Born with the silver spoon was I and grew up, with the spoon making transition into a golden one. Being a daughter was a feather in my cap, I could manage to get all the attention in the world. Like most of the daughters , I was given what I asked for, taken care like I was still an infant, fed like I had been deprived of food for ages, loved like I was the first and the last of the kind, protected like there was voldemort awaiting me and what more I had the world at my disposal. Where I was gifted with so many luxuries by my elders, I had bequeathed lots of lessons on modesty, humanity, kindness, benevolence and lots more which would turn me into a philanthropist. I used to wonder why am I supposed to know all this when I have everything, who cares about what others want or not want. But there were some lessons which I valued and followed and I am glad to have done that. I was moved by the stories of the hardships they faced in life to reach a position where they stood now and realized that I was the blessed one, as I didn’t face any. I had learnt the most valuable lesson of my life from these stories, “one can’t achieve anything without having to undergo pain in life”. This remained lost in the back of my memory until I made my Journey to The United States. A voyage which not only made me recall these lessons but understand and respect the others too, which I once passed it off as mere nonsense.
It was the first time, I was away from home since birth, to top it all I was in a different country where I was an alien. I had to look for my shelter, hunt for means to earn my bread and butter, learn to handle the culinary, wash my dirty linen, clean my surroundings, a very few of the activities to name. I was frustrated and agitated with myself. Every single day I shouted at myself “Did I need to lead a wretched life like this when I had a life which was bed of roses? “ To me my life seemed like the story of riches to rags. I used to cry in my bed, hiding the tears from the world which would otherwise laugh at me, this was when the long told stories of my elders came to life, gave me the strength to fight the odds and move on. Today, I have coped up with the difficulties and have learnt to be optimistic about them.
I was apprehensive about having to share my apartment with the three other strangers, but it was a blessing in disguise. I couldn’t expect to have my way in everything like before, I couldn’t expect people to take my responsibility and do my work like my parents. I learnt to be responsible, manage my things and people. No two persons are the same in this world, I saw that clearly here, this taught me to handle people of different personalities without rubbing them in the wrong way. In the due course of time, I had learnt to control my emotions, learnt to be patient, I hadn’t lost my temper for a long time now, I was amazed with myself. I think I can consider a HR position , I will do justice to the job I bet.
I managed to find a job of a cashier to feed myself, I would have been looked down upon in my country for doing a job as menial as that but the concept of “no diginity of labour” here managed to save me. I had always been on the other side of the cashiering machine today I was in the opposite court, I learnt what it meant to give a smile and say thank you to a cashier, whom not even once I had cared to look at when I used to empty my purse into the his/her cash box before. I pledged, that in the future I would never to grumble or frown at any shopkeeper or a cashier or anyone who would serve me at their best, after all they too were earning their bread and butter like what I was doing now. I learnt to respect all the jobs and people doing it too.
Earning the money in the hard way taught me its value, the same me who used to throw it away to buy every commodity which would please my eyes, now knew what deserved it and what not. My parents used to categorize my shopping as extravaganza and unnecessary but still, never stopped paying for it because their daughter craved for it, sorry pa!!! Now I know what pain you took to earn it. But now, I can judge what is necessary and what is luxury for me. Large sum or small, money was hard to earn, unless and until one went about doing it the wrong way. There were times when I hated to travel in train, because I felt the people there were down market, dirty and threw tantrums when mentioned about it, which used to earn me the wrath of my dad. Here we Indians shared the same fate in the eyes of an American. Now, I realize that it is just the matter of good luck to be born to my parents, that I was so clean and sophisticated, my birth among those people whom I called dirty would have left me one among them. I respected them all now.
Apart from the grooming of my personality, I acquired several new skill sets which I never intended to. I, who didn’t know how to cook Maggie was now a decent cook, I earned a lot of appreciation for some of my explicit dishes, rasam and bisi bele bath being the people s favorite. I managed my monthly needs, bills, expenditure and home too, without flaws. Hmmmmmm…. all in all I had become a household management expert. My friends mocked at me saying “you are all set to be an expert house wife” well that was never what I wanted or want to be. My aspirations to do my MS had made me do all the other things which otherwise I would have never dreamt of doing.
My goal of studying aboard undoubtedly is proving to be a worthwhile decision to have made. I would say more than enhancing my technical knowledge, US has groomed me into a better human being. Though at heart I remain the same, most of my principles and ideologies unaltered, this experience has curbed my arrogance, ego, pride and has pushed me into maintaining a low profile. Though according to me I have changed in several ways into a better person, I am awaiting my trip to India which would be a litmus test for the same which I hope to pass. Now I knew that life is not about wearing brands, roaming in cars, eating in posh restaurants, throwing parties, living at the cost of your parents income, but it is all about earning the eligibility to do all the above by attaining your goal, fame and money and above all, the reverence in the peoples eye for you. Hope these wont remain as mere words in this blog, in my life and will look foward to write a part 2 to this after my graduation.
