Students blog

Step into the vibrant world of collegiate Bollywood dance competitions, embarking on a thrilling journey of rhythm and culture. From intense rehearsals to intricate choreography, every practice is a step to the competition season. Dedication and teamwork pay off as the competition season unfolds, teams travel across states and compete across the East and West coasts. Interactions with fellow dancers from other colleges foster unity and mutual admiration for dance, and backstage buzzes with excitement as teams prepare to showcase their fusion of tradition and innovation, leaving audiences and judges to determine who will make it to the national championship: Legends. Desi Dance Network is a circuit that combines colleges across the nation, so join me as I take you through a journey of what it's like to be a dancer at these competitions. 

Through a rigorous selection process, almost 100 teams compete for a spot in the competition season, consisting of around 20 competitions. However, only the top 8 teams get chosen per competition based on audition videos submitted. Nazaare, North Carolina State University’s premiere Bollywood competition team, gets accepted into at least four competitions every year. In Spring 2024, we participated in two competitions in Georgia, one in Pennsylvania, and one in our very own Chapel Hill.  
 
To start a competition, teams travel to different places where all the hospitality is provided (hotels, food, transportation, etc.) by the competition board. To start the competition, Friday is designated for a “mixer”, where teams mix with other teams through different games and activities set up by the competition. This is a time for dancers to mingle and meet other dancers from like-minded backgrounds before the competition starts. More importantly, the games played determine the show's order. After the mixer is post-mixer practice, where all the last-minute practice and preparations take place (this can go till 3 am sometimes). From here comes room reveal, where teams go back to their hotel rooms that have been decorated by the liaisons who are managing your team. Here, you get merch, snacks, and beverages (for the afterparty ;) ). Following this, at the early hours of what could be 4 am, teams go to sleep. 

Saturday morning comes fast, as teams have to hustle to the venue for their “tech time”. This consists of 20 minutes for each team on stage to do formation run-throughs with props and a chance to get a recorded full out run-through, to get a feel for the stage. The order of tech time is based on the show order, so if you are first, you may have to reach the venue as early as 8 am. Following this comes a viewing room, where teams are given 20-40 minutes (depending on the competition), to watch the full-out run-throughs on stage and see how the set looks from an audience perspective. From here, comes post-tech time practice, where teams are given their final 20 minutes to fix anything that may have looked off on stage. 

Following this busy morning comes the fun part: getting ready and getting team pictures taken. However, when it comes to 10 girls in one hotel room and one mirror, this can get hectic at times (there are almost 30 people on our team and only 3 hotel rooms). Once hair, makeup, and costumes are done, the team heads over to the venue to take team photos and of course, perform the set!

Have you ever felt like you were drowning during midterms week because all your classes have an exam or a paper on the same day? Unfortunately, this seems to be a universal college experience, so let's tackle it together. In this hyper stressful week, there are a few essential things to keep in mind: focus, fuel, and sleep. Without these three things, tireless hours spent in the library won't get you very far. So, let's dive into the best way to approach this brutal week.

The first step is to sharpen your focus. This begins with making a plan for your week. Write out what all your assignments are and when they are due. This will allow you to show up to your study sessions prepared! The next crucial step is finding a place where you feel comfortable studying. This may be the library, a common lounge, a lecture hall, a study room, etc. For some people, a concentrated study spot is a quiet part of the library and for others it may be in a louder place with background noise. The key is to be comfortable enough to focus and not get distracted. For me, this involves powering off my phone completely and putting it away in my backpack. After about 45 minutes, I allow myself to take a break, check my phone, and reset before returning to my studies.

The next vital step in killing your midterms is to be properly fueled. I normally bring a snack with me when I go to study because when I get hungry, I get distracted. Though food is an important type of fuel, there are other important types of fuel such as exercise. I feel most prepared to study and concentrate on work after going for a run, a walk, or to the gym. Any type of exercise helps me clear my mind which is important for successful studying.

Finally, a productive day of studying doesn’t go far without sleep to allow the information to process in your brain. A proper amount of sleep will help you more than one more hour of studying. Getting a full night’s rest before an exam is often the key difference between an aced exam and silly mistakes made. In taking this approach, you’ll be sure to ace your midterms this year!

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Back-to-school, especially for a college student, can be an exciting time. You are seeing your friends again, and you are getting back to your “routine” at school or discovering your new one as a freshman. However, once the excitement wears off again, the saddest can start to set in. Whether it is homesickness or senioritis, being back in school can become more sad and less exciting as the months go on. As a student going into their senior year, here are a few tips I have to help you combat the back-to-school blues.

Tip for Every Day: Have a Morning/Nighttime Routine

I am truly speaking to myself as well as I encourage you to start having a routine when you wake up and when you go to bed. This is psychologically proven to make your day better. When you do something for yourself and have a routine, it helps get you going in the morning and wind down every night. Some recommendations I have for the morning are doing a skincare routine, showering, having coffee and reading a book, or even just writing a few things you are grateful for every morning. In the nighttime, you can do similar things that you didn’t do in the morning, like reading or showering, or even reflecting on your day by writing in a journal.

