A 6-year 'Coming to America' Saga

From teenage emigration dreams to mid-life writing adventures

It started in my late teens with Bruce Willis taking on the bad guys in Die Hard One. I was in small-town India and there was something about the scenes of downtown Los Angeles that cast a spell on my teenage brain. It was American soft power at its finest - the skyscrapers, the glitz, and of course Bruce Willis, the hero I never knew I needed.

View of Los Angeles in "Die Hard" by 20th Century Fox

So, at 17, I had the grand idea - I’d move to the United States! Never mind that I’d never set foot on American soil and the only American I knew was Bruce Willis in a wife-beater. But hey, teenage dreams aren't always practical. 

Little did I know, the cost of an American education would make my family’s annual income look like pocket change. Yet, in my naivety I shot off college applications. But it wasn’t my time yet. America was not ready to welcome me.  

Over the years my obsession with moving to the US only magnified. I even developed a peculiar habit - regularly visiting Delhi International Airport. Not to fly anywhere, but just to stand there and imagine myself on a plane bound for Los Angeles.

Then, fate threw me a lifeline at a New Year’s party. I met a UVA student, who god bless him, spent three hours listening to my “Coming to America'' saga. He didn’t run away from me, and on his return to the US he even connected me with a professor at the university. 

Fast forward to the night of July 4th 1997. I found myself at Delhi Airport again, but this time I wasn’t hanging out in the visitors gallery. This time, I had my entourage - my parents, my cousins, my friends - all there to finally send me off as I boarded a flight to the United States. 

And as I graduated from UVA, I set my sights on Los Angeles, where I hoped to meet my hero, Bruce Willis. He was the reason I started on this 6-year roller coaster project. But life had other plans. I moved to New York City instead and never met Bruce. 

Now, 26 years later I am embarking on another adventure: a writing project. But I no longer possess the unwavering confidence of my teenage ‘Coming to America’ self. Instead I’m gripped by self-doubt. Can I write and publish every week? Where will the inspiration come from? Who will read what I write?  Can I reinvent myself as a writer after a quarter-century as a management consultant?

In a world that thrives on quick hacks and instant gratification, where even committing to a Netflix series seems challenging, I question my ability to commit to a long term project. And yet, it’s during these moments of self-doubt that I recall the tenacity and determination that fueled the biggest project of my life - my 6-year “Coming to America” adventure. I remember my hero Bruce Willis. 

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Thank you to Aman Chopra

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Kristin Yoshida

Garrett Kincaid

for your feedback on the writing sprint.