If you ever want to feel small, in the best possible way, come to the US. Seriously. There is always a bigger fish here, no matter what. Smarter people, faster people, better-looking people, more talented people you name it, they’re here.
It actually took me back to my first week of college. Back then, everyone around me had been the topper of their own school, all of them had fought through the JEE grind, sleepless nights, crazy coaching classes and now we were thrown together in the same pool. I remember that weird shock, realising that what made you special before… well, it doesn’t really make you stand out anymore.
Even the sport I’d played for five years, where I thought I’d be a shoo-in for the college team, I struggled to even get into team A that first year. That feeling hit me again in the US. You arrive with all your dreams and skills and then see people doing everything you want to do, but ten times better. And honestly? It’s humbling.
Right now, it feels like I’m starting from absolute zero. Sometimes it feels like everyone here is 100 steps ahead, from the way they think to the way they hustle. And at this age, that is exactly the kind of environment I crave. Because that fire you get from seeing people push boundaries, that’s what makes you hungry to go harder.
And let me tell you, if you manage to win big here, you’ve basically made it on a global scale. That’s just a fact. I’m not saying you can’t do big things in India, of course you can, and many do. But the pace at which America is adopting AI, how open people are to innovation, how fast laws change to support new tech — it’s on another level. The infrastructure, the lifestyle, those are great bonuses, but the real magnetic pull is the chance to dream at global scale. That’s what draws so many raw IIT talents here the challenge, the thrill, the ceiling that just keeps moving higher.
New York itself feels like a reminder that no matter how good you think you are, there is more to grow, more to learn, more to chase. You walk down the street and see someone who’s crushing it in finance, someone else building a billion-dollar startup, another person training for the Olympics, all sharing the same subway as you. It’s wild.
And here’s something I’ve realised: yes, it is tough to make it big in America, but honestly, it’s not that tough. Americans can be lazy, let’s be real. But asians, especially Indians, who come here aren’t lazy at all. In my opinion, it’s actually slightly easier to succeed here as an immigrant than as a native-born American. There’s this constant immigrant mindset, a sense of fear, a kind of urgency that pushes you way beyond your limits.
You come from a small town in India, you’ve never seen this kind of living standard or spending power, and suddenly you land in a place like the city of Newyork. It blows your mind, and it makes you think beyond anything you ever imagined back home. That drastic change sparks dreams you didn’t even know you had. That’s why I think this is the place to come if you want to break out of your own boundaries and chase something bigger.
If you ever get the chance, especially in your 20s, come here to the US even just as a tourist. It will shift your perspective in a way you can’t really get from books or YouTube. You’ll start dreaming bigger without even realising it. And if you’re someone who refuses to settle down or stay content, then trust me, this is the place to be.
This place is a living, breathing reminder that greatness is everywhere, and it’s up to you to level up. If that doesn’t light a fire under you, I don’t know what will.