Creating “Home” in a New City

What’s the startup pack for creating a place called “home” in a new city?

• Creating a comforting place
• Searching nostalgia
• Looking for a food that smells like home

But how do you find these things in a place that is the hub for technology and people running from one place to another? That was my concern when I entered the City of Dreams. While keeping my baggage in the cab, a thought came into my head. But the fear of the “new city” kept me controlled. 

While zoning out into the array of songs, I missed most of Bangalore’s traffic. But as soon as I entered the campus, I was greeted with people dolled up for celebrations. I looked at them, then stared back at me and found I was too underdressed for this place. 

Alliance seemed like a massive land with new faces where I kept searching for acquaintances. After managing to get angry on the very first day, I ate some food and met the people who helped me create my comfort place. 

After the hectic settling-in, a new week started off, with classes that felt like a whole new world for me. Being taught everything that I wanted to learn from my undergrad was one of the best feelings. With assignments and class discussions, this feeling passed away a few times but regained when I thought about the ultimate goal. 

While my search for nostalgia was ending with the thought that I would not find someone who loves Delhi as much as I do, I found people who made me nostalgic. Whether it be the songs or the “vibe” we created, it felt like a part of my life at home came back again. My search for home-cooked food has been made better with the smiles at Nescafe. Although there have been ups and downs in this journey, I come back every day to this place called Ghar. 

Every Beginning is Not a New One

 Beginnings are NOTHING NEW! 

You get into the new year with a spirit to start something new, but what happened to the beginning you started the previous year or the year before that? Beginnings are not always about a "big deal", it's about taking care of the small things and giving your 100% in improving them. This means, putting extra effort and brains into something you started. For example, if you made a goal of getting healthier, you could put in some extra effort to work on it by adding a target. 

Let's try to understand the different perspectives of beginning from the start: 

What are beginnings? 

Beginnings as vocalised in local languages are the start or onset of a new chapter. But if we think broadly, beginnings are about taking the extra effort to work an extra mile for something you might have started earlier too. Its meaning is not just restricted to the evolution of start, but it also transcends to giving yourself a push after a long break. 

For example, let's take spirituality. Most of our parents have told us the meaning and importance of spirituality in our childhood, provided only 60% of us actually retain and follow it through our lives. But when you grow old and experienced, there is a point when you regain that belief and fall back to it. This might come in twenty or thirty years or might just be there in your head for a long. Would you consider this a beginning? 

For me yes! Anything big or important that I am learning again for the second, third, or even the millionth time is a beginning for me. Hence, instead of making a fresh list of resolutions, I decided to pick up things that I had left incomplete and work on them first. And trust me, acting on things is far better than creating new things and working on them. 

@2023 Recap

2023 like any other year, was quite electrifying. I learned, grew, and most importantly picked myself back up. From the slightest of things to shifting to a new city, 2023 was not short of a storm for me. I definitely made new acquaintances, left a few people behind, and held onto a few who helped me grow. Whether it be taking an extra turn, or just working on the same thing, I learned many new things and invested in myself. (That's the best investment I could make)

More than anything, 2023 opened many new horizons for me and gave me the beginnings to work on for the next season of life. I understood that making a big deal out of things is not something I want to do and hence, it's better to just work on something existing and excel in that first. 

The new perspectives and new changes helped me see life from a vision I would not have explored living in my small zone. Hence some of my key learnings this year were: 

1. Life is simple. Live it simple. 
2. Invest in what makes you satisfied and not happy. 
3. Give yourself a chance to grow before judging. 
4. Keep learning no matter what!
5. People can be good too. 
6. Be present! 

What were your key learnings? Share with me in the comments.

And if you liked this blog don't forget to follow and ping me at poorvik35@gmail.com 

Until the next blog, make sure to mark your beginning and start acting on it!