Narrative About Change

Before I moved to NJ, I had switched more than five schools in ten years, moving city to city, from Delhi to Chennai to Kolkata to Hyderabad, and made new friends without a hitch. I had developed an ability to quickly adapt to new schools then. But now, the change was sudden — the change was transcontinental.
The first few months of high school in a new country felt lonesome and nerve-racking. I remember I would hide in the library during lunchtime to save myself from the embarrassment of being alone. I even skipped the school club fair because the large crowd made me uncomfortable. Socializing had become a burdensome task and I was left by myself. But on the brighter side, my loneliness gave me time for inner reflection. Why did I change? …show more content…
My time as a technical help representative at the public library Geek Desk was the opportunity to do exactly that. One of my most heartwarming memories is about an elderly Korean couple whom I helped transfer images from their iPad to a laptop. While I was trying to solve an issue regarding disk space, a beautiful picture of their grandson smiling in front of Jeondeungsa, an ancient Buddhist temple in Incheon, caught my eye. It was not long before we started sharing our views on Buddha and his message of peace. Suddenly, I felt nostalgic. Listening to them talk about Buddha reminded me of my grandparent's short stories about Mahavira's teaching of Ahimsa (non-violence). Interacting with them was just like listening to my grandparents. My unease of conversing with strangers was unfounded. I had created an illusion in my mind but small conversations like these helped me break that separating wall and see the world in a new light. While I had expanded my technical knowledge as a member of the Geek Desk, the richer experience came from talking to complete strangers. A sense of fulfillment derived from helping people was an added