Remember when we were young and carefree, when we lived in the comforts of our homes and had all of our needs and demands met? We had our parents, our siblings, the lovely neighbors we grew up with, all of them right by our side all the time. And then we grew up! We had to, for our studies or jobs or whatever reasons, leave our humble abode and get out there in the world. That’s when we realize that the life we had been living was such a blessing.

We realize how we took these things for granted. Maybe because they were our every day and now that they aren’t anymore, we miss them more than anything. Go back in time, did you ever think you could MISS home? Wasn’t home supposed to be with you all the time? Well, that’s life for you! Things change!

You move to another city and now suddenly everything seems new. Everything you’ve known is questioned, your reality changes. The people around you, the food, the places, the roof over your head, the vibe that you’re used to, everything changes. It’s like you’re starting your life all over again. In a way you are. You need to live with new people, and hang out with them and each one is so different, we come across so many new stories, we have to learn new slangs, get accustomed to new food, different taste, different dishes, we’re Indians so a lot of times we come across a completely new language and we need to adapt. Our comfort places are gone, our comfort people are far far away and all these alterations can be frightening.

You might feel out of place, you might doubt yourself over and over again, you might find people who’re compassionate to you one day and then strangers the very next. If I take my personal experience into consideration, you get overwhelmed. Not only does a new life brings along various promises and opportunities but also fears, doubts and uncertainty. This new life seems to take away the feeling of stability, the feelings of known and safety. That is what makes you miss your home so much. As humans we crave for stability and sooner or later we realize that it’s home that brings it into our lives.

Answer a question for me. Did you really have to leave your home? In most of our cases the answer would be no. Sure our dreams mostly require us to but it’s generally a choice we make. It’s not like we can do nothing staying at home. Those are our dreams we’re chasing, it’s our decision to stay away from the comforts of our places, we do it for our future. So in the end, no matter how much of a struggle it is, we still survive and can also thrive. Because along with the fears and uncertainty we also feel a sense of independence, a sense of control over our lives. Therefore, we generally tend to find small things, certain people, places, spots that can remind us of our home and provide us with a homely feeling in our new lives.

I left my home to pursue my higher education and was obviously hesitant at first, slightly fearful but at the same time excited and curious as to what the new world holds for me. I missed my home dearly every day, the peace and quiet it brought to me, the stability it provided me with , I missed all of it. But I knew that soon enough I’ll have to get used to the new life, the new place I had to call home, the new people that surrounded me. And I did. Humans are adaptation machines. We can adapt to our surroundings, no matter how different they get. It’s a process and can sometimes be long, tiring and hurtful! Like I could we all get used to things. Not all of them though, some of them remind you of home in a way that makes you sad, that makes you want to fly over to your place by the first plane you can catch. Then there are a certain kind of spots, people or things that remind you of home in a way where you feel like you’re already there.

One such spot for me is Marine Drive. You must have heard of it, the marine drive in Mumbai! It’s close to my college and we often hangout there after our lectures. For some reason that place just makes me feel like I’m right where I should be. I’ve always loved the sea, the waves excite me and show the possibility of abundance and the infiniteness of god’s creation. The first time I sat there, the very night I reached Mumbai I knew it would be a special place to me. The view of the seashore, the sound of the waves, the buildings around, the city lights, all of it seemed perfect to me! It always reminds me of the first time I came to this city with a huge bag of dreams, it reminds me that no matter how far away home seems now, I have a reason to be here! Therefor I often call it my home away from home.

I also get this homely feeling in a few bonds that I have here, maybe it’s the similar feeling of lack and doubts or a common interest in things like art and music, in some cases the love we share for the Marine Drive and the moon! The feeling that there is somebody who gets you is what makes you feel at home. When I tell you this all I’m trying to say is that we always find something or somebody that comforts us and becomes our only source of stability in the unstable, inexperienced lives we lead when we first leave our nests in an attempt to fly higher. It’s a beautiful experience, you miss home but at the same time you feel at home. You crave to be at your house in your city with your family but each time you’ve to come back after visiting your home there is something for you to look forward to. It’s a bittersweet but a precious feeling, finding a home someplace new when you’re away from yours!

There’s one more thing that is home to me, no matter where I am or how lost I feel it steadies my wandering thoughts. It’s the moon, I’ve always fancied it not only for how it epitomizes beauty but also because it gives me a sense of belonging. Such a big world, billions of people and only one moon for all of them! So many life stories and one element that’s common in all of them! I always find this fascinating, don’t you? When I miss home, even a glimpse of the moon makes me feel like I might not be that far away from it afterall. Moon for me is going to be one thing that’s constant no matter how high I fly or how low I fall, one thing that I can reach out to every night in spite of any havoc.

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