I’ve been in India for a little over a week and a half now and it’s been a remarkable learning experience for me. I’ve traveled halfway across the world over the last 10 months and visited numerous exotic lands, but never in my life have I seen a country and unique as India. People may bicker about whether or not they enjoyed their travels through the country, but there isn’t a traveler on this earth (or even a local Indian) who can say that India is a “dull” experience. I’ve been in India for a little over a week and a half now and it’s been a remarkable learning experience for me. I’ve traveled halfway across the world over the last 10 months and visited numerous exotic lands, but never in my life have I seen a country and unique as India. People may bicker about whether or not they enjoyed their travels through the country, but there isn’t a traveler on this earth (or even a local Indian) who can say that India is a “dull” experience.
Within a few minutes I will board my flight bound for Houston and leave New York City for the foreseeable future. It still hasn’t hit me that I will not be returning home to my apartment. I’ve done this little exercise countless times before and it just feels like one of my regular summer trips back to Texas - but this time it’s different.
Sitting amongst the ruble that was once my NYC apartment, my roommate and I disassembled everything in preparation for this weekend when we have to move out for good. Since we've never stayed in an apartment for more than a year, the process of packing has become routine for us, but this time around it’s different: it marks the end of the "Costello Residence” and my life in NYC.
So here I am, six months out from swapping my life as a NYC consultant for one of a wandering nomad. The final countdown has begun, and while there are only 20 some-odd weeks left before my departure, I strangely do not feel nervous, scared, or sad. Instead I have an overwhelming sense of peace which I have not experienced in quite some time.
Like most people in modern NY society, I had an online dating profile. When I first set up the account, I took great pains to ensure my profile was filled out completely and spent hours answering a myriad of personality questions. Over the course of the next year, the account fell into disuse and slowly faded into obscurity before I finally pulled the plug on it.
