The Past Decade

The past decade has been the most defining decade of my life.

It started in my twenties. I worked for a London based software company, but on a project in New York.

I worked with my best friends, and we lived in the same apartment building, living my own version of Friends.

I partied with those same friends - endless nights at Sweet & Vicious on Spring St with frozen margaritas.

I danced until five in the morning, always followed by pizza on Christopher St.

I had my first breakfast burrito. I fell in love.

I walked to work through Times Square everyday, and shared an elevator with Jay Z. We chatted and he told me my lunch smelled good.

I lined up for food and brunched at rooftops on Saturdays.

I got tattoos and shopped on 5th Ave.

I ate so much pizza.

I watched my big sister get married.

I saw Beyonce in the same office elevator.

I went on so many bad first dates. It was comical.

I relocated indefinitely to New York for a new job.

I met the kindest soul known to mankind at the new job, and have been friends with her since.

I lived in Manhattan and my local park was Madison Square Park.

I fell in love with Shake Shack and ate beef for the first time.

I visited all the famous places in LA that I only knew from TV.

I started a jewelry business side-hustle, and became a regular at the USPS on E 27th St.

I lived for bagel Wednesdays at the office.

I began drinking coffee.

I traveled to San Francisco for the first time.

I matched with someone on Tinder there and went on four dates.

I met up with him again in Austin, TX and embarked on a super speedy relationship.

I left Manhattan for him. He made me laugh.

I cycled over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I moved in with my boyfriend to a glassy apartment on the 16th floor in downtown San Francisco.

I went to Vegas for the first time.

I got good at taking photos.

I got engaged at SFO.

I became an aunty for the first time to my niece-now-bestie.

I got lost in Positano.

My fiancé and I took a one way flight to Amsterdam and have lived there ever since.

I got high.

I lived my dream of taking a gondola ride in Venice in the freezing cold.

I saw acres and acres of tulip fields.

I stayed in a Berber tent in the Sahara Desert and saw stars so clear.

I watched my baby brother get married.

I became a director at a huge American entertainment company.

I became an aunt on my in-laws side.

I watched an opera at Opera State Vienna thanks to the generosity of a stranger.

I planned my wedding and went wedding dress shopping in New Delhi with my mum.

I saw fireworks shoot out of the Burj Khalifa, on NYE from the 43rd floor on Sheik Zayad Road.

I took an epic road trip around California and Vegas with my family and soon-to-be-in laws.

I bought a house.

I had a crazy bachelorette party in Ibiza, and drunk ate Burger King at 6am.

I got married in Scotland surrounded by friends and family from all around the world, in a 4-day Indian wedding.

I went on the honeymoon of my dreams to Dubai, Bali, Hong Kong, Macao, and Japan. I got stuck in Macao because of a typhoon.

I dined at some of the world's best restaurants.

I became an aunty again on Christmas Day when my sister had a baby boy.

I took a hot air balloon ride over stunning landscapes in central Turkey.

I watched my friends get married in LA, Ireland and the Philippines.

I went on a legendary trip to Paris with my siblings, reliving the last one we took to the same city in 2009.

I had the worst hangover in my life.

I taco crawled in Mexico.

I visited fairytale villages in Switzerland and France during Christmas road-trips.

I learned how to cook.

I got a puppy and no longer fear dogs.

I fell in love with Latin America and walked in a pink sea.

I took a girls trip with my mum and sister, and we danced in empty beaches to no music.

I stayed on a tiny island in Greece and watched the sunrise in pajamas and a blanket from the roof.

I placed a prayer in the cracks of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

I hosted Christmas dinner.

I played Holi in Udaipur with thousands of strangers.

I reconnected with my roots during a three-week trip around India.

My photography was published in magazines and a book.

I said f*** you to my employer and left a six figure job due to discrimination in the midst of a global pandemic.

I began being even more entrepreneurial.

I visited more cities and countries than ever before.

I laughed so much.

I became an aunt again, this time my brother’s daughter.

I survived 2020.