Life so far

Life has been good so far.

I realize I deserted this space sometime last year, so I decided to quickly jot down the things that have been on my mind since May 2024.

I defended my thesis on May 31, then stayed on the beautiful campus for a month with my friends until the convocation on June 28, which my parents also attended.

June was spent booking visa slots, traveling to and from Delhi, shopping, etc. I left campus on July 5. My football friends gave me a great guard of honor despite the rain. My Malayalam Vaedi friends cut two giant pizzas for me - also in the rain. I barely slept during the last few days. My farewell article is here: https://voxiitk.com/as-we-leave-45-from-paycheck-to-passion-redefining-true-wealth/

Though July was full of rain, I managed to plan some travels - to Guruvayoor and to friends’ and relatives’ places in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Malappuram - and also visited TKM to meet professors and juniors there.

In August, I moved to the States. The first month went entirely into settling in. I found a good place right in the heart of downtown Lafayette - beautiful and vibrant. Less of a campus vibe and more of a downtown American feel. Great apartment mates. The weather felt a bit cold for me, but people here kept saying it was summer, lol xD.

September brought Onam celebrations with the Malayali community here. It felt great to have onasadya in the US. During Fall Break, I went on a road trip with friends, covering seven US states: Indiana (of course), Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

October started with mild winter, and we even saw some snowfall in Virginia. That trip was incredible, and October passed by smoothly. In November, my birthday was celebrated by friends both in India and here, lasting for over 30 hours, lol. It felt really special. The semester also ended in November.

In December, I went on another road trip - this time to North Carolina with a different group of friends. We also passed through Tennessee and saw the Nashville Nutcracker Ballet, which was amazing. We tested Tesla Autopilot and timed a perfect sunset over a bridge in NC. We returned after New Year, and I immediately flew to Miami (got round-trip tickets for under $100!). The Miami trip was awesome.

It was 22°C in Miami and 22°F in Indy, lol. I saw giant ice blocks when I landed back in Indy. It snowed almost every other day in February, making public transport a bit tough. The sun used to set around 4 PM - back in August, it was around 9 PM.

In March, I traveled to Canada. I visited downtown Toronto and did the EdgeWalk atop the CN Tower. I also visited Niagara Falls, which were almost frozen. I saw 180-degree rainbows!

April was good too. Final exams happened, and I scored a perfect GPA this semester again. Also went on road trips to some beautiful farms in Indiana.

May felt great as temperatures finally climbed into the 20°C range. I started running again.

June had occasional rains, even though temperatures continued to rise.

In July, I started going to the gym again. Feels good to be back.

Now it’s August - almost a year since I landed in the US. Waiting for the new semester to begin.