Tip for Every Week: Give Yourself a Weekend Treat

Although sweet treat trips can happen any time, it is important to give yourself a little reward for finishing the week. This could be a trip to the movies, getting your nails done, or something as little as getting ice cream with friends. The key is to make sure it isn’t the same thing every week. It helps encourage you and remind yourself of all the hard things you do every day, and how worthy you are of a reward for them occasionally, even if no one else is noticing your work.

Tip for Every Month: Plan Something Fun and Unique Once a Month

Having something to look forward to is one of the easiest ways to break the sadness or mundaneness of your everyday routine. Whether it’s a trip out of town with friends, a concert, or even just a staycation, it is important to have something “big” and fun to look forward to once a month. This helps for when things get hard, you can use your upcoming plans to encourage yourself to push through. Once the honeymoon phase of a new school year wears off, winter break can look years away. So, keep yourself encouraged by spicing up your life and rewarding yourself for doing the hard things. You can do hard things!

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As I enter my senior year, I reflect on my college experience and think about what I wish I had known coming into college. There are three major things I wish I knew coming into college as a freshman: the importance of time management, reaching out for help when needed, and getting involved.

Time Management

Time management is a huge part of being successful in college. Being able to navigate between not only classes but balancing a social life on top of responsibilities can be hard. Creating a schedule that helps you stay on time and still allows for social interactions is important. Engaging in different clubs also helps to stay on top of responsibilities such as school while getting to meet new people along the way.

Help is Everywhere

As a freshman, it can be daunting to approach a professor however, they are humans too and, in most cases, more than willing to help. Although it can be frightening to approach professors, in most cases there are Teaching Assistants (TAs) and counselors who may also be able to help and answer any questions or problems you may encounter. TAs are the easiest way to help and answer because they are students just like you and have recently been in the same position.

Get Involved

Engage in your surroundings. College is more than just classes and books; it is about making connections and meeting new people. Joining clubs and volunteering are both great ways to expand your interests. Enjoyable experiences can be just as important as your grades in your classes.

As you begin your freshman year, I hope you will remember to manage your time well, ask for help, and use the resources around you to your advantage!

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College freshmen often struggle during their first few weeks on campus because it may be their first time being away from home. It can be an even bigger challenge for students who are shy or introverted. Most of us want to go back home every chance we get or stay in our dorms until we have to go to class. We feel as if we don’t know who we are yet, so we keep going back to the places where we feel ourselves. Whether attending a college near home or eight hours away, we all go through a phase of being afraid to make a friend. But there is no such thing as being too shy to make a long-lasting friendship. Even though it may be awkward at first, I found these three ways to be helpful in making new friends and connections.

Join a Student Organization

The first thing I did was try to get more involved on campus. My university has an app that lets you see some of the organizations on campus, and we have a day when the majority of our organizations come out to recruit new members. Attending this event allowed me to explore groups that sparked my interest and to talk to some of the members. I was able to really get to know the people and to see if I could see myself being friends with them or if we had similar interests outside of the organization. By joining one organization I connected with the members and met upperclassmen who gave me advice on how to navigate college.

Be True to Yourself

My newfound friends helped me see that I should be unapologetically myself. Everyone likes an authentic person, no matter if they are “quirky.” I didn’t need to change myself to fit in. I began to look for ways to grow and not stagnate while everyone else around me was growing. If I wanted to see growth that is exceptional, I realized I should join organizations that directly impacted students and that directly impacted my community. This was one of the reasons why I knew I would find my home and why I would make more friends.

Go to Class

It sounds like basic advice, but the last step is to go to class. Talk to your classmates. Go to professor office hours. Who knows, the study group you join may turn out to be your forever friends.

These are some tips that I followed in order to become a more “outgoing” person, and a person who is not so shy. This showed me that being shy does not hinder you from making friends. I could make friends and could influence other shy people to get out of their comfort zones and gain a better first-year experience!

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You really should be crying more! No, seriously! Crying is so advantageous for the stressful life of a college student.

Not only is crying a natural response to external and internal stimuli, but it also does some interesting things to help the human body. Before we go into how crying helps you, let’s first look into its composition.

Tears are not only made from water, but they also contain proteins, mucus, electrolytes, and various oils. Some of the proteins contained in tears include lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, and IgA. These all serve different roles in helping the body. Lysozyme and lactoferrin are antibacterial and IgA is an immunoglobulin which helps boost the defense of the immune system. When you cry you also release various hormones which differ depending on the type of tears.

There are tears such as basal tears that help keep your eyes moist and protect them from debris and things in the air. Another type are reflex tears which are triggered by irritants. There are also tears that stem from emotions and that is where a lot of the variation in the hormonal composition of tears is seen.

Crying releases hormones such as oxytocin which promotes bonding and reduces stress, and endorphins which can ease both physical and emotional pain. Crying even flushes toxins and cortisol out of the body. Crying also activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which promotes rest and digestion.

To cry is to be human – it’s normal, natural, and so beneficial.

Most people have the totally wrong perception of tears and believe they hold no significance besides emotional instability, but crying can benefit you in so many aspects. So, the next time you feel the urge to cry, go ahead, your body deserves it.

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Coming to college is a fresh start. It’s an opportunity to pursue your passions and explore your interests. You get to be the person you want to be and get away from all the things about hometown life that were holding you back. When I came to college, I adopted a mentality that has led me to make new friends, have exciting experiences, and encounter huge growth opportunities…all I did was say “yes”. I said “yes” when I was scared, I said “yes” when I didn't have a friend to go with, I said “yes” when I had no prior experience. Not everything I said “yes” to turned out wonderfully, but I had enough amazing “yes” moments that the other ones didn't matter.

One big “yes” that has changed my college experience was deciding to go through sorority recruitment. This decision came with so many fears, especially the fear that I didn't have enough connections. No one in Tennessee knew who I was so the conversations I had during recruitment would be the sole factor for a sorority to decide if they liked me or not. There was also the fear of rejection. I knew that there was a good chance that I would really like a house and they could drop me, and in all honesty that happened, a couple times even, but where I ended up in the end made it all worth it.

Homesickness is something that most people will deal with during their college experience. Whether you are an hour or a thousand miles away from home, being homesick is normal. For a lot of young adults, college is the first time they move away from their parents and hometowns. Homesickness was something that I struggled with a lot in my first year of college. It took me a long time to adjust to my new life as an independent college student. Thankfully, as a sophomore I finally feel adjusted to college life without consistently feeling homesick. Here are a few tips and tricks to help deal with homesickness while at college.

Make Reminders of Home

When I am feeling homesick, I try to do things that remind me of home. I cook a family recipe or find a restaurant that makes similar meals. If there is a film that reminds you of home, have a cozy movie night. Also bringing items to college that have special meaning to you like photos of family and friends, childhood stuffed animals, or even a blanket from home can bring you comfort in moments when you miss home. Facetime your hometown friends and family when you can, and if you are busy having a simple text conversation can help you feel closer to the people you miss.

Make Your School Your New Home

Another way to help ease the feeling of homesickness is to put yourself out there, meet new people, and get involved on campus. Join a club. Colleges usually have an involvement fair at the start of a new semester and with many options; there will be a club that fits one of your interests! Try to meet new people. In class, chat with your classmates and introduce yourself to people. When you are in the dining hall, try to sit with a new person each time you go. This is a great way to make friends. One of my favorite ways to meet new people is by going to the gym. I love going to work-out classes and have made many friends by talking with the people also attending a workout.

Seek Professional Help

If you still can’t shake that homesick feeling and it becomes overwhelming, do not be afraid to reach out for help. Connect with a friend or family member and tell them about your feelings, or contact your university's counseling center. Appointments are free at most college counseling centers, and you can talk to a trained therapist.

Acknowledge your feelings of homesickness. You are going through a major change in your life and while it is an exciting transition, it can also be scary. Be patient with yourself and know that things get better!

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One of the first things that truly characterizes the college experience for incoming freshmen is the newfound freedom and independence bestowed upon the new adult. The beginning of this journey stems from the core of the university…the infamous college dorms. Knowing how to deal with difficult roommates is important as the beginning of the college experience is contingent upon those initial connections. Simply put, a rocky relationship with your roommates will ultimately lead to a rocky semester.

Introduce Yourself!

The saying, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” applies greatly! When you meet a new person, their initial impression of you lasts. The same applies to roommates. It’s important to not be judgmental, but ultimately these impressions can make or break a roommate relationship. That’s why it’s crucial to be your genuine self when meeting your new roommate. Being true to yourself is a lot harder than people think, but by being unapologetically you, you’re more likely to build an amazing friendship with your new roommate.

Mitigation and Preemptive Measure

To prevent any future disagreements, it’s important to set up some ground rules right off the bat. A great way to come to some agreements regarding dorm life with you and your roommates is to assign a chore list! Creating a form of agreed upon responsibilities allotted evenly amongst yourselves is a great way to set the expectation from the get-go. Arguments can often arise from lack of participation and responsibility within the dorm, so a chore list is a great way to clear up any future misunderstandings.

Tough Conversations

Sometimes, tough conversations must be had. Whether your roommate is repeatedly coming home late or just forgetting to turn the light off, there is a correct way to address these sensitive issues. When calling a roommate meeting to address these topics, keep in mind that while you may be upset by their actions, they most likely didn’t mean to intentionally hurt you. Do your best to communicate your concerns in a polite manner.

All in all, dealing with a difficult roommate situation can be an uncomfortable and nerve-racking task. Engaging with bad roommates is like dealing with wrinkles. The only solution is preemptive care! Just like applying SPF in your youth decreases the progression of bad skin in your adulthood, effective communication mitigates the risk of future arguments and therefore is the best way to handle roommates!

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