“Life brings simple pleasure to us every day, it’s up to us to make them wonderful memories.” – Cathy Allen
Lots of memories… lots of stories… Come let me take you down the memory lane of my life filled with varied culture.
Let me start with a mixture on my platter – father is from Kerala, mother from Maharashtra and I was brought up in Gujarat, completed my schooling in Bangalore, went to Australia for higher studies and now back to silicon valley.
Gujarat- the state of culture and traditions. I was known for my obedience in the convent school where I studied. I was caught red-handed often for doing pranks in the school premises by my elder sister, who was a sports captain too. All my mischiefs were also notified at home and I was reprimanded by my mom for the same, which I miss a lot. We celebrated many festivals like Diwali, Holi, Navratri, Uttarayan, Christmas, and Eid with family and friends. Among these, one of my favorites out of all is Navratri as I am fond of “colourful lehengas, dandiya and garba”. During those nine nights, we enjoyed every beat of music and eating varieties of street food. The midnight tea near the station was one of the most popular places to hang out. I wish I could go back to those days again.
Our summer vacation was spent in Kerala with grandparents and cousins. Sign language came in handy as language was a barrier for us. The visits gave us the opportunity to explore all the beautiful and scenic places of Kerala such as Munnar, Kumragao, Trivandrum etc. We were treated and were served varieties of Kerala dishes, Appam and Kerala curry are my favourites as they made my mouth water.
My mom was always concerned about my career. One fine day, she asked me “What’s your career aspiration?” To make her happy, I replied “I want to be a nurse like you.” She was thrilled to hear this and got a nursing application form from one of the nursing colleges at Bangalore and from there my journey to silicon valley started.
My life turned over, and I became very passionate towards the nursing profession. I started enjoying the studies and scored good marks, and when I shared my first term result with my mom, she couldn’t believe it. In one of the subjects, I had scored 92 marks which she thought could be 29. The biggest regret I have in my life is my mom couldn’t see my achievements of receiving the “Best Outgoing Student Award” and myself as a ‘Nurse’.
Bangalore as a cosmopolitan city has taught me to be independent and gave me access to learn multiple languages. It’s a dream come true when I went to Australia where I had experienced a different phase of my life which is the most memorable.
Every new place has a unique way of teaching new things. Gujarat taught me to be always happy and enjoy life as it comes. Kerala made me a patient person, Bangalore liberated me and Australia gave me the courage to be persistent in all situations. Life got me back to Bangalore, probably to get new experiences and make new memories. Happy to have this new challenge in my life.
“You May Not Always End Up Where You Thought You Were Going, But You Will Always End Up Where You Are MEANT TO BE” – Jessica Taylor