Okay so I was this whole "Out of the
Comfort Zone" believer. Telling people how they should go and challenge
themselves and be brave and be strong and things like that. Quite a Visionary eh?
UNTIL,
I had to do it myself.
That's when I became chicken-shit.
For starters I made masala chai with tons
of salt in it, made a vegetable curry with lots of sugar (America makes both
salt and sugar look the same *-*), Got terribly homesick for 2 weeks, lost my
credit card, got stalked by a mad man, Dialed 911, Sobbed in front of a
policeman, Almost got escorted home, Burnt an entire pot of rice, Met a
stranger, Interviewed a stranger(One of the most enriching experiences of my
life) Got to know cultures, Hated stats, Cleaned the bathroom pot, Loved
consumer insight, spoke to new people, explored the city with the boy, Ate
reallllly good food on days and really trashy food on others, Chilled with the
roomies, Hung out with Ketan and Nibha..
Quite an eventful one month and 18 days.
But in all of that.. I didn't find the time to
do things that I really really love to do... To write and to sing and to sketch
by the lake… and to be free!
Free? Of course I'm free. I’m independent,
living alone... living my dream ... That's what you're thinking!
By free I mean…Stress-free with no cares about
the future, no cares about grades, Peace and joy, learning for knowledge and
living the day to its fullest…CarpeDieming' it? That sort of went out of the
window! I was bogged down with assignments and grades and stress and deadlines
and long days and junk food… GRAD SCHOOL IS NOT EASY BROTHERS!
But today, a day before my midterms I'm suddenly
at peace :)
As I look out of my window and I see the orange
maple leaves fall… Im at ease… The sky is the perfect blue, I have my consumer
insight book in my hand and I'm genuinely enjoying what I'm reading (Do you
know why Santa Claus has a red and white costume? Because of Coca - Cola!) It’s
fascinating, I'm suddenly learning for myself, for taking it with me for a
lifetime to come and not for tomorrow. Finance is teaching us to focus on long-term
goals and not on short-term goals… that's what I'm trying to do today. So this
journey is going to be about gathering…Experiences, knowledge, memories and
happiness for a long long time :)
Maybe I'm finally finding comfort outside my
comfort zone :)
This is just the beginning...
A pocketful of sunshine and a bucketful of dreams,
Juie
