from Noteshellblog, 17 September 2023
My recently operated eyes were full of dreams, and my post-illness, not-so-well-recovering body was full of desires, but it all came to a halt when I first applied for a US F1 VISA. Little did I know that it was the start of something for which nobody could predict the end, not even the Astrologers!
T- 62 DAYS: T being the date of my program commencement, I enthusiastically fill up the VISA interview appointment form, just to see the most recent slot availability is next year's!
T- 58 DAYS: Someone asked me to apply for an emergency request, and I said, 'Okay, no harm in trying'. I applied for an emergency visa interview request just to see it get cancelled, not once but twice.
T- 40 DAYS: Someone else said, That's too random and very common, don't lose hope; check for the slots at random times. Who knows, you might get one?' I said, 'Okay, let's do this too, and saw myself getting blocked from their website not once but twice for 72 hours due to multiple logins on the same day.
T- 20 DAYS: I got the contact information of a random agent I met on Telegram, and guess what? He got me the dates! Sadly, for 2023 in 2022, I again applied for an emergency request for the last time, only to get rejected the next morning.
T- 2 DAYS: Finally, after a lot of struggle, we managed to get a date for my VISA interview. I don't know if I should have been happier for at least getting a date or more upset for getting a date that was way after my program commencement.
One of my patients at work advised me to have some patience because apparently, his friend's son got his VISA rejected four times in a row, and today he's a double PhD, living his dream life in the Californian valley.
At that point, I had already lost hope. I used to call up my friends and cry. Say nothing, but just cry. You should never worry about the destination, rather, enjoy the journey, they say, and yes, that is true.. only when you know that you will reach somewhere! You at least have an idea of what your destination looks like. In today's world, the concept of 'let the roads guide you home' does not work anymore. I did not want anything more than for the situation to just come to an end. I felt that everyone had been keeping me hanging for days, and the outcome was never in my favor. As much as therapy was helping me deal with my personal life, my career had already started to suffer. Fresh grad but no stable job; almost 24 yet no stable income; even if the income factor was to early to be judged, what about my academics? People my age were into grabbing opportunities, applying for jobs, fellowships, master's, and what not, mainly trying to ESTABLISH themselves in the market, and here I was, trying to apply for something that I do not even know if it's a 100% fit for me! Today, I would just say 'thank you' to my parents for blindly trusting me with their money, patience, and efforts. Attending career counseling with your 24-year-old 'adult' kid just to hear that she is applying for the wrong course is not easy. At that moment, if I had to do something apart from everything else, it would be to not take my parents and my friends, who were my support system, for granted.
Jump to the day when I had to board my flight. After rescheduling my flight three times, the day finally arrived when I had to fly but my passport didn't! I told you right, the more I thought I would be reaching the shore, the farther I got from the actual one. My passport had to be home all the way from New Delhi, stamped with my US F1 VISA. I love how optimistic my parents were that day about it arriving on time when I literally had to board within the next 12 hours. Amidst the end-of-the-world chaos, my doorbell rang, and my dad came dancing towards me with my passport in his hand. Truly a desi dad! I must tell you that the amount of WhatsApp texts I have sent to my well-wishers saying that I got my passport stamped home is enormous. Finally, after taking a short nap and repacking my bag ten times just to make it 23 kg (to perfection), I was ready to fly.
Getting yelled at by my dad for the last time was a ritual to be followed, and!!! We reached the airport. My parents thought they were standing right outside the departure gates just to see me check in, but the truth is, I knew I had exceeded the cabin bag weight limit and might have to unload a few things and hand them over to my dad just so that they could send them back to me within a couple of months. Yes, I had it all planned, unlike my VISA interview date and the passport arrival.
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