Journey from city life to town life

As I entered by 7th grade, it became clear to me that we were to move closer to our family's business location: a small town roughly 20 kms from the city. I did not have the slightest clue on what that move meant. I was excited about the new house, which was bigger than our previous one and that meant more room for me to play. After all, it was only 20kms and I still get to meet my friends and make new ones right? After we moved and started settling in, I realized that while I had plenty of room to play, there were hardly any people in the community to play with. Keep in mind that this was before cell phones and the infrastructure revolution during the 2010s in India. So, getting to the city meant someone driving me, a stretch of road through hill country where roads were not well developed. In a nutshell, impossible for a 12-year-old on his own!! My new home was in a neighboring state: a small industrial town comprising of people from different walks of life, different accents, and different culture. It is mind boggling to think of such big changes in 20km in this day and age but that was the perception of a certain city-grown teen back then. Initially, I did

not make that many friends and really missed my old life. Suffice to say, I did not take my first move that well.

With more time on hand, I spent more time playing video games and studying. I was not good at studies growing up and really hated it, so my parents kept me motivated throughout the process. Entering high school, I was completely in love with science and maths. I was making new friends, getting good grades, and easing into the town life. Life was good again !! My father was the first engineer in our family. That, coupled with my love for science pushed me in that direction and I knew I wanted to be an engineer. Like many others growing up in India, I wanted to get into a good engineering school and to do so meant studying hard. Indian Engineering exams are some of the most competitive and toughest exams for high school graduates in the world. The competition was fierce and to help me in that process, I got enrolled in an extra-curricular academic institution geared towards cracking such exams. We even had to clear an exam to get into that institution. My classes for the exam preparations were in Delhi and that meant going back to the city often. I was looking forward to it!!

The image above is of a local bus I took from my home to tuition center in the city, a roughly 1.5 hour journey that also included walking, autos (Indian three-wheeler taxis), and cycle rickshaws. The whole trip with my study session would take about 8 hours of my day. I did this for 3 days a week for two years. This was my first significant time on my won, with no sheltering from my family members, requiring me to make my own decisions. I met lots of new people, at the institute and during my journey. In hindsight, this first time experience on self-reliance helped build my own personality.

Change can be hard on anyone and I was no exception. Adapting to change has been in our genes ever since civilization started and it always ends well. I learnt very early on that the journey to such adaptation can be tough and you have to stay positive. Find your cheerleaders, your mentors, your hobbies, and these will ease your journey. With advancements in technology today, our world is changing fast and to keep up, I am willing to change fast and along the way, strengthening existing connections and making new ones to help me in my journey. I have since moved houses/cities/countries multiple times. (Not so) Ironically, my first time away from family ended up being the most impactful.

Now that you have read my piece on my first move, I would love to hear your experience about your first move. Feel free to post comments below.