Dreams

In college, I wasn’t half as smart as my friends. All of them went places after graduating, while I was stuck in a cycle of trial and error. At the time, there was talk of several large software companies planning to set up shop in BBSR. So I dreamed of settling down there. I did the math in my head: my dad had a house in BBSR, so I’d save a lifetime of rent if I stayed. 🙂 BBSR wasn’t terribly expensive either, and I loved the place. It all seemed like it would work out—if only I could secure a job there.

But the damn companies never came to BBSR when I needed them most.

So, reluctantly, I set sail—away from home—to Delhi. Delhi, in my experience, was an inhospitable city. People were generally rough, the cost of living was high, and I never got used to speaking in Hindi. It felt like a foreign land where I would never fit in. So I began dreaming of moving even farther away.

One day, I was traveling to work on the company bus when a coworker sitting next to me asked if I planned to buy a house in Delhi. Without missing a beat, I blurted out, “Who’s going to settle here? I’m going to Irvine.” I had heard that our company headquarters was in Irvine, California. I had no idea if I’d ever get the chance to go there for work, but it became a dream nonetheless. After all, I just wanted to escape Delhi.

A lady coworker sitting nearby looked at me as if I’d said something very childish.

Three months later, my boss called me into his office and asked if I’d be open to going to Seattle for a project.

Life is strange. It doesn’t always grant you your small wishes—so you set your dreams even bigger, higher, and harder. And sometimes, you end up achieving them… even when you failed at the small ones.