When Restriction gave a road to a new destination
Today, when I look back, I can only remember Steve Job’s commencement speechthat he gave at Stanford University.
I came to the USA as any other expat with lot of dreams and aspirations. Being a Management graduate, I aspired to work in Human Resource field but since I came here on a Dependent Visa, I wasn’t allowed to work until I get my work permit. Initially, it didn’t affect me much as I was experiencing the life in the USA, adjusting to the other part of the world, exploring new places, meeting new people. That’s what we all do when we go to a new place. Right?
I explored many places. Few of those visits put my writing cells back into action. What could have been a better way for me to capture those experiences than to weave them in words and put them on a paper? I started with short travelogues. Since, it’s been many years I haven’t written in Marathi (that’s my mother tongue), I wrote them both in Marathi and English. For whom I was writing? Actually, nobody except my parents and in-laws. Yes, they were my only two readers. :-)Even though, those write-ups weren’t that great but they had definitely given me a good pastime. I used to look forward to my next trips so that I can write about it. Obviously, why would I like to lose my only two readers.
Later, when I stepped into Motherhood, I started to pen down my experiences as a new mom. Who knew those travelogues, mommy journals were God’s signal for me to start writing again. He had different plans for me. Following my instincts and his clues, I wrote my first article for Austin South Asian News Letter and it got accepted. The budding writer in me got some boost. I submitted a couple of more articles and luckily, they got appreciation from the readers.
That time, I used to go to a Non-profit group and I got a chance to give a 20 minutes presentation on Indian culture. An Indian girl going to talk about her country addressing a bunch of people coming from different corners of the world. Exciting isn’t? How can I miss the opportunity to give my best? Not only I got compliments on my Saree but also on the script that I wrote. Summarizing India and its rich culture is just 20 minutes wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t the first time I gave a presentation but it was my first one in the USA to an unknown crowd. “We loved it. The presentation and the script was so crisp and perfect. Are you a writer?”I still remember those words of the Director. I was satisfied with my presentation but was more than happy with the compliment. “Writer? Wow. They liked it this much?”I was in my own world. “If people are liking my writing, should I consider it seriously?” Those were my thoughts at that moment.
Sometimes, your restriction(s) force you to look towards the other side of the road. May be that is your new path. But before you move in new direction, you must first let go of what’s not working for you. I would say the same happened with me. My visa restriction gave me a reason to look to the other side. That side was writing. As I started exploring it, I started to like it even more. I had never looked at writing like this before. I wanted to dig deeper now.
To be continued…
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