The City that Made Me

 

The City that Made Me

I have been thinking of writing about you dear Islamabad for a long time and I have a strong reason to do that. I have realized how much I miss you, how much I owe you and how much you have influenced me to become the person I am today.

Whenever I am browsing through Instagram and I come across something that is related to the city, or looks similar to you I have this nostalgic feeling within me that I just cannot explain and I want to fly and be in Islamabad again.

It is like first love, your first girlfriend or boyfriend, your first good experience in life, it is your scale to measure everything else later in life and that is what you are to me.

You are beautiful, you are free, you are fair, you are full of opportunities, you are moody, you have one of most favorite places to eat, you have the most important people for me, you never disappoint and most importantly you have my best memories.

I remember when I boarded my flight to London I was thinking of an over-worldly place and no doubt that city turned out to be my second love, but when I landed in London for the first time, I was like what? This is London? Islamabad is so much more beautiful, that was the first time I really appreciated you. Sydney doesn’t even come close.

It is for a reason that you are considered one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world, but for me, it was my first experience living alone, away from family and friends at the time. It was a scary and weird feeling but slowly gradually you allowed me the change to grow, gain confidence and express myself the way I wanted to.

Living in hostel for the first time, doing things on my own, making mistakes and learning from them, trying new food, learning to manage expenses and savings, dealing with people, everything I learnt thanks to you.

Some of the best adventures, best roommates, friends for life, love, best places to eat, best views, the best rain, the best mountains, the best facilities, the best opportunities I got are because of you. Hell, I even became an engineer and started writing because I was there.

If every city in Pakistan was like you, if every country had one city like you, the world would be a better place.

From a person who lacked confidence, who people thought didn’t know how to deal with the world, had no outlook on life, you have changed me to a person who is free to make his own decisions, can be the person he wants to be, who is confident, who can deal with anything that life throws at him, who can differentiate between right and wrong, who can identify and judge people’s intentions, it is all because of you.

Thank you dear Islamabad, you are the city that made me, and for that I will forever be grateful!