In December 2019, I came to Mumbai with just four pairs of clothes.
The city was completely new to me. So were the people, the culture, and the pace of life.
For the first year, we had almost nothing. Just a mattress, an induction cooker, and two fans that our landlord had provided.
Two months after I arrived, the lockdown hit Mumbai. I was living in a COVID hotspot, with no way to go back home.
And then there was the Mumbai heat.
We didn't have an AC. At night, we would keep the windows open just to get some air. Most nights, we stayed awake until 5:30 or 6 in the morning because the room was simply too hot to sleep in.
That was my life then.
And today, I am just 10 days away from getting possession of my own house.
When I look back, I don't think those difficult days were wasted.
They were uncomfortable. Sometimes frustrating. Sometimes genuinely hard.
But they also taught me things that comfort never could. Patience. Resilience. The ability to keep going when things don't go according to plan.
Those experiences shaped me in ways I probably didn't realise at the time.
And maybe that's why standing here today, waiting for the keys to my own home, feels like much more than just getting possession of a flat.
It feels like seeing how far I've come.