Today I complete a year of being back in India. I moved to India from USA exactly on this day in 2008. WOW! I can't believe it has already been a year. The year that went by has been an amazing one, filled with a new learning experience. When I left India, I was just out of college, high on life and totally a free bird. But over the years of living abroad, I matured and changed a lot as an individual. Now I feel that I have grown-up as an individual, a person who has a gained a different outlook towards life.
Today I want to look back at the year that has passed by. I was born and brought up in India, I have lived most of my life in this country, yet when the time came for me to make the shift back home, I was totally apprehensive. On one hand I was happy that I was going back to my family but on the other hand it was with a heavy heart that I was leaving my life in USA. I was now a changed person and I was scared of how I will accommodate life back in India. My life in USA had changed me, my approach to life had changed, my outlook of looking at things had changed and more importantly I was a much more independent person.
I would be lying if I say initially I had a problem adjusting back in India. I would find fault in everything around, the way people drive, the way people talk, everything everything. I still remember I would close my eyes when I car would come too close, shut my ears because of the excessive honking and always tell the driver to be careful. But then I realized that's the way we drive in India. I had a bad time dealing with the bureaucracy in India, the red-tape got onto me. Everywhere I went, I was asked for bribes. These were things I was totally used to while living in India but now these things seemed so alien to me. But this time, I was more adamant and determined to fight such evils. If I felt, there was something wrong happening with me, I stood up against it and made myself heard, no longer was I the subdued kid who left the Indian shores.
The attitude of people towards me also changed, in a good way and a bad way. For some people I was a smart, intelligent girl who had lived in a foreign land but for some people had a cheap attitude of looking at a girl who has lived abroad. I never cared for such scum-bags as I know they are there to just pull you down. The people who made this transition easier was my family and friends in India. My family was always there for me, even when I was not there for them. The understood me, supported me and loved me always. In this past one year, I have grown to love and respect my family more than I ever did. My other support system were my friends back in India. The many years of USA had somehow meant that I had lost touch with my friends. It doesn't mean that we never spoke or met but somehow were not a big part of each other's lives, distance seems to do that to relationships. I always knew that they were there for me and they new that whenever they needed a friend I was just a phone call away. But my move back to India gave a new meaning to my friendship with them. I feel that we have rediscovered our friendship and the bond is grown even more stronger.
My life in USA and this last one year has taught me a lot of things. I have become an independent, strong-willed and caring individual. I have learnt the value of family and friends in my life. I cherish the time I have spent in USA but I am happy that I am back in India. Like the say, a bird can fly anywhere but at the end of the day the bird returns to its own nest. India is my home and wherever I go in this world, I will always come back home.
Today I want to look back at the year that has passed by. I was born and brought up in India, I have lived most of my life in this country, yet when the time came for me to make the shift back home, I was totally apprehensive. On one hand I was happy that I was going back to my family but on the other hand it was with a heavy heart that I was leaving my life in USA. I was now a changed person and I was scared of how I will accommodate life back in India. My life in USA had changed me, my approach to life had changed, my outlook of looking at things had changed and more importantly I was a much more independent person.
I would be lying if I say initially I had a problem adjusting back in India. I would find fault in everything around, the way people drive, the way people talk, everything everything. I still remember I would close my eyes when I car would come too close, shut my ears because of the excessive honking and always tell the driver to be careful. But then I realized that's the way we drive in India. I had a bad time dealing with the bureaucracy in India, the red-tape got onto me. Everywhere I went, I was asked for bribes. These were things I was totally used to while living in India but now these things seemed so alien to me. But this time, I was more adamant and determined to fight such evils. If I felt, there was something wrong happening with me, I stood up against it and made myself heard, no longer was I the subdued kid who left the Indian shores.
The attitude of people towards me also changed, in a good way and a bad way. For some people I was a smart, intelligent girl who had lived in a foreign land but for some people had a cheap attitude of looking at a girl who has lived abroad. I never cared for such scum-bags as I know they are there to just pull you down. The people who made this transition easier was my family and friends in India. My family was always there for me, even when I was not there for them. The understood me, supported me and loved me always. In this past one year, I have grown to love and respect my family more than I ever did. My other support system were my friends back in India. The many years of USA had somehow meant that I had lost touch with my friends. It doesn't mean that we never spoke or met but somehow were not a big part of each other's lives, distance seems to do that to relationships. I always knew that they were there for me and they new that whenever they needed a friend I was just a phone call away. But my move back to India gave a new meaning to my friendship with them. I feel that we have rediscovered our friendship and the bond is grown even more stronger.
My life in USA and this last one year has taught me a lot of things. I have become an independent, strong-willed and caring individual. I have learnt the value of family and friends in my life. I cherish the time I have spent in USA but I am happy that I am back in India. Like the say, a bird can fly anywhere but at the end of the day the bird returns to its own nest. India is my home and wherever I go in this world, I will always come back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment