Â
1. Total Motivation
You would begin your drop year with ironclad determination: "This time, I am going to crack JEE like a boss!" You have all your timetables ready, your book collection stacked neatly, and you have downloaded all the IIT-JEE apps. You are actually about to be Rocky Balboa preparing for a bout…till you remember that you haven't checked Instagram in ages.
2. The Instagram "5-Minute Break"
Fast forward 10 minutes into your "serious" study session, and your brain tells you that you deserve a 5-minute break. What better way to relax than scrolling through some motivational posts, right? Instagram, however, has other plans. Next thing you know, you're knee-deep in memes about engineering life, cat videos, and food reels. Like Instagram knows you're on a break and tempts you with "just one more scroll." Spoiler alert: that 5-minute break turns into an hour.
3. YouTube: The Double-Edged Sword
YouTube starts off as your best friend. You have this troublesome Physics concept you need to understand? Boom—YouTube tutorial to the rescue! Then, the suggestions start pouring in: "Watch this funniest JEE memes compilation," or worse, "Relaxing music for studying," that somehow turns into a 3-hour playlist of Lofi hip hop beats when you fall asleep.
And random recommendations down the rabbit hole aren't even part of this. One minute you're sitting there watching videos on organic chemistry, and then, next thing you know, you are learning how to make a 5-layer chocolate cake. Focus? What's that?
4. The Emergence of the "Study Influencer
You are no longer just a student there but a study influencer in the world of social media. One day, your Instagram story is full of aesthetic study desk photos with motivational quotes written in perfect stationery. Today, you spend so much time setting your desk to look like that one perfect snap rather than sitting down to learn at your desk.
And you begin doing #StudyWithMe sessions on YouTube, because obviously the world is just waiting to see you pretend to study for 2 hours. Pro tip: don't accidentally stream your Netflix tab.
5. Last-Minute "Inspiration" Scrolls
It is already 1 AM and not going over that calculus again, but listening to YouTube motivational videos telling you that you CAN do it. You are in bed lying on your pillow, munching on chips, and wondering if you are indeed built for this kind of JEE struggle. Then, you hear every influencer to be a life coach, and you feel that you really need that planner to regain order in your life. You don't but order it anyway.
6. When Instagram Makes You Question Your Life Choices Just when you thought you would focus on your studies, Instagram hits you with some #SuccessStory. "Meet Priya, who cracked JEE with 99.9 percentile while also running a YouTube channel, learning three languages, and volunteering at an animal shelter!" Now, you're in a mini life crisis, wondering whether watching the latest Netflix series was really a good idea.
And then Instagram shows you a meme where it's like, everyone feels like they have failed sometimes in life, and that makes everything alright again.
7. The "I Will Just Watch One More Video" Trap
Ah, the classic last words of every student during a drop year: "I'll just watch ONE more video, and then I'll get back to studying." Three hours later, you find yourself deep in conspiracy theories about how Einstein was an alien. How does it happen? Blame YouTube's algorithm of distraction. It lures you in with a JEE math video and leaves you lost in the Bermuda Triangle of random content.
8. The Redemption Arc
All this while, about two weeks before the examination, some sort of magic happens. You start being on fire. You delete your Instagram account, turn off YouTube, get back to your nerdiness and are all set to assemble like the Avengers for that final battle in Avengers with yourself as the opponent against your syllabus. Now, you are all set to crack JEE like a legend.
So yes, a drop year is serious business…on paper. In reality, Instagram and YouTube become your two best frenemies, pulling you into hilarious, distracting, and sometimes oddly educational rabbit holes. But hey, as long as you get through it with a smile (and maybe a few memes), you are doing just fine.
