in the passenger seat staring down at my phone with sweating palms. When he finally pulled up to the entrance, I looked at the massive campus building and the older A2 students hanging out, and I felt completely out of place. I turned to him and said, "I don't think I'm ready for this." He just laughed, tapped the steering wheel, and said, "Everyone inside is just as terrified as you are, Mushk. Give it a week and you'll own this place." Taking that first step through the gate at 17 was the scariest thing I've done, but I think it's the start of something big. Flashback: December 28, 2019 / Author: Mushk (Age 18) / Location: Karachi (Winter Break) I am officially 18 years old! After four months of grinding through my first intense semester of AS-Levels at Alpha, my winter break is finally here, and turning 18 feels like the ultimate milestone. Shakir and my friends from college threw me a surprise bonfire party tonight. Sitting around the fire, laughing with the people I had just met back in September, it hit me how much my life has changed since leaving my old school gates. Walking into Alpha at 17 felt so intimidating, but tonight, holding my creative camera and capturing everyone laughing, I finally felt like I belonged here. This winter break is exactly the mental reset I needed before the heavy A-Level exams kick off in the new year. Thursday, September 3, 2026 / Author: Mushk (Age 24) / Location: Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi Dropped Laiba off at the Veritas GOL-2 campus this morning, and it was the usual chaotic scene outside the gate. Block 4 traffic was completely backed up on Naqash Kazmi Road. I was staring at the dashboard clock sweating bullets because the school closes those gates right at 7:45 AM, and they do not care about excuses. I literally pulled up at 7:44 AM. I had to tell her to grab her bag and run so she wouldn't get locked out for morning assembly. It feels strange being 24 years old and being the one responsible for a 15-year-old’s entire school routine while juggling my own final semesters at IoBM and my creative media production job. Watching her walk through that big front security gate with her heavy O-Level backpack makes me realize how fast she's growing up. Senior 2 (O-2) is no joke—she's already stressing over past papers and a massive Pakistan Studies history quiz she has tomorrow. She looked completely exhausted when she finally walked out at dismissal. I stopped to get a quick snack on the way home, and now she’s locked in her room buried under Chemistry notes and math exercises. Tomorrow is Friday, thank goodness. Early dismissal at 12:30 PM means we can actually beat the weekend traffic for once.