Why I still wear my hair in a pony tail

Coming to college I faced an entirely new world. A new lifestyle, new
people, a new bed to sleep in, different buildings, different traditions,
and everything around me had just changed. I was far away from home,
topics of conversation were different. Everyone was trying very hard to
make their presence felt among others, and yet, at the same time, they
were losing touch with their own individuality- that unique factor that
made them who they were. I was thrust into this flux, unprepared, with
absolutely no idea as to what to do. I didn’t know what to do, where to
go, whom to talk to, and yet, I knew the most important thing - I did not
want to lose my individuality.
One of my favourite concepts of all times is that of dialectics, as
propounded by Hegel, which talks about the existence of a thesis with
interacts with an antithesis to form a synthesis. I may not understand the
concept completely but when I apply this to the transition from school to
college, I think of the life I had back at home, at school as a sort of
thesis and, and the new life that college promised, with its unrestricted
freedom, few rules, fresh new ideas, amazing opportunities, a chance at
learning, and at creativity as a kind of antitheses that were coming
together, to define the life I was going to lead for the next five years –
The Synthesis. How was this synthesis going to happen? Which aspects would
merge with which ones to create what was a huge task I had ahead. As I
already said, I did not want to lose touch with my individuality and all
those core things that I knew made me who I was. There were come very
crucial choices that I had to make. I had to identify who I really was,
what were those aspects that defined me, and then move ahead.
Something I knew from the very first day I entered the college gates was
that the Martinian name had to be upheld on these grounds. I knew I was a
Martinian, and though I was now also a ‘lawschoolite’, a Martinian is what
I really was. 12 years of La Martiniere had nurtured me in a very special
way, and made me a very distinct individual. And I knew, that no matter
what changes would occur, I would always, and forever, remain a Martinian.
Not just in terms of the school certificate I had, but in my deed, and in
the way I conducted myself. Being a Martinian, is a VERY crucial part of
my individuality.
I wanted this aspect of me to remain, as a very crucial part of the
Synthesis I was to create, an so, anyone who sees me walk into my
classroom at exactly 8 50 am, they see a 19 year old college student, with
a backpack, and her hair, pulled back into a bouncy pony-tail.
 I use my pony-tail here as a symbol - A symbol of all that La Martiniere
has inculcated within me. It is the discipline, the pragmatism, the
integrity, the laughter, and the absence of frills – the genuineness. It
is this genuineness which is an attribute which I cannot separate from my
years at La Martiniere. And it is that genuineness which I wish continues
to define me, as I make my way into an all new world.
        College is a world of few rules. And yet, I walk into my classroom every
morning I walk into a classroom with heads of all shades ranging from
blue to red and yellow, sporting extensions and clips of all varieties,
in a bouncy pony tail brought together with a black scrunchie. It is then
that I feel wonderfully comfortable, incredibly ‘me’ and genuinely
Martinian. It is then that I know that I am going to be Martinian for
life.