“Family is where the heart is but it’s also the first place children are socialized into values, gender norms, and stereotypes. I’ve always been an average student in terms of academics, but I loved arts and sports. My parents never really allowed me to take part in sports or take up extracurricular activities during my schooling days. They always said girls are supposed to sit, talk, walk, dress, and behave in a ‘certain way’. I considered it strange because I was always subjected to limits, even as a child.
Imagine what kind of an impact it created. These situations certainly affected my physical and emotional well-being. I turned out to be a very vulnerable person, and had to be the rebel child to do the things I wanted to.

I had many dreams and goals in life but I was always told no. Like most students, I was forced to take up engineering. Two years into it, I wanted to quit. In fact, I had gathered all the courage to explain to them just to hear a ‘No! What will people say?’. They couldn’t understand that it was not academics that was killing me but the fact that I couldn’t be me.

Things started getting better when I decided to get out of that void and do something for myself. One day, when nobody was home, I got dressed and shot a random video that I never thought I would post. I had to take that one step to feel better, and I began posting my artworks as IGTV videos. I even started my own YouTube channel and subscribed to my account from my mother’s phone. When I posted my first video, my mom got a notification and that’s how she found out that I have a YouTube channel and a public Instagram handle. Later, I had an open discussion with my parents over my choices in life. I explained to them how difficult it was for me to not be allowed to be myself. After some heated arguments, they finally came to terms with it.

Now, it’s been almost a year since my career as a content creator began. I feel proud to be able to balance my life between being a studying engineer and my passion! I just wanted to convey one thing to all the young men and women out there – Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Because what’s the point of having wings without the courage to fly?”