Change can be daunting.

About eight years ago, I migrated to the States from India. My family and I moved to a beautiful house in Houston, but I missed my home immensely.

We previously resided in a small apartment in Gurgaon, where everyone knew each other. We celebrated joyous festivities like Holi, Diwali, Christmas, and New Year’s with our neighbors and I found appreciation for my culture.

I attended a school filled with intelligent students but more importantly, kind and genuine individuals who I was lucky to call my friends. I took music lessons and looked forward to the classes every week. My guru instilled my passion for Indian classical music and laid the foundation for this art form I still practice today.

I established meaningful bonds that I never foreshadowed to be halted. Everything seemed to be moving at a fast pace and I never had the chance to say goodbye to my friends.

However, change is constant.

Even though moving to a new country presented its own challenges, I was fortunate to live in the land of opportunity.

I had access to free education and the amount of resources offered in this country left me awestruck. I had never seen schools that were air-conditioned and public libraries holding vast knowledge for everyone.

Education was always viewed as a privilege but soon I came to realize that it was an essential human right.

Houston is known for its diversity and I was able to interact with multiracial students who carried unique stories. Integrating into a community filled with individuals practicing different religions and speaking various languages provided me with an opportunity to fit my piece into the puzzle.

One of the core needs of surviving as human beings is the sense of belonging and Houston provided much more than that.

I joined choir in my school and expanded my realm of music by learning different genres of music from Classical and Jazz to Pop and R&B. My family and I were blessed to create new friendships and meet individuals who made the transition period welcoming and inclusive.

We live a great life and part of it that makes it exciting and reveling is change.

I am not going to say change is easy or claim that change is a smooth ride. But change paves the way for our journey. Change is what makes our stories unique and intriguing. Change entails sacrifice and hardships but in the end, change provides opportunities and reveals our strengths.