Home away from home… is a lie. There is no place like home, nothing can replace the garden you played in as a child, the one ice cream stand you always visited, the tree behind which you had your first kiss. These memories stay with you forever, no matter how old you grow, you’ll always come back for ma ke haath ka khana and some unbiased pampering.
I moved away from Chennai fairly later than most people do, at 19 I packed my bags and left the comfort of my city behind. It wasn’t easy, but after 3 years of making mistakes, getting back up and learning several lessons, Delhi helped me make peace with myself. So here are a few things you would relate to if you stay away from home, miss home food and are constantly struggling to be an adult, like me!
1. Pizza Isn’t Bae Anymore
You have Domino’s on speed dial and they actually know your order by heart, but nothing beats mom’s biryani! Your tummy is tired of the junk food you keep dumping into it, after a point even that ‘sick people’ yellow dal sounds delish.
2. You Can’t Afford To Get Sick
If you do end up falling ill, you’ll probably have to take an auto to the doctor, buy your own meds and make sure you take them right! Who’ll make you chicken soup to heal you back to health? NO ONE. You made this bed, now lie in it.
3. Budget Is A Legit Thing
Too many night outs drinking is a problem, what do you do with all this freedom when you can’t afford to exploit it? Also, cereal doesn’t count as dinner if you’re too broke to order an actual meal.
4. You’re Finally An Adult
Put it on your resume! You made it, you’re buying groceries, making it through Monday without crying and sleeping in the dark all alone. Adulting is hard, but once you get the hang of it, being independent can be life-changing (it’s great for your self-confidence).
5. Everything Has Changed
It’s a whole new world out there, new people, new city, and whole new perspective. It can be a bit intimidating but there is something so satisfying about overcoming everyday challenges you thought you couldn’t.
6. It Eventually Loses Its Charm
Sad but true, living alone is overrated. It’s all fun and games for around three months and then the first wave of homesickness hits you and you find yourself sobbing in bed at 3 am because you have nothing to munch on except protein bars (been there done that).
7. The Bonds Get Stronger
No matter how you felt back home, once you move away, you realize how much you miss and love your parents. Some of us might be too emotionally handicapped to admit it, but you start understanding the little things they did for you can’t be replaced.
8. All That Glitters, Definitely Shows Its True Colors
Those friends you met every weekend back home don’t bother texting you anymore and you eventually fall out of touch. But that’s a good thing because you finally find the friends worth keeping, distance doesn’t matter much to this lot.
9. Friends Are The New Family
For all those holidays you can’t make it back home, your friends become the family you couldn’t visit. Your bond is different, stronger even, making it through college submissions and bad breakups together.
10. You Become Your Own Person
As an introvert who always used ‘my parents said no’ as an excuse back home, I lost that reason when I moved away. But stepping out of the house once in a while helped me fix myself and those lonely nights alone helped me make the most of my own company. But if nothing else works, you’ll always have Netflix.
Gifs: Giphy
