March 4, 2024

The Blessing of Struggles

I am told that now is the time to reflect on my experience in Bangalore. And I did set aside time to do that yesterday, but I got sidetracked. After a morning of work and some goofing around, I attended my most anticipated activity yet in Bangalore: pants tailoring. After 20 minutes of indecisiveness on fabrics and a 30-minute ordeal of getting my new pants measured, these new pants and their creation has become a beacon of light in my oncoming week. Following my pants appointment, I ate at the Hard Rock Café. In hindsight, I ordered poorly; a penne pasta taco bowl was definitely not a great choice. Now, after a fun day, I can finally reflect on my time in Bangalore. Time flies when you are busy; that’s how I view my time here. Whether busy meant going out and seeing new things, having fun, working, stressing, or just getting sicker in my room, I was always busy. The program felt like a blur, an experience that washed over me, something that never solidified in my mind. My brother asked me the other day, “Adam, do you think the struggles you had in the program made you enjoy it more?” He was referring to my multiple sick streaks, which did in a weird way make me enjoy the program. But to me his question made me think about the struggles my group had in the past. Especially the week before our initial report was due, each day was a repeat. Making a new idea, then 3 hours later realizing it’s not good and pivoting. In the moment, it was stressful and annoying, but now it makes me laugh thinking of that week. If I had to summarize my GCIL experience into one piece of advice, I’d probably say, “Hey, parts of it can be rough, and you’ll probably have a rough time at least once, but once you get through it, you can realize that sometimes it can be a blessing.”

By Adam