The End?!.... Rather, a new beginning!!

It's Friday the 17th of December 2010. A day after my finals and the end of yet another eventful, exciting and hard semester in college. I sit here at work that started at 8am after a very eventful night (Josiah 'Gelato' Mangialmelli's birthday), with all but a few of the office workers gone for a christmas party, facebook statuses a plenty about people going home, friends graduating, and I sit here at my desk looking at the steady stream of traffic to my east and I cannot help but smile...

Georgia Tech, Atlanta, College, My late teens, my adulthood, my relationships AND I have come a long way. I still remember the end of my first semester and my almost giddy excitement at the prospect of going home;Seeing everybody, eating the great food, all the familiar things, it was all too mouthwatering. 7 semesters on, the gidiness has been replaced with a calmer inward excitement. I would be lying if I said I don't miss the comforts of home, the familiar smells people and places, the places of old and new and the truth is that this upcoming trip home is something I am very excited about but at the same time my thirst for more experiences, more memories and more exposure is evergrowing as we move into the new year and will not let me sit still!

Change, they say is the only constant. We all change as we go through life, yet we are all so opposed to it. I remember the instructions from all the aunites when I left for the US. They all were unanimous in telling me that I must not get an American accent and I still remember vividly the scrutiny of my oral speech when I went back the first time. You're so American they all said. Funnily I was still a FOB (Fresh of the boat) Indian in the US still struggling with my V's and W's. (For people who don't know, Indians make a mess of this and don't even know it.) Thanks to constant training (Yes every week I actually sit down and repeat after someone a barrage of words starting with V's and W's), and my spectacularly immaculate grammar nazi British-Paki girlfriend I have sorted that problem to a large extent. Then there are the digs at clothing, lifestyle choices (Toilet paper vs. Lota(reference only Indians will get)) , eating habits (I'm sorry I don't just eat khakda and dal anymore) etc etc. But those I found adorable and could deal with. But then there are things that people will not comment about. Those are the changes they didn't really approve off.( I am guilty too) Humans work in mysterious ways and their relationships (plotonic, romantic, physical, spiritual) are a result of this mysteriousness. I think a person's first experiece away from the familiar (Be it going away for college, getting one's own place for the first time, going away to war) is what really defines who they are and what they are made off. Uptill then one is bred by societal and family values, politics of the country, news of the region, family and peer pressure and is a product of all these manifestations. Then all of a sudden one's thrown into the world and that's when the actual discovery of the 'self' begins. Trust me, it's Awesome! I am not saying however that I am a guru on the ways of life (Well at least not yet ; )) but in my evolution as a 'being' (An existing organism) I have learned a thing or two.... At least I'd like to believe

I could spend paragraphs on the things I have learnt living alone and living in America but that's not the point of this posting. This posting was prompted by what a certain Mr. Arthur Hughes said to me a few hours ago while parting goodbye. Mr. Hughes is ex US military, an African American male from Tenessee (He loves his Tenessee Titans) in his mid fifities probably (I've never asked him) but with the playfullness and energy of a young adult. He is an extremely vivacious and interesting fellow with a world of experience on his shoulders. Active in the office building, he's a sparkle of light and warmth for the otherwise not-so warm and fast paced workers in this building. (Communications and Development office of GT) I will try to accurately uote what he said to me when he left today...

" I wish you the very best of luck with your endevaours Sid. I know you will go to incredible heights, you have a great positive attitude and that's what I really like about you. When you see your parent's the next time tell them they did a great job. Merry Christmas."

In my time away from home, 'I' have really taken shape. Those few words from Mr. Hughes really made my day. When he shook my hands and gave me a firm handshake bidding me adieu, I could feel the genuiness in what he said. I was touched that I had such an impact on a fellow elder co-worker in such a short time. In that spirit and taking inspiration from what he said, I am more than ready to surge into the new year with that 'positive' attitude of mine. I am ready for more challenges, more experiences, more battles and more struggles because that's what made me who I am today. To the people who are opposed to change I say, I am Me and I am here, Deal with it!

And on that note, all I want to say is..

Thank you Mother and Thank you Father!

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