Day 19: Just clap already!

As this series is about to end, I’ve invited one of my best friends from high school to write for us today. Shivangi and I’ve known each other since we were 15 and we have a lot of lovely memories together. She’s one of those people I have so much to say about that I don’t know what to say at all. She grew up in Kuwait, went to university in Indiana, and will soon start working in New York City. Here’s what she has to say:

The good, the bad and the ugly

I’ll be honest—unlike most teenagers who dream of living alone, and having independent lifestyles with no one to lay down rules for them, I was perfectly content living at home with my parents.

 

I was always, what they call, a ‘mama’s baby.’ I needed my mom for every big and small decision. But I am ambitious too, and aspired to get an American degree from a good university. This dream forced me to leave home after high school and start living life all by myself in Bloomington, Indiana.

When my parents left Bloomington after helping me move into my dorm, I realised life alone was in fact harder than I had imagined. My first week of classes was the first time I had to wake up with an alarm instead of my mom’s loving screams. The fear that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning kept me up through the first week of classes. Then came many other disastrous first experiences—grocery shopping, laundry and ironing. 

I remember one night in mid November—winter had set in and it was really chilly and windy. At 11 pm, I realised that there was no milk for my morning coffee—one thing I can’t start my day without. So I rushed out in the cold to fetch milk at 11pm! And that taught me an important life lesson—refrigerators never automatically restock themselves.

But all in all living alone, for the last 5 years through my college education, has helped me become independent and self-reliant.

I still, of course, jump at every opportunity to go home but I know that I can survive in any part of the world. I think the most valuable lesson I learnt through these years is that planning ahead is very important: be it for bills, grocery, insurance or banking. Leaving things ad hoc can have disastrous consequences.

I am now preparing to start life on my own in New York City. But this time around, although I’m going to be in a much bigger and busier city, I feel prepared and ready for the challenge.