She turned the lock, opened the door and stepped outside taking it all in. The flowers had started to bloom, the weather was pleasant with a gentle breeze. It was perfect.
This was it. The two years of staying at home were over. She was free again. She got in her car and drove down to her favorite coffee shop. As she opened the door the smell of coffee sent her to the past.
It wasn't just a coffee shop. It was her hangout. It was the place she would spend countless hours after school, doing homework, hanging out with friends, or reading a book. The memories associated with the place made her feel warm inside. It was a sanctuary. A place where she could be herself.
“What would you like?”, asked the Barista. This snapped her back into reality. “ A caramel latte”, she replied. Caramel latte. It was the first thing she had had in the place. “I’ll get that ready for you”. She smiled.
The place was filled with memories but something wasn't right. It felt different. There was something uneasy about the place now, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She opened her laptop and worked on her research assignment while the barista brought her the coffee. Maybe that was it. The coffee was missing. The good old taste of her favorite drink was sure to make the uneasiness go away. And so she drank. One sip, two sips, three sips. But something was still off. It was the same coffee and the same place. But Was she the same? Was she the same person she had been two years ago? How could she have changed? All she had done was sit at home for the past two years. But she had changed.
Time changes us. With time we grow taller and look older. But our thoughts and perspectives also change. In fact every single second we’re changing. I look back at the past two years thinking that there isn't much that I have done in comparison to everything I did when I didn't have to wear a mask and maintain social distance. I look back thinking that I haven't really grown, but I have. In these past two years I have grown so much. I haven't just grown with age but with understanding and perspective. I have changed in ways that I wasn't even aware of. I learnt to be content with myself and to fight no matter what situation came in front of me. I learnt what it actually means to be thankful for what you have. I learnt to be my best self. Isn't that what we are all trying to do in life? Be our best selves. Whether it's by scoring the highest you can or getting promoted in office we are all trying to become better.
I suppose, since the world was shut down and everything had stopped we also put our lives on pause. But unknowingly we were still trying to be better. No matter what situation came our way we were all trying to get through it in the best possible way we could. Now that everything is back up and running again we are all trying to pick up where we left off. But we can't. We can't find where we left off. And that's because we never really left off anywhere. We continued our lives. We moved forward.
So the girl in the coffee shop had changed. Her uneasiness towards the place was just because she was going there after a really long time. She was different. She was older and perhaps wiser. She didn't see the change. She didn't have to see the change for it to be there. Her experiences in the past two years had shaped her for who she was now.
People change, situations change, we change. Lifes what you make it, embrace the change:)
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