Everyone of us would have had a choice to travel, it is an enriching and depressing experience at the same time. It is like we are leaving our roots behind; we migrate aspiring a dream or in search of a better 'me'. Whatever the reason, with uncertainty engulfing our intelligence and fear fogging our vision of the future, we are lost in a journey we haven't even begun.
Unsolicited advice flooded my inbox since I had shared the news with friends. My nights were spent dreaming of all that I could do and be. I had so much of hope and was filled with a sense of pride for I had finally earned something I had always wanted.
I knew I was leaving behind the home I grew up in to live a life I believed I deserved and I was going intending to find friends in strangers in an unknown land. I also knew that with time the place I had once called 'Home' would never be the same. Memories of family and friends began to cloud my sense of lucidity and suddenly I began to wonder in self-doubt.
On the day of travel I was oddly calm. I had dreaded this moment because I thought how intensely anxious I would be, I had asked a zillion others how they had fared in an unknown land and I was expecting to lose control and turn my back on my decision; but strangely, I was numb and unusually calm.
As I sat in the airport waiting for my flight I began to feel lonely because I had underestimated the power of my comfort zone. I was diving into an opportunity I thought had but, only time would tell. I gulped down water hoping the lump in my throat would disappear, rested my head on the back of the chair and began scrolling my Facebook feed already wondering what friends and family were up to in my absence.
Fast-forward to now, a couple of years in the unknown land, I have built my family, friends and a social life. I have come to realize how much I am still 'my' family irrespective of the distance. I've been molded into a person and my family had played a major role. Little by little I lost track of distance and never my roots. I made the choice of stripping myself free of what I was has left me empowered and enriched.
Today home is more of a presence than a place. I feel at home when I receive a warm smile from a stranger on a bad day, home is when someone lets me share a seat on a public commute, home is when I call my friends back in my country to share their pain and happiness, home is when someone holds the door for me, home is when I get to go ahead in line because I have a baby. I have come to realize that home is the warmth I experiences in this weary cold journey.
There are no longer borders separating humans. In humanity I found 'home'. There are no imaginary lines separating us. To love and be loved is how we are meant to be.
I am no longer lost, I no longer wonder what my tomorrows' would be and I no longer feel I am in an unknown land. And I strongly believe that India played a major role. I am thankful to you, India, for building me as an individual and enabling me to spread my wings and fly. Irrespective of where I am my roots are still growing strong. And from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of Us a 'Thank you' America for welcoming strangers and friends alike. You are a nation of compassion and love, you can never close doors to humanity.
Man is always torn between the urge to find his roots and the fear of loosing his roots.Anticipation and excitement surrounding days before the actual date of travel left me weary and tired. My days were filled with buying things I thought I might need, relatives and friends 'educating' me on where to go, what to buy and whom to contact if I needed help while I was still contemplating on my decision.
Unsolicited advice flooded my inbox since I had shared the news with friends. My nights were spent dreaming of all that I could do and be. I had so much of hope and was filled with a sense of pride for I had finally earned something I had always wanted.
I knew I was leaving behind the home I grew up in to live a life I believed I deserved and I was going intending to find friends in strangers in an unknown land. I also knew that with time the place I had once called 'Home' would never be the same. Memories of family and friends began to cloud my sense of lucidity and suddenly I began to wonder in self-doubt.
On the day of travel I was oddly calm. I had dreaded this moment because I thought how intensely anxious I would be, I had asked a zillion others how they had fared in an unknown land and I was expecting to lose control and turn my back on my decision; but strangely, I was numb and unusually calm.
As I sat in the airport waiting for my flight I began to feel lonely because I had underestimated the power of my comfort zone. I was diving into an opportunity I thought had but, only time would tell. I gulped down water hoping the lump in my throat would disappear, rested my head on the back of the chair and began scrolling my Facebook feed already wondering what friends and family were up to in my absence.
I realized, life would still go on even when I was moving miles away.It was time for me to depart, I got on the plane and I was seemingly happy because now I realized that I was leaving behind my past and this journey was the beginning of a future I was intending to create. Looking out of the window did not just show me how far I had come but it also made me realize how close I was to my dream.
Today home is more of a presence than a place. I feel at home when I receive a warm smile from a stranger on a bad day, home is when someone lets me share a seat on a public commute, home is when I call my friends back in my country to share their pain and happiness, home is when someone holds the door for me, home is when I get to go ahead in line because I have a baby. I have come to realize that home is the warmth I experiences in this weary cold journey.
There are no longer borders separating humans. In humanity I found 'home'. There are no imaginary lines separating us. To love and be loved is how we are meant to be.
I am no longer lost, I no longer wonder what my tomorrows' would be and I no longer feel I am in an unknown land. And I strongly believe that India played a major role. I am thankful to you, India, for building me as an individual and enabling me to spread my wings and fly. Irrespective of where I am my roots are still growing strong. And from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of Us a 'Thank you' America for welcoming strangers and friends alike. You are a nation of compassion and love, you can never close doors to humanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment