2022 has been the most unusual year of my life.
A great blessing, amongst many, has been the people met.
When I chose to take a break, one thing that made my decision rather difficult, apart from career growth and finances, was
People – friends, colleagues, and connections.
Will I make friends again? How can I leave? I barely know anyone in India anymore.
And when I chose to travel, the longing and fear of not making those close-knit relationships grew larger.
I missed not seeing my work friends every day or my grad school friends over long weekends. Those people truly meant family to me.
And the travel lifestyle I chose, is known to have a downside of not having a constant group of friends in close proximity.
A traditional but crucial support system.
But,
Travel also allowed me to find my tribe wherever I went.
I met a lot of good people. People who made traveling a lot more fun and a lot less unnerving.
I was also extremely lucky to find a few that I became really good friend with.
People whom I truly connected with. My kinda people!
So at this point, I may not have 5 friends whom I see every weekend.
But I do have a handful of friends spread across the country who look forward to travel postcards from me.
Or people for whom I use flight layovers to meet for a quick coffee where we talk non-stop catching up on each other's lives.
Or people I met on social media whom can't wait to meet in person!
This year showed me that good people, your people, are everywhere.
Sometimes you will find them on a group tour or a hostel or a coffee shop, or on the bus sitting next to you.
It just takes a little bit of effort and courage to go and say “Hello!”.
Happy New Year Everyone!
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