I spent a lot of my childhood being the odd one out. Whether it was my mom packing Gobi aloo for lunch when everyone else had PB and J's or the schoolyard where everyone was playing sports I never heard of, I was a third culture kid struggling to fit in. I’m still the insecure kid in social settings wondering if I’m actually wanted here or I’m just being tolerated. Seeing people genuinely want me in a situation makes me much more confident in myself.

While in Kundapura, Adam finds time to message me the recaps of adventures Jess, Krish, and he are having while I’m not there and I’m glowing. They made a plan to be in Goa to attend a concert and let me know it would be fun to reunite with the travel group. I rearrange my travel and book tickets.

Adam, in his infinite wisdom, has another idea. I should tell folks I’m not going and surprise everyone. I play along and find it incredibly hard to hold my excitement in.

After another set of trains, time for myself in Gokarna, and a very expensive auto, I’m checked into the hostel and running to the beach, where everyone is together watching the sunset.

I take the most convoluted route and find the most awkward way to surprise everyone. Execution is not my strength but the sentiment is there. There’s screaming, hugs, and smiles all around. The folks sitting next to us are so caught up in the joy, that they start celebrating too. This moment with 5 strangers that I’ve known for 1.5 weeks is a new core memory.

We spend the next day and a half chilling at the beach, having large group dinners, telling the wildest jokes, and soaking up all the time we can in this special group.

The last 6 months have been very special to me. While leaving work, my coworkers expressed their genuine pleasure for working with me and how much they’ve enjoyed the last few years of working together (miss you so much Qualtrics folks). My friends took days out of their time to help pack and clean my apartment and Jake even scrubbed my toilet which had seen better days. They never missed an opportunity to tell me they love having me, they’re going to miss me, and I should come back soon. My family is constantly itching for me to get back to Delhi, and they constantly affirm how much they enjoy my company. I’m working on telling that insecure kid to shut up. Until he listens, I have my favorite folks with me to let me never feel isolated again.