Atharv Walimbe
When I first found out that I was accepted for a bachelor’s program in political science at Illinois State University, I celebrated like every to-be college student would. However, a lot of questions started popping up in my mind: how will I live in a place that’s like -25∘F every winter, how will I learn to adapt and accept the different cultures and traditions I will be exposed to, most importantly what about the jet lag? Overthinking is one my weaknesses and thankfully I didn’t have much time to think through stuff before boarding on that long-awaited flight to Chicago.
Flying on a 17-hour long flight with stops at Japan and San Francisco comes with its own benefits and drawbacks; this was also my first-time tasting pretzel chips, which continue be instrumental in damaging my taste buds. I express my sincere apologies to all the pretzel lovers out there, but those taste like vomit. Consequently, for comparing pretzels to vomit and offending a fair few, you will be pleased to know that I missed my flight from San Francisco to Chicago, and I had to spend more than 3 hours waiting for my newly booked flight to Chicago.
As I stepped outside O’ Hare airport, I was welcomed like a celebrity by a fleet of taxi drivers, each of whom offered to take me to my desired destination. Since I had already booked an uber the moment I landed, I absolutely had no intention to oblige to their requests. My ride was a few minutes late, and since it was my first time navigating the O’Hare airport, I realized that the driver had parked around 9-10 doors away from where I was waiting for him. So, how did I find my way? Well! I asked around. I feared the staff wouldn’t understand my unusual English accent, but nothing of that sort happened. So, I finally found my uber ride and embarked on a 2-hour journey from the airport to the campus.
The weather outside was warm and clean, exactly the way I hoped it would be. Moderate weather is the kind of weather I prefer; I am neither a fan of too much of a warm weather, nor am I fan of weather that’s freezing cold. After getting into an uber and leaving for the campus, I did hope to experience an array of tall and impressive skyscrapers and/or buildings on my way, but instead experienced a range of lonely narrow fields all around me. The calming breeze of fresh air accompanied by the beautiful view of the fields was enough to give me a calm and relaxing nap after a tiring long journey. The moment we passed by the Bloomington water tanker and the Illinois State University labelled water tanker, I realized that I was almost there, my new home for the next four years, my new school. My new journey had begun; I couldn’t be more excited and frightened at the same time.