A Journey of Thousand Miles

“British Airways flight 332 departing from Gate 6 is now boarding, First class passengers please come forward with your boarding pass”. I did not know any better. “My last day” to me was leaving behind “my” friends, “my” life, “my” people, “my” home and “my” country.

The Day I Landed in Dallas!!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Truer words were never spoken. The decision to leave your country and go to another does start with taking that one single step – acknowledgment. Acknowledgment that you want this, you have to do this and you are ready for this.

America was my greatest adventure and my biggest fear. Having never traveled to a foreign country before, I was intrigued about the culture, the people, the country itself. What will it be like? Will I be able to adjust to that pace of life? Will I make friends? Questions i pondered on ; but ones which had no definitive answers.

Fighting to hold back tears back, I sat restlessly in my seat with a blanket hiding my face. A long flight lay ahead of me, during which time I could absorb the fact that I had just left my friends, my family, my home. I was torn between sadness of leaving my whole life behind and a feeling of anxiety of starting a new life.

Even before I arrived in America, the fear I felt was of not having the familiarity of home. Moving to another country meant that I had to start my life all over again; this time without the unwavering support of my family.

Whether I succeeded or failed, it would be entirely up to me. It was my challenge, one that I accepted.

The hardest thing I encountered was being away from my family. There is a certain comfort in knowing that no matter how hard your day was, you can always come home to a smiling face and an encouraging word. The first few months were the toughest. I wanted nothing but to go home!!!! They say “Distance is not a factor in a Family”…. And yes it is not. I found Family in Friends, they and a driving force from India were instrumental in keeping up my sprites and help adapt.

Adolescence has passed me by a long time ago. The passage of time went unnoticed. When that security is no longer there, the passage into adulthood happens. Coming to America brought that to me.