When I initially started this particular page on my blog, it was meant to be a journal of my experiences since I arrived in the USA. Not quite the conventional move, I arrived and travelled across New Jersey, Buffalo, Boston, Boca Raton, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Houston over a span of less than 6 months! Living out of my suitcases, experimenting with cooking and best of all, travelling across these wonderful places and exploring local cultures, when I left back to India for a month, it was with a sense that I couldn’t believe I had managed to do all of this while living alone, in a new country for the first time in my life. When I returned in November, prepared to jump across Philadelphia, Miami, South Carolina, Raleigh and Orlando over the next two months, it was with an inexplicable sense of coming home. I have laughed, cried, faced both acceptance and rejection, learnt my lessons and truly lived over the course of the past 8 months in this new country at the other end of the globe, but somehow what I didn’t see coming was how these experiences would worm itself into my heart. My heart, which has always described home as both Dubai and India, suddenly found itself split into three- America truly feels like my third home to me.
Which is why, in the middle of research, rotations, travel, applications, video calls to family and making new friends, I decided to halt my drafts for this page. I wanted to take my time, and document how transformative this journey has been in my life. It is truly difficult to put into words; I have always been independent and known to speak up and take initiative, I’ve been told I am a good leader and an excellent communicator, but when I look back on the past year, I think I have allowed myself to really believe it for the first time. With bumps and bruises, I made it into 2024!
But now, as I sit in Orlando planning for my first birthday in the USA next month, I feel a sense of peace. My mind is already whirling with images of photo grids to show the gorgeous places I visited and the stories behind them. So get ready, to see my 2023 journey over the next few months of 2024!
While we’re waiting on that, I thought now would be a good time to document 5 lessons I learned in 2023. Now fair warning, I’m 26(soon to be 27!), so this might be old news to those of you in your third decade of life and beyond, but feel free to nod your head and say I told you so! But if little Aiswarya ends up having a time-travel journey into this multiverse, take notes before you leave, girl!
Lesson No. 1: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever – But the cautious do not live at all.”
Borrowed those quotes from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Branson, (and also the Princess Diaries movie- thank you Anne Hathaway!). But I cannot stress how much I have realised this is true. When I decided to pursue my USMLE journey, my parents, understandably, could not figure out why I would want to do something nobody I knew personally had done. How could I possibly figure out everything on my own, without a single person to guide me?
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. I didn’t have a fully formed plan in my mind when I arrived in April(okay it was around 65% formed already), but when you really want to pursue your dreams, the Universe will somehow give you exactly what you need. Do remember, even the most well-thought-out plans will have to be adaptable to change because while Life will give you what you need, it might force you to take detours before you land at your spot. Don’t panic. You are smart, and you WILL figure it out.
Lesson No. 2: Do not lose your faith in goodness, but do not be naive.
The world is not divided into black and white. Difficult situations can bring out both the best and the worst in the people around you. You will meet people who take you for a ride, but you will also meet some wonderful colleagues who will become your friends for life. Do not trust blindly, but do not become bitter. Evolve!
Lesson No. 3: If you want the Universe to help you, you have to step out and knock on doors. For every ten people that turn you down, there will be that one person who sees something in you, believes in you and gives you a chance.
Kinda self-explanatory! 🙂 Would you have made it so far in your USMLE journey without this approach?
Lesson No. 4: Travel!!!
Girl I cannot stress this enough. Your most defining experiences have been getting to explore the local culture of every town you have been to. From going on treasure hunts in a 200 year old church in Boston to getting drenched under the Niagara Falls, remember the world is your oyster, so explore!
Lesson No. 5: Your body is your temple, and health really is wealth.
Please do not underestimate this. If nothing else, this is your lesson for life. Your love for strength training and working out is going to not only bring a balance to your hectic schedule but also leave you happier post-workout.(Thank you Endorphins!)
The Phoenix's Pensieve 