Change Changed My Life

By Saumya Hariharan

Life is a menace of changing experiences. This obviously, is a well-known fact, which has been taught to us, not only by our families, but by our own experiences as we grow up. How much ever we try to even control, or even secure the itenary of our future, fate and experiences always prove otherwise.

I do not mean to be overtly philosophical here, but I find no other pastime in a 15-hour journey across the two hemispheres of the globe. Being in my home country for 15 years, I have tasted so much of diversity and culture. Being an India, making sambar the same way, in different households, and experiencing contrasting changes in both dishes, is a normal phenomenon.

So, one might ask me, that change is a part of my lifestyle, so how different can it be now?

The story can be put like this. When changes happen at a macro level, it is extremely massive and can be considered as a part of an experiential process, and not just by mere observation or watching from the sides of a stadium. Moving to an entirely novel place, surely gives you more freedom, but makes you much more responsible and self-reliant.

A common theory that humans use (and sometimes even exploit), is that every decision has numerous profits and losses. We often analyse so many benefits on a personal, professional, and economical level that sometimes, we tend to neglect our emotions and cognitions. This self-neglect can unfortunately, lead to our change to be counterproductive to our personal growth and happiness.

So, coming back to realizing that my thoughts are in the air and so was I, a gush of sunlight appeared in the window of my seat, followed by the pilot’s commentary and the flight attender’s disclaimer guidelines, pointing out landing rules, thereby indirectly giving headlines into the drastic change that was going to happen in my life.

This was it. I was there. If “change” has an airport, I had already landed. New city, new soil, new people, new graduate school, and new air to smell. My education phase was at present, to pursue a doctorate degree in clinical psychology, but I do not think one can escape the flight of change, even if there is turbulence on the way.

To all my readers, this is not just a story of change. It is a screenshot of my thoughts while experiencing this unique phase of my life. Such could happen to any one of us, at any level, age, forum, or even despite numerous planning and expectations. Acceptance can sometimes be tough, when our favourite filter coffee is replaced by Starbucks, or even when the smell of home cooked food and atmosphere, suddenly becomes the environment that is self-created with humble attempts to plan your meals during study break times.

It has been a month of change. A month of adjustment across multiple domains. A change that has undoubtedly changed my life. A change, that hopefully, helps the changes in your lives too.

By Saumya Hariharan