I had always been a little bit of a nature freak, so like thousands of others, I braved the journey to the famed Colorado. I had absolutely no expectation from this place whatsoever because I believe that having expectations ruins the experience in itself. However, I knew one thing and that was to capture every moment in my head and pen it down to make those memories immortal.
I paid attention to every feeling, every sight, every experience with great detail. I wanted to remember it all. When I started writing this post, I wanted it to be perfect. So I carefully wrote everything I did each day, each minute – my bank account crisis at the airport, getting lost in a city called Limon, taking a ride with a strange old lady to Denver, my hatred for the Colorado public transport system, rafting across the Arkansas rapids in the middle of the snow capped Rocky mountains, the 1250 ft free falling in Royal Gorge, the bicycling across downtown Denver, watching people play chess on the 16th street mall, rappelling down the turtle rock mountain, enjoying the ear-blasting jazz music at Wild Bangkok, the view from Pikes Peak etc. I tried capturing everything.
But despite all my efforts, I couldn’t write this. Whatever I would wouldn’t seem enough, it wouldn’t seem perfect. I wrote pages after pages but I would erase it as soon as I wrote them. What was I going to say about this place that hasn't already been said before? Hence last night, I tore up my article and started writing again.
Only in three days I felt a strange love for this city. It felt like it was my own. But what was the reason for me to feel this way? – The snow capped Rockies, the liveliness of the place, the Arkansas River or my sudden independence? What has this city given to me? Actually the real reason was in my heart for quite some time now; it’s just that my head couldn’t understand it.
It was my oldest and newest friends that made the trip so beautiful in every way possible. To think about it, would the trip be as much fun without - Dina’s classic pictures? Loudly singing to Venga Boys played by D.J Shazaam a.k.a Pandu on the journey to Buena Vista? Keith’s amazing hotel prank on his cow-pal Cheryl? Saumil’s expressions when he fell into the boat while rafting? Teasing Madho and Melo about New Jersey? Me breaking Cheryl’s $ 20 sunglasses AND bag? Eating the horrible horrible Indian food with everyone that closely tasted like rubber? Cheryl’s amazing $2 coupons?
Wouldn’t the trip be less fun if they all hadn’t come? When I first started writing this post I thought that the reason my trip was so amazing was because of the great outdoors of Colorado but now I know that it is actually because of these friends who came from all parts of the country to meet one another.
Sometimes we are so blinded by the larger than life outer perspectives that we fail to see the smaller inner reasonings. Running towards our destination, we leave behind so many things that truly define who we are; which is why I feel that even if for a little while, take time out from your busy schedule and look for that special feeling that makes your surroundings, your life even more beautiful… who knows you might also find friends for life just like me.
