A Lone Traveler: My Journey to Self-recovery

“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.”
― Roman Payne, The Wanderess

While I was sitting silently in my lab buried under tons of papers and books, two computers on my desk glared at me. I never thought I would be a “Human Machine”. A person, who used to talk around for hours, never thought that a day would come when she would be tied to the chair for hours reading research books, papers and looking at the IEEE websites. I felt bound and lousy. None of my friends were free during the weekdays, including my boyfriend. Looking at the mess all around me I thought, “am I so obliged to actually not live my life?” The answer to that question leads me to what I have become now, and I don’t feel sorry for that.

“A Lone Traveller”, that’s what I would like to call myself. The trend started when I first missed my class due to Barrack Obama’s visit to India during the republic day. I felt so angry on the traffic system of Delhi that I cursed loudly in the auto I was travelling in. I was nowhere near my destination and far away from home (Oh rats!!). An idea then struck my mind and I was off to visit Qutab Minar on my own. I called my boyfriend and told him that I was heading towards my new destination and he sounded concerned. “Why do you want to go there alone? You can wait till the weekend, we can go together.” Wait till the weekend? Why? Can’t I take out time for myself and live my life? I guess I said that too loud on phone rather than my mind. He sighed and told me to take care. I guess he understood the work pressure I had frustrated me. Anyway, I went to Qutab Minar and had the time of my life, ironically, without anyone to have fun with. I then realised the importance of taking out time for your own self. That visit exhilarated me in all forms. I felt refreshed, both in my mind and soul. In that moment, I decided to stop living a soggy life and live as happy and free as I can be.

Life is not to brood over the fact that “our lives have become monotonous”. It is about how you can take time out for yourself and have fun. After all it’s only once that we live a lifetime.