The past few weeks in my life have left me thinking about many different things. Just a few days ago, I encountered on Facebook a fan page of my school in India. This brought back all sorts of memories and re-ignited my desire to visit the beautiful place again. I have nothing but fond memories of my childhood in India, and I would give everything I have to experience it one more time.
Unarguably, the things that I miss the most are the things that I didn't really care much about. Playing soccer after school, hiking the mountains during the weekends, and roaming the streets of the local bazaar with my cousins were all events that I took for granted. Life in India was much different in comparison to my current life here in America. To start off, America provides an infinite number of resources for anyone to utilize. The circumstances in India weren't quite the same, and I had to make the best with what was available. For instance, we had to play soccer with tennis balls because they were much cheaper. Technology was another feature that was sorely limited. Computers and video games fascinated me from the time when I was very little. Although the computer at my home gave me a chance to learn the basic functions, I wanted to know about more than just Microsoft Paint and Word. As a result, my cousins and I devised a plan to better explore the advantages of a computer. Each week, we would save about fifteen rupees to use the computers at the local cafe during the weekend. The money didn't give us a whole lot of time to use the machines, but two hours was more than enough. It was here that I first learned about the phenomenon known as the internet. The gateway to all things around the world. I was in awe at the amount of possibilities that the internet offered. Being able to chat simultaneously with three people in different locations around the world? Blasphemy, I thought. However, I was witnessing it in front of my very eyes and forcefully convinced myself that it was real. This was the first incident in which I realized that the world was much bigger and advanced than what I expected it to be. It dawned upon me that there was many things that I didn't know about. It fostered the inquisitive side within me that always wanted to know more. That quality remains with me until this day, and among everything that the nation has given me, is the most valuable offering that I am thankful for.
