11 June 2025

An unknown journey.

An imagined destination.

Until grade 10, for me Computer Engineering meant building cool websites, launching mobile apps, and maybe even messing with AI/ML. That was the dream.

Then came +2 with Computer Science.

Surprised? Way easier than expected.

Maybe it was my expectation. Maybe I thought it would be all zeros and ones from day one.

But it felt chill.

Then came C programming.

And… it was fun.

Suddenly, the chill disappeared.

Enter: the IOE entrance exam — an unpleasant feeling of all.

Stress levels sky-high. Everyone in panic mode. Hype, pressure, uncertainty — that was all I got at the moment.

And then… boom — I got admitted to ERC, Dharan.

Relief, excitement, a dash of fear.

“Engineering life, here I come!”

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🤯 Expectation vs Reality

Expectations? Low.

Reality? Lower.

The syllabus hit me like a Windows blue screen.

Seniors told us it was the “new updated curriculum.”

I was in the second batch.

My reaction? “WTH did I sign up for?”

All theory. Labs with fancy equipment (but broken).

Lectures that felt like time travel to the 90s.

Group projects where the group didn’t even exist.

And the best part?

“You’re in Computer Engineering, but please don’t submit assignments from your computer. Also, write code by hand in a notebook.”

I mean… who needs a compiler when you’ve got a pen and paper, right?

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🛠️ The Real Learning Begins

We barely got time to code at home.

And no one was going to teach us anyway at college.

But somehow, amidst all that noise… I felt like I made progress.

• Learned the basics of Python from CS50 (David Malan — you absolute legend 🙏)
• Installed Ubuntu, and instantly fell in love with the command line
• That joy of solving a bug after 10 failed attempts? Addictive.
• Finishing a project, tweaking it, improving it — deeply satisfying
• Chatting with seniors who dropped gold-level wisdom in 5 minutes? Game-changing

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💻 ACES TechFest 7.0 — The Turning Point

One of the most powerful chapters was ACES TechFest 7.0, organized by our very own Association of Computer Engineering Students.

I joined as an organizing member — especially for the main event: Hackathon.

And… it wasn’t just about code.

It was about teamwork, pressure, fun, failure, and discovery.

Pulling an all-nighter, camping out with music and snacks — pure magic.

Learning from seniors, bonding with them, watching ideas turn into prototypes — priceless.

That event taught me more than any course ever did.

About tech. About life. About myself.

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😩 Semester Exams & Squad Madness

Then there’s the other all-nighter — the semester exams.

Imagine this: one brain, one syllabus, infinite stress.

We pull an entire month's worth of effort in one chaotic burst.

But somehow — like true engineers — we survive.

And sometimes, even thrive.

How can I forget the squad?

Cleverly dumb, beautifully chaotic — the kind who’ll push you off the edge just to pull you back up laughing.

We mess things up, we mess each other up — but we never let go.

Same madness. Same mayhem. Same brotherhood.

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📈 Where I Stand Now

And that's how I finished my first semester.

Entering into next semester with similar spirit and desire to do something "Kehi Garxu."

Some moments are just impossible to describe in words.

But they’ll stay with me forever.

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🎓 What It's Really Like

Student life in Computer Engineering in Nepal isn’t what most people expect.

It’s not full of robots and AI and apps. It’s full of:

• Crashed PCs
• Handwritten code
• Broken lab kits
• Self-taught lessons
• Friends who feel like family
• Late-night debugging and deeper conversations
• All nighters around exam weeks

But also — Progress. Growth. Grit.

“You study Computer Engineering and you survive it.

And in that survival, you discover yourself.”

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Still learning. Still struggling. Still showing up.