Over Thanksgiving break, I did the most cliche thing: I went to New York. It was a trip with a group of my high school friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in almost two years. I’ve been to New York before so I wasn’t all that excited at first and I was apprehensive about seeing people I had completely lost touch with. However, the four days of break I spent in the magical city became the highlight of my semester. What made it special was not the shopping or the Black Friday sales or Christmas markets or all the other cool things New York has to offer, it was the company and the people I was with. I’m very lucky to have had an amazing High School experience with people who are still my best friends and who I adore. Meeting some of these people even after a long time, felt like nothing changed. We were back in our care-free high school days, talking and catching up endlessly and enjoying the company we didn’t know we missed.
Spending time with the people who have known me most of my life made me realize that some bonds really are unbreakable. And sometimes, relationships don’t change any time and distance seize to have meaning. We spent every second of the four days together and it still wasn’t enough. New York seemed like a break from reality I never knew I needed. When you get so caught up with college and life and goals, it’s easy to forget what life was before all the midterms and the papers and projects. Being with my High School friends made it seem like I was back home in Mumbai and for a short time and my Brandeis life was on pause. This is another thing that comes with studying away from home. You start a new life miles away with new people and your old life begins to fade away. However, this trip reminded me that home friends are always here to stay. They will always be there when I need them and even though we all have different college lives, the life we shared at home will always be special and eventually, we only have each other to come back to.
Hence, I’m forever thankful for my High school years and the family it gave me. This break was a recharge we all needed before the finals and that last stretch of the semester. Now that break’s ended, I’m happy to come back to reality and finish the semester, forever cherishing the memories of the Friendsgiving I had! It’s now time to tackle the finals and say goodbye to the city that never sleeps for a bit!