The magic of a place

I was going through the toughest and most emotionally challenging phases of my life when I had to start the last year of my undergraduate degree at IIT Kanpur. I did not want to leave home. I did not want to go back to campus. All the good things had suddenly stopped, and it felt like life, for a moment, had zero inspiration. It was plain, uninteresting and boring.

I don’t generally cry while going away from home to go to college. I did not shed a tear while leaving home for the first time in my fresher year. I did not cry while leaving, even after I had spent 18 months at home due to the pandemic. This time, it was different. I cried. It was not visible, but I did. I did not want to go back. I did not want to meet anyone. Did not want to talk. I just wanted to stay alone and knew it would not be possible back on campus.

Have you heard stories about magical places? Something like Hogwarts. A place where only good things happen, a place which makes you stronger and happier, a place which heals you? I was going there. I might be dramatizing a bit, but if I had to write it again, I probably wouldn’t use any different words.

There is a good chance you have heard me say this if you have met me in the past year., “It’s not about the place, money or things; it’s about the people. It is always about the people.” So I think the title of this article is misleading. The article isn’t about a magical place. Instead, it’s about people who are magical. People who might look like just you and me but in everyone else’s life but in mine, they are magical. People who are my real friends. People who would listen to anything I might want to share. People who would come running when I needed them. People I could let go of all my worries and cares with. People with whom even a short amount of time could make you feel better. I met such magical people in this magical place. The experiences I had here were therapeutic; they helped to heal me. The people who did this may not even realize what they were doing. But they did; little by little, day by day, they made everything better.

It's not about the place, money or things; it's about the people. It is always about the people.

The place I am talking about is the place where I stay. The place where all my friends stay. The place where we all belong. It’s only been 4 months, but I’ve made memories that will last a lifetime. I’m only halfway through, but I’m convinced that the next few months will be the best of my life.

In a few years, I’ll probably be swamped keeping up with the rat race. All of us would be busy in our own lives. Most of us won’t even think about this time or this place. It’s improbable that we’d all get together and experience the same moments in precisely the same way. But we certainly won’t forget. We will look back and remember these good times and then maybe ring each other up and cry again?