As I was clearing out my emails and many unsent drafts, I stumbled upon an old diary entry which I had jotted down many many years ago, almost 10! This was a significant time in my life when I was packing up and leaving the place I grew up in to start a whole new life in the U.S.A. Although a short entry, I think it perfectly describes what a typical teenager feels when her world is about to turn upside down. Ten years later, I am so comfortable in this world that, had it not been for diary entries like this one, I probably would have forgotten how challenging it really was for me to start afresh. So today, I want to post the diary entry here because it does not deserve to be buried in my unseen, neglected drafts anymore.

So, with the dignity it deserves, here it is:

21 June, 2007: The Sun just set in for the day, leaving a violet blanket over the sky. I smell wet mud. Aah! Nothing smells better! Within minutes I hear the pitter-patter of the rain. Almost simultaneously, I hear my mom shouting at me. Unwillingly, I get down the window sill, muttering something to myself. The fact still not sunk in, I begin my packing. I look at the airline tickets for tomorrow. Afternoon flight to London and then off to our destination, New Jersey. I look up into my room. All I can see are the walls and my clothes strewn all over the floor. It began with a small tear and in no time I was crying out loud, shuddering. I couldn’t control. Did not want to. Memories of my time in the house, in my school began to play like a recorded tape. I never realized how lucky I was to have such great friends. The rain and the thunder seemed to grieve with me.

22nd June’07: I wake up the next morning, still feeling down in the dumps. This was not feeling right. I felt so helpless. Completely dominated by gratifying ideas of running away, I get ready. The hour and a half ride to the international airport seemed to have passed within minutes. It’s time we got into the flight. At that moment I felt so vulnerable. How foolish was I to leave all that I have and enter a world I did not know?Something in my head tells me “Change is the only constant”. Oh puh-leez! Don’t gimme that!

21st August ’07: Two months later, here I am, sitting in what I now call my room, feeling nostalgic. I can’t say I am not homesick anymore, but life seems to have had a fresh start. Now, I can feel a flood of optimism in me. Something new and exciting awaits me. I am ready!