“A man’s success is derived from how financially settled he is and a woman’s is based on how she overcame her personal struggles or lack of it.
Unfair?
Yes!
Rational?
No!
Why should a woman’s life always be looked at either how she has struggled or how easily it was granted to her and that of a man for how much he earned? My life did not go the way I planned it. Divorcee and Widow weren’t labels I was going after! Solitude helped me understand myself, my body, my mind and what made me happy. I worked on my mental health. I found a way to heal through writing when I was 32, an age people tell you the next phase of life begins, I was struggling to even have a phase!
Although I worked a full-time job, my love for writing left me yearning for more. I started a blog & my 1st success, it was read by 100 people. This meant 100 people thought it was worthy enough to spend two minutes on my craft. My blog got published in a news daily which gave me confidence. I discovered poetry as my strength, especially in the erotica genre. I wrote every day & life became better! I was 33 then! An age where we were told to settle down and own a car, I was starting something from scratch.
I met Vijay in December 2013 and we married in July 2014; life was good. I continued working in a full-time job while I wrote after work. Around 2015, I started to write a story & published them on my blog, I realised people were reading & anticipating the next. I took to storytelling like fish to water. Soon, I published it as a book ‘Make it 2’ when I was 35. At an age when they tell you to have an impeccable CIBIL rating, I took to publishing my first book.
In 2019, I fell in love with screenwriting when I was given a pilot by a director. I quit my full-time job at 39 to pursue it. I was 39! The age when they tell you to be at the peak of your career & have your own cabin, I laid the first brick.
Life came to a halt in many ways in March 2022. Vijay went on a ride on his new bike only to not return. I felt delusional, not knowing what I was talking about or doing. I took an apartment to provide a safe space for our two dogs, Kalki and Kushi. But, I understood that forward is the only direction you need to lead your life. Someone told me ‘regrets are useless and to not let the past consume me’ and it helped.
I have finished writing the script for a movie that is going on floors later this year. I’m 40 right now, an age where you are told that life reaches a half circle because you add another role to you. A wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law. But nobody tells a woman that she should have financial stability first. You don’t age with a checklist you need to tick as you grow old. Age is not just a number but of all of life’s experiences. Do not reduce it to a number that you can subtract, add, multiply and divide from. Age should not restrict you from doing what you love and following your passion. Age should teach you the importance of money and its power over a lot of decisions.
With all that life has thrown at me, I have never let my dreams slip away. I have never let my age be an excuse for not doing what I wanted to. Your personal setbacks should not deter you from wanting to dream bigger. I’m 40 and I’m just getting started! Bring it on!”
#life #journey #sceeenwriting #art #storytelling #chennai #motivation #humansofmadras