14 July 2025, Monday,
Jaipur
Okay, I just bought this notebook from the small stationery shop near the hostel gate. Told the uncle it's for college notes even though he didn't even ask. I don't know why I felt the need to lie about it. Maybe because writing down what I'm feeling right now feels a little embarrassing, like I'm admitting something out loud to myself.
Today was the first day of the internship. Small startup in C-Scheme, the office has those exposed brick walls and too many indoor plants that probably die every month. There were like fifteen of us new interns. I was nervous in the morning, kept checking if my shirt was tucked properly, but once we started it was mostly introductions and setting up laptops.
And then she walked in.
Her name is Aarohi. Aarohi Sharma – frontend and UI/UX. She came in last, wearing a simple white kurti and jeans, hair tied back loosely, one silver bracelet on her wrist. When HR called her name she just gave a small nod, no big smile, no awkward wave, nothing extra. Just calm. Like she didn't need to prove anything to anyone in that room.
The whole day I kept noticing little things about her. During the stand-up she corrected the team lead on some UI logic thing – three short sentences, no drama, no showing off. The lead just said "yeah, good point" and updated the board. I swear the room felt different after that. Not because she was loud or dramatic, but because she was so sure of herself without trying to be.
I don't think she even looked at me once. Why would she? I was just another backend guy sitting quietly, nodding along. But I couldn't stop watching how she listened when others spoke – head slightly tilted, like she was actually collecting every word before deciding what to do with it. It's stupid how much that stayed with me.
I came back to the hostel on the metro, earphones in but no music playing. Just staring out the window thinking about her voice when she speaks – clear, unhurried, like every word matters. I don't even know if I'm making sense right now. I just know that for the first time in a really long time I feel… awake? Like something inside me switched on and I don't want it to switch off again.
So yeah, that's why I bought this diary. Not to write poetry or anything cringe. Just so I don't forget how this exact feeling sits in my chest right now – this quiet, nervous, hopeful thing that started because of a girl who probably has no idea I exist.
I'm going to keep writing. Even if it's only one line a day. Even if she never speaks to me. Even if this whole thing stays completely one-sided.
Because right now, this feeling is real. And I want to remember what real feels like.
Goodnight,