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Holding hands through changing contexts

 A few years ago, my two friends and I bonded over snacks and chat during our recess at school. Each of us struggled with different types of math problems, we had different dreams to chase, and we struggled with different challenges.

Then one day we took off to different places to chase our dreams. Of course, we made promises to stay in touch; we shed tears because we thought we can’t live without each other, and we made our parents promise us national roaming plans so that we could talk our hearts out.


Fast forward – more than a decade later - multiple milestones, wins, and falls later – we three managed to transcend and keep it together. Technology nurtured our bond and it worked fine. Then one day, we decided to take some time to catch up in person in another country. It was a dream and fortunately, it was simply beautiful.

On reflecting upon my experience of being part of a close group for so many years, I penned down a few things before and after the trip –

BEFORE
  1. When we decided to meet up and stay together for about 4 days – it felt like a social experiment. We absolutely adore each other but I couldn’t help but wonder if we could agree and disagree in peace to be in the same room for that long.

  2. Geographical distance, career demands, and personal circumstances – all these were tremendously different for each of us. Was our friendship actually immune to all this?

  3. Of course we were older now, but were we wiser?


AFTER

  1. Unlike Big Boss where you have a lot of time together, our little trip was the perfect social experiment. I say we must call it a social healing potion. If during recess we had different math problems and dreams, now we had career graphs and hair fall to discuss. Each of us poured out our hearts, shed a few tears, and laughed out loud.
    “Less is more”

  2. Every aspect that we fear could have hindered our bond was actually what made our time together more beautiful. They were 3 women who respect and support each other in their heads, yet they had a lot to discover about each other. The ebb and flow of life’s currents that each of us experienced in the year that went by and how we navigated through it, was fresh for the tribe in a certain sense. There were more perspectives, more acceptance, and a lot of listening. "Distance leaves you with miles to catch up on.”

  3. We got older. We surely got wiser too.
    “With age, we not just become authors of our own stories but also a respectable audience to the narratives crafted by others.”


Oh, my G.A.D.

Such companionships are a dynamic entity that transforms alongside the shifting contexts of our lives. By appreciating the ever-changing nature of friendships and embracing the unique contexts in which they thrive, we own bonds that enrich our lives and stand the test of time.

And, we boarded our return flights with the hope of getting a dose of this social healing potion occasionally.  


PS:
Fun facts
- Our reunion took shape from the WhatsApp group (like is the case with most trips these days)
- The WhatsApp group and eventually the trip was called Oh my GAD (Glynn, Architha & Devika)
- We also took our social media engagement seriously and had a bold hashtag of #youngrichluxury because why not! 

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