Boston: My Goldilocks' City

"Kahin pe pahunchne ke liye kahin se nikalna bahut zaroori hota hai!"

This line from a modern Bollywood classic, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, has of late become a cliché in the world of Social Media. But, clichés exist for a reason, don't they? 

Having lived in as many as 4 different cities in my life, I have always had this latent identity crisis within that revealed itself with passing time. When I moved to the land of an unknown language, Chandigarh, at the age of 7, I used to tell everyone that I am from Karnataka. When I moved back, I was the kid who moved from Chandigarh, a Hindi speaking Kannadiga! When I moved to Bangalore for my college, I was from Shimoga but when I moved to Boston in the Fall of 2018, I was from Bangalore! The icing on the cake was when I was visiting a relative in Maryland, USA and when someone over there asked me where I was from, my go to was, "I am from Boston!" 

It often takes a person that one pull of the trigger to understand something that has been within for a long time. For me, this was that moment. I had changed my response to where I belonged 3 times in approximately 12 years! Do not get me wrong, I was happy in each of those cities. It was just the constant change and the late realisation of the same that got me thinking! I guess, that justifies another overused cliché, "Change is the only constant!"

An enveloped fear masquerading as radiant confidence is the key point of identification of anyone who is in a foreign land. I was no different on my Day One in Boston but with passing time, actual confidence alleviated the fear and familiarity sunk in. Boston is often called the Cradle of Liberty owing to its key role in the American Freedom Revolution but it has grown to be the country's Educational Capital, housing over 35 colleges and Universities, becoming a home for over 200,000 students! I often relate to the Goldilocks Principle when I think about Boston. The Beantown is just right, not too big, not too small, just perfect! It doesn't have the hubbub of New York City but at the same time, it offers a plethora of opportunities for all kinds of professions to flourish! Boston has the right mixture of heritage, tradition, and development. While universities like Harvard and MIT have revolutionised the World in countless ways, the multi-century old theaters, museums, and a million other attractions have kept the essence of the city as it was in its early days of the Tea Party!

It's been 2 years since I came to Boston. Two amazing years. While academics have been the obvious highlight of the entire endeavor, the mere existence in this city has helped me become a better person. Whether it be being wished a Good Morning by that random stranger or shivering in the cold winters while walking home on a mid-December night, each day in Boston has been an experience in itself. Having no time to spend at home in spite of paying a bomb for rent to spending 4 months quarantined, my days in Boston have definitely been ones to remember. I would not have been able to survive the downs and emphatically enjoy the ups without some of the best people that I have met here in this city. But, I will keep that for some other day! 

Thank you, Boston! It has been a pleasure! Wherever I am going to be in the coming years of my life, Boston will always be 'Home'.