Travelling is really exciting and moving away for good is even more exhilarating. On Aug. 8, 2015 (my best friend’s 18th birthday), I landed in LA and officially moved halfway across the world. No, I am not exaggerating. There is exactly a 12-hour time difference between Muscat, Oman (my original home) and Long Beach, California (my new home) not to mention the thousands of miles. Here are my “a-ha” moments from the past seven months about growing up and everything else!
1. You will identify with people from different cultures also trying to fit in.
Yes. This does happen. The East and West have very different cultures but the essence of every culture is really the same.
One of my best friends in college is from South America and I can say for certain that if I was from South America, I’d be just like her! I was and always will be in awe of this realization- no matter how far away we all came from, we are all somewhat the same.
2. You will learn far more about yourself, the world and about the workings of opinion.
When you travel really far, away from your “normalcy”, you will be stripped of all the unessential chatter and clutter in your life (which is why most people travel). And when the mist is cleared, you will begin understanding yourself, the world and how and why we make opinions, because truly, most of our opinions and beliefs come from our environment. All of those preconceptions and truths that you once held will have to stand up to the preconceptions and truths of others.
3. You will realize that independence means responsibility.
Unfortunately, independence and responsibility are a combo package! You don’t get to pick one. Both are equally scary and exciting and together they get to be downright terrifying.
To quote Meredith Grey,
"Responsibility. It really does suck. Unfortunately, once you get past the age of braces and training bras, responsibility doesn't go away. It can't be avoided. Either someone makes us face it or we suffer the consequences. And still adulthood has it perks. I mean the shoes, the sex, the no parents anywhere telling you what to do. That's, pretty damn good." - Grey's Anatomy.
4. You will learn that being "teachable" is the best thing you can be.
When you are in your comfort zone, you tend to think that you know it all. But travelling flips the coin. And the easiest way to deal with this change is by telling yourself that you are learning. Mistakes, whether they were made knowingly or unknowingly, will become much more meaningful and less of something you want to sweep under the rug. You will learn much more than you bargained for. Just allow yourself to be a student of the world.
5. You will be in awe of people’s race.
At this point, you will realize that History is really not all that boring. My closest friends are all from South Asia and when we trace our family’s roots it’s interesting to see that we really are the same. Countries might just be political tools.
For example, this.
6. You will not like a new cuisine the first time you try it. However, you will soon live off it.
The first time I tried tacos and quesadillas, I missed shawarmas more than anything else I had left behind. You would think they are not quite that different- meat wrapped in a delicious casing, veggies and dip and seasoning, yet neither can compare to the other. Despite being unimpressed with them on that first bite, I ended up living off them for the rest of the semester!
Shawarmas versus tacos. They are not the same!
7. You will learn the magnitude and immensity of the words “family” and “home”.
There is this expanse of overpowering emotions and words which fumble me when I try to describe “family” or “home”. Before I left, it was easy to toss the words around, use them to describe mundane things and people, but once I left, even saying the word family or typing it in an assignment brought up a wave of thoughts and feelings that words just cannot explain. You might even end up wanting to get them tattooed.
8. You will learn to be secure with relationships that actually survive the distance.
You don’t get moody or insecure just because your best friend didn’t reply to your text until the next day. You both understand that your lives go beyond your WhatsApp conversations, not to mention that the time difference makes everything so much harder. This, however, does not mean that you won’t have a two hour conversation with them the next time you talk to them, usually at a time that has to be scheduled (which for me is Sunday mornings at 1 am).
9. Nothing can compare to home.
Despite all the interesting people you’ve met, all busiest cities and quietest towns you’ve visited, and the whole new perspective you have gained about the world, you will realize that home is its own paradise. You cannot starve off familiarity forever, you know?
10. Nothing can replace this experience.
The backlash, fear, and doubt you had about this decision completely evaporates when you look back and realize how much you have grown.
