I have been a shy and introverted person ever since I was a child. I never like to go out much and even as an adult, the most company I had was my family during festival celebrations. My comfort zone was reinforced by my job as a Chartered Account for multiple MNCs.
Being married with two kids, I never had time to think about anything else than my work and my family life. This in a way helped me maintain a strict routine which I was very comfortable in. However, after the first quarter of 2020, everything changed. Yes, that’s when the whole country was introduced to COVID-19 pandemic.
Everything was shut down for weeks. Though I was initially relieved that I did not have to commute everyday and can enjoy a little relaxed time, I was soon hit with a realization that was going to impact me in ways I could not even imagine at that time.
The long period of isolation and lack of social interaction was something that I, being an introvert, thought would be a kind of dream. However, it started affecting me and my mental health negatively. I started to long for interactions and drives with people. General talks that did not mean much but unknowingly kept me uplifted at all times. I started staying quiet and was always surrounded by negative thoughts regarding almost everything. Even though I had everything, something felt missing.
When the lockdown was lifted, I expected to return to normalcy. But it felt like the damage to my mental health was already done. I consulted multiple professionals for help and tried as many activities as I possibly could. But I never felt complete. Going to malls, watching movies, having walks in the park, going for a long drive. You name it and I would have done it but nothing helped. The city seemed to suffocate me.
One day my family decided to take a long weekend off and go to some hill station for an outing. And little did I know what this long weekend was going to provide me with. As soon as we left the cityscape behind, the sight of hills full of green trees and water flowing nearby hit me like a breath of fresh air. It felt like a black and white picture suddenly changed to a colored one. We took a hotel room in Solan that had a view of the valley from its window. During our 4 day stay there, the sight of greens every morning, sound of birds chirping, water stream flowing down the mountains. I was awestruck like I was never before. And my family witnessed me returning back to my normal self and felt even happier that I was.
That is when I decided that a second home in the hills is what I need. And after some research, we shortlisted flats in Solan at Chester Hills as our second home. It had some amazing views of the valley along with all high-end amenities that you generally expect in metro city residential projects. Ever since our purchase, we have been so happy and been living a full life.
That’s my Chester Hills story. What’s yours?