Itās 2:45 am on the 1st of November. Iām back in my room from the Halloween celebrations on campus, all changed out of my outfit and Iāve just stepped out of my āeverythingā shower. Iām extremely tired, curled up in bed with a book in hand and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York playing for the umpteenth time on my laptop in the background. I sense my eyes shutting as Iām just about to fall asleep, but thereās something in the air that keeps me going, and I tell myself: five more minutes.Ā
I hit the pause button as Kevinās dad says āFunnily enough, we never lose our luggage.ā, chuckle to myself, and step out of the room with my headphones on, to make myself a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Last Christmas playing on full volume, I enter the common room to get myself some milk, when I look out the balcony and what looks like a shooting star catches my eye. I pace the balcony while Iām waiting for the milk to boil, and I notice that for the first time in a while, instead of breaking into an instant sweat as a result of the typical Sri City weather, thereās a cool breeze that ironically fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.Ā
I take in the cool breeze, and a distant memory suddenly floods my mind. Iām transported back to last yearās Winter Fair, where Iām standing in line for a brownie at the food stalls. A friend of mine is ahead of me in the line, but Iām too distracted by the music to notice. She leaves the line with two brownies in hand, comes up to me, takes out one of my earphones, hands me a brownie and says, āThis oneās for you!ā
Itās The Most Wonderful Time of The Year comes on as Iām done making my hot cocoa, and I take a sip and smile to myself, thinking about all the upcoming events on campus. I pull out my phone and my gallery is filled with photos from last year of me and my friends at the Winter Fair, the campus looking all decked up and beautiful. I feel the tingling excitement just thinking about all the movie marathons, the Secret Santa exchanges, this yearās upcoming Winter Fair, and perhaps even another Winter Wonderland themed ball!Ā
As November rolls in, you can feel the holiday spirit creeping onto campus. Smiles plastered across faces, laughter echoing through the halls really go to show how the entire campus is brought together at the end of the year. The campusās energy for the two months is immaculate, plastering a smile on every face and bringing people closer.Ā
My mind wanders, and I find myself thinking about Christmas back home, baking with my sister, singing Christmas carols with my family, and watching our favorite movie, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (a family tradition, if you will), to the point where all 15 of us sitting in the living room yell the dialogues with such passion that nobody would notice had the TV been on mute. The countless rounds of Charades and Antakshari that make me long for the end of the year run through my mind.Ā
I snap myself back to the moment, Christmas is All Around by Billy Mack blasting in my ears this time, and am reminded of how Iāve made myself a pretty cozy second home on campus as well. A feeling I never expected to be paralleled was now knocking at my door again, ripe with new memories demanding to be made. And that makes me realize that Love, Actuallyā¦. is all around.