I hope you’re doing well!
Three months back if someone would have told me that soon this world would come to a standstill, you won’t be permitted to take flights or go anywhere, bars would be closed, and restaurants would stop hosting people, I would have laughed and thought they are narrating me a story of an alter reality fiction movie. But here we are, living that story for real, and it’s no less than a nightmare!
Fortunately, I’m one of those lucky people who still have a job, who is working with a team where they care about their people. I have a roof over my head, and even though I’m all alone, stuck in a one-bedroom apartment where I haven’t seen another face in over 3–4 weeks, knowing that everyone in my family is safe and healthy, I can still sleep at night!
This crazy period is a bit more challenging for me because around 2 months back, I decided to uproot my kind of settled life and move to San Francisco, my dream city! People who know me well, know how happy I was when I decided to move, how much in love I’m with the city and with the Golden Gate Bridge! (Why I love the bridge so dearly, that’s another story!)
Well, my move, because of multiple reasons, was a roller coaster ride, I was overwhelmed with joy but was filled with anxiety too. I was excited to start the fresh chapter of my life but had no idea, leaving Phoenix would be that emotional. I never realized, if SF was my love, then Phoenix was like that best friend, your go-to friend, a friend you can always rely on, and parting ways with that friend, and leaving the friends I made in that beautiful city was not at all easy!
In the initial few weeks (in the new city), I went through a plethora of emotions, I was thrilled that I finally made it, but I cried many days in a row thinking why the hell I decided to come here! The city is gorgeous, I still remember the day I was in a cab crossing the Bay Bridge, looking at the water and the clear blue sky, I smiled with joy, the view was breathtaking, and I said to myself, this makes it worth all the trouble. The piers, the uphill/downhill roads still amaze me.
There is something about the city, don’t know it’s the casual nonchalant style of the people or the fast yet laid back vibe of the city. The high rise buildings or the pedestrian traffic which never stops, there is something mysterious about it that scares you at first but attracts you and leaves you with the desire to indulge more.
I haven’t started exploring the city yet because soon after I moved, we are in a lockdown state, shelter-in-place, the Covid19 quarantine! But just before we were all sent to this house arrest, I met a new friend. Who moved to the city a few months before I did, she moved with the same dreams and admiration for the city in her heart, so we clicked immediately. I honestly don’t even want to imagine the possibility of not meeting her that day! She is godsent — when we met, we didn’t know the lockdown was coming but guess that was the universe being a little kind. By giving the two of us a friend who would help make this crazy journey a little less painful, so when we go in this lockdown, we have a friend to talk to, to discuss extremely silly things and yet feel absolutely comfortable with it!
This is a difficult time, not only because of the apparent reasons but also because the lockdown loneliness is making it very depressing. If you have a friend, who is feeling lonely and needs some extra time from you, please spend some time with her/him, drop a text just to ask how they are doing!
If you are the one who needs a friend, then please reach out to your friends, text them, call them, ask them to video chat. It’s not easy to show our vulnerable side to others, to ask for help, to accept we need someone just to get past a day, but it’s OKAY!!
It’s okay to be sad, it’s fine to feel lonely, but it’s imperative to ask for help.
This strange chapter of Coronavirus pandemic is teaching me a lot of things, it’s making me a lot more grateful for things that I used to take for granted before. I’m learning to let go, I’m learning to be more accepting and appreciative of people and life overall.
I hope things get better soon and we’ll go out explore this world again, this time with a lot more gratitude in our hearts! Life is precious, it’s fragile, and we should count our blessings for every moment we are alive and healthy.
~~ Poornima
