One of the most surprising lessons I’ve learned in college is that I’ve had a very self-centric way of thinking.

Throughout the eighteen years of my life, I have done the same thing constantly without pausing for a second to think that there might be a better way of life or a different perspective. I’m sure that many people, no matter their age, were and are doing the same thing as I am. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s no right or wrong way to live life, but I genuinely feel like I was missing out on thousands of different ways of life.

For example, my roommate is Indian. She was born in the United States but she lived in India for a good portion of her life. She’s very in touch with her culture in a way that leaves me in sheer awe. She has a different point of view on life that I haven’t even thought of thinking about before. It’s a little more conservative, but not radically so. It’s interesting to talk to her about things that would be boring to my friends who were raised in only one country.

It was only a matter of time before she shared a little bit of culture with me. It started with her telling me about henna and traditions within Indian culture. During holidays, she would tell me about different ways that she’d celebrate them. For example, New Year's is celebrated in August rather than the winter. Later, she showed my Bollywood movies.

The colors of the films are nothing less than absolutely astonishing. They contrast indefinitely to the darkness of American blockbusters. Even the saddest of films protrude an aura of definite happiness. I’ll admit that the acting was over the top and sometimes the scenes are hilariously overdramatic, but Bollywood films are brilliant. I’ve been (not so secretly) repeating songs from the movies to the point where I get commercials in Hindi.

The fact of the matter is that if I experienced India, I would watch Bollywood films ravenously for hours on end. It’s a shame to think that if I never met my roommate, I wouldn't be able to experience something that I really like.

The fact of the matter is that my way of life was tested the moment that I went to college. My circle of influence was so small back in high school, whereas college is a constant bombardment of new people.

The fact of the matter is that even now, I’m still missing out on things that I’m not even aware of. There’s still more people to meet. There are a plethora of things that I have to try out. The thing about being aware of knowing that my world has the possibility to be expanded is that I have to come to terms to know that I will never be able to try everything. I will never get to know everything.

As sad as that is, I think it’s really beautiful.