Where HER Story begins

On the morning of November 9th, 2016 I watched a speech on television in my office kitchen that showed the first ever female delegate for POTUS concede to the latest President elect. Political motivations aside, that speech lit a fire inside of me. It wasn't the person giving the speech, nor the person to whom she was conceding, it was to whom she was speaking. She was speaking to me.

On paper one would look at me and say I've lived a charmed life. I have a family who shows nothing but unconditional love and support, never had to worry about not having enough, and have been lucky to receive a great education and earn a decent living. But what people may not see is the unique perspective I have of this world. I am a first generation Indian who was born and mostly brought up in the United States...oh, and I'm a female. In technical terms, I am considered to be a minority in my own country of birth, I am considered to be a "firang" or foreigner when I go back to India, and as a female I have generally been immersed in male dominated industries during my professional career. This idea of "minority" is what got me thinking. How is it that in 2017 countries which are considered the third world have had more females in power while a majority of our country's citizens are still considered "minorities"?? I could go on but that is not the point. The point is where it begins...

Going back to the speech, as I had mentioned, I took note of her intended audience. For some reason I felt as if that day the world I grew up in just took one giant step backwards. Whether or not it may be true, I felt compelled to do something. And so began my search for stories to tell, stories of inspirational women and humans alike. Not long after this moment, I came across my first story...