[Part 2 of many Introductory posts]

When you’re in the toughest spot is when you learn what you’re capable of, I think that was true for me. When I thought everything we had was gone, seeing my mom suffer and almost losing her, I didn’t wanna give up.

I started going to college and had made a boyfriend along the way. He found me very naive, which I was, and he was very sympathetic about what I had been through. At the time, in India, people were scared to date openly and so were we. No one but our few friends knew we were a couple. He had a lot of angry outbursts in the relationship, which I was used to seeing in my own family. He made sure I knew that he was more attractive and fairer than me. Well, whatever it was, he was a constant in my life at the time and I needed it.

During my college years, I asked myself – ‘how can I stand on my feet and support my mom better?’. I had two options – Getting a job and living in India, Going to study abroad and make a new life for myself. I wanted to pursue both and see where they would lead me. By the end of my degree, I had a job offer in India and acceptance from multiple US universities in hand.

We were in a bind though, we couldn’t afford paying for university and housing. I only got by during bachelor’s because of scholarship. My cousin who lives in the US was very kind and co-signed a loan I took for my first year of masters education, and just like that, I was all set. As a 19 year old who has never stayed over a week away from home and knows nothing but what she has seen, most of my family was very cynical about my decision.

My mom was very supportive throughout, my boyfriend was planning to work for a year in India and come to study in the US so that we could be together. Before we could let the excitement sink in, I was on the flight to New York!