Growing Independent

I was in high school (or junior college whatever you know it as – basically 11^th, 12^th), when I first learnt travelling by Mumbai locals – alone. That was the first step, a tiny one, but yet first among the many more to come later on. Those 2 years were some learning. And although I traveled only 2 stations – Mulund and Thane (Mumbaikars will know that it is no big deal traveling between these 2 places), my confidence had gone up way high. There isn’t something worth being so proud of in traveling by locals in Mumbai. Millions do it every day, for longer distances, in crazier conditions. But for me, who had managed to travel barely twice a year by train (that too never without getting hyper), it was a huge achievement.

The following 2 years were pretty eventful in terms of travelling alone. I had buses breakdown in the middle of nowhere, trains cancelled leaving me stranded, catching trains running and what not. It made me aware of the kind of sheltered life that I had been living till school days. But I was still not fully aware that the life to come would challenge me greater still and bring me out of my cocoon-like existence. During 3 years of my graduation I traveled Mulund – Matunga. Yet again no big deal considering I rarely ever traveled during rush hours. The rains of Mumbai however ensured that the 3 years of train travel didn’t go altogether uneventfully. However these 3 years were only an extension of the previous 2 in most respect (apart from the fact that I ended up taking a career decision about my graduation and convincing my parents to let me go for it), and anything else I learnt was simply incidental to my graduation years.

I don’t think there was a major change in either my lifestyle, confidence or experience level till I joined MBA and moved away from home. I stayed a year with my relatives, simply for the convenience of travel. In effect it was not that nerve wrecking or difficult. I was well provided for, taken care of, I was staying with a part of my family. I didn’t have to worry about time, food, money, bills, cleaning, maintenance, etc. Yet it was my first experience away from home, away from my parents on whom I had been so dependent for the first 22 years of my life. This was another step in growing independent and no – MBA did not teach me that; my struggle to reduce the pain of travel did. My prowess in travelling by train had increased certainly, but so did my need to save on time, energy and money during a hectic first year at MBA. So I learnt to stay away from the protective wings of my parents, (received more than the stipulated share of pampering from them when I did go back home every weekend – a bonus), and learnt to adjust, be comfortable and enjoy the feeling of gaining more freedom in life.

The biggest step, or rather a huge jump was provided by my summer internship. I was sent to Indore for my project – all alone. As my first solo trip, I was really overwhelmed by the challenge of travelling outside Maharashtra to some place where I had no family, friends, acquaintances – basically no one to fall back upon in case of an emergency. I was terrified and the first few days there were a nightmare. I felt lonely, lost, upset, and homesick. I wished every moment to race back to Mumbai, my home, my family. This condition of mine remained for the first 3-4 days after which I realized I better involve myself in my work. The work became my life and the month and a half away from Mumbai passed swiftly. I learnt a lot in this duration that I would never have learnt had I traveled with someone else. I started to become responsible for myself, my safety, my health. I realized that I had to take care of myself in the best possible way, and be more careful and alert of my surroundings and the people I worked with, stayed with, interacted with. I learnt to find my way around the city alone, enjoying my own company, site seeing alone, discovering food joints alone, and watching movies out alone. I had never imagined that I could have so much fun on my own. When I returned to Mumbai, I realized that I felt much more mature, responsible and confident.

Into the second year of my MBA, I have taken another step in growing self-dependent. I shifted away from family and started staying with flat-mates. This is altogether a different ball game though the 2 solo months at Indore definitely helped me in adjusting in this set up better.

I guess this is progression. My future will bring me more such challenges that will teach me many lessons and help me become self-sufficient. But I think travelling and living alone that I started off with will always be my best and most valued experiences.