At IFORHER, we are committed to bringing inspiring stories of real heroes, who are fighting their circumstances to create a life that they deserve. Here’s one such story of an inspiring woman, who was asked to give up on her dreams. It is heart-wrenching how she miserably struggled till she really found her courage to create the life of her dreams.
While sharing her inspiring story, this woman mentioned how she was asked to not work after marriage & that broke her spirit. She mentioned:
“In 1989 I completed my BSC in electronics from Mysore. I was always a bright student and was one of the first to land a job with Larsen and Toubro. Unfortunately, within 8 months, my father was transferred to Raipur, so I had to give up my job and move with my family. I came from a very conservative family, where girls couldn’t stay away from home, or work long hours. At 22, I was married into a family that was just as conservative.
My in-laws didn’t allow me to work and before I knew it, I was pregnant and became the stereotypical housewife.
My marriage wasn’t an easy one — we had a lot of troubles and even though we weren’t living with my in-laws, they controlled what happened at home.
I became depressed and for a few years I was taking anti depressants because I felt empty. My husband would go to work, while I wasn’t allowed to even consider working. I can’t tell you how many health problems I encountered because I wasn’t stable emotionally — memory loss, migraine being a few.
No one took ‘depression’ seriously — my in-laws didn’t care enough to even understand what it is…I knew the only person who would save me, was me.
When my husband was posted abroad, I started conducting tuitions at home to find an outlet and yank myself out of it and it worked! As time passed, I realised that parents needed to be counselled more than children because of the pressure they put on these kids. I would advice parents, but I wanted to do it more professionally, so with the encouragement of my children I decided to study further. I wanted to do a 6 month course, but ended up clearing my entrance exam for the 2 year MSC in Early Childhood Education at SNDT!
And this is when she started her inspiring journey:
At 47, I was back to being a student! My classmates are younger than my son — but they’re all so welcoming, even though I’m the most attentive student!
Every morning I make my tiffin before leaving for college to share with my young friends and they all love my food! I love learning and spend hours on my homework — just yesterday my daughter came home late at night after work and saw me on my desk, practicing for my presentation — and today I presented in front of my whole grade!
I can’t believe how the times have changed — when I’m studying, my daughter comes to me and asks if I’ve eaten and do you know who pays my college fees? The first year, my daughter and this year my son! They’ve been my strength and encouraged me to chase my dreams like I used to when I was younger — I was so submissive, but today i’m a nerdy rebel who cannot wait to take on the world!
In the end, she has an inspiring and powerful message for every other woman:
So many women face what I’ve faced, but continue to suffer — I want to help them.
I want to show them that it’s never too late to do anything — get a job, take a trip or even go back to college! It’s never too late to start loving yourself — a year ago you wouldn’t recognise me. I was putting on weight, my hair was falling out, my skin was bad and I had multiple medical issues and today…don’t I look 16? Jokes apart, all this changed because I’m happy, because I have a purpose, because I’m finally…ME.”
At IFORHER, we are in awe of this inspiring woman, who has fought back her circumstances to create a life that she deserves. We hope her story inspires many more that it is never too late to live for your dreams.