Tag: blog

Why We Should Brag About Our Achievements

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Recently, I’ve been wanting recognition for all of the things I do. But I don’t want to advertise that I do them. I just want people to quietly recognize that I’m good at a lot of things. Why? Because as a South Asian Indian woman (and possible just as a woman in general), I’ve been taught that I don’t brag about my achievements. If it’s worth being noticed, people will notice you. However, in a world as chaotic as ours, is that even possible if we don’t advocate for ourselves?

I was out with some girlfriends yesterday for happy hour and talking about how I was feeling. One of them clearly stated that I need to put myself out there and tell them about the cool things I’ve been participating in. My obvious reaction was “Brag about myself?! I couldn’t do that!”

But why not? Another friend of ours told us that her sister wrote this LinkedIn Post that spoke to something very similar.

We see so many people absolutely do this. They post positive things about what’s happening in their lives without abandon. So why are there some of us that will only accept quiet recognition? Why can’t we also shout about our achievements?

When I think about doing this, I feel shame that I’m going to be bragging about what I do, what I’ve accomplished. Like I’m doing something wrong in speaking up for myself or like I’m showing off. It goes all the training I’ve had. I’m not supposed to talk about myself. I’m supposed to quietly do my work and be happy internally. I’m not supposed to want any external validation or share any of my accomplishments. If I do so, I’m a loud, braggy woman. I’m overconfident and talking about myself too much.

So where does that get us? It creates internal resentment that no one notices that I achieve so much. It creates a battle within me of wanting to share but not come off as boastful. It makes me feel invisible. How are people supposed to see me if I keep hiding?

The irony is that my friends yesterday clearly said that they would be proud of the things I shared because they support my endeavors. So I think I’m going to start sharing more.

Because…..why the hell not?

Feeling Less Than

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I wrote recently about my PTSD with my past relationship. I wanted to talk about something else it triggered it me that I’ve been having a hard time fighting. Unfortunately, there are a few things that I will talk about in the upcoming days but today, this is the topic.

Feeling less than. When the PTSD hit, it triggered how I felt in that time frame. I had always felt like I wasn’t good enough, how no matter how pretty I was, how thin I was, how many cool things I did, I would never be good enough. My self-worth had dwindled down to nothing. I would try to change who I was constantly to feel like my ex found value in me, that he found me worthy to love. It took me a few years of therapy and fighting back to really find myself and love myself for who I was.

In the last 15 years, it’s been okay. I have had ups and downs but I usually can come back to myself even through all the hard stuff. I haven’t really questioned that I’m good enough. I had made it a core belief.

But this time, this knocked me for a loop. It wiped my feet out from under me. And for the past few months, I have no idea who I am. When I look at myself, I don’t see myself at all. Everything I’ve ever done feels like it doesn’t matter.

I know I’m unconditionally loved. It’s one of the best parts of having kids. They love you no matter what you’re going through. I’m still doing all the things I have in the past so I can’t figure out the reason I’m still feeling like this other than the trigger was unresolved and the trauma is still hitting me constantly.

I’m battling to feel my self-worth again. Every day is a struggle. There are just as many bad days as good. I’m terrified daily that I’ll sink back down even when I’ve fought my way up. Every day, I’m pushing to feel okay. And a lot of times, I do succeed. The times I don’t are hard.

I’m writing about this, not to only share what I’ve been dealing with, but also to share it so if anyone else has these struggles, know that you aren’t alone. A lot of us fight these battles constantly even if we don’t show it. I’ve been turning to more therapy, more meditation (which is hard in itself), and my community. I’ve created groups where I can be vulnerable but I forget to turn to them when I really need to. But that discussion will be a separate post.

The question becomes how do we survive this other than fighting for ourselves daily? Will it ever get better? Who do we depend on when you are not strong enough to depend on yourself?

Who We Are Today

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Over the last few years, I haven’t written as much in this blog as I’d like to. If I’m honest, it’s probably because most of the exposure I have to the outside world is limited to my family and sometimes, I don’t want to write about the things I feel within that limitation. My original intent for this blog was to discuss things that South Asians don’t have a tendency to discuss. I’d like to try to continue that and make more of a commitment to writing regularly again.

Being surrounded by my kids most of the day means that most of my experiences are child-oriented right now. I am not the stay-at-home mom that is able to do all sorts of arts and crafts and bake and teach my children all sorts of lessons (with unending patience, I might add). I wish I was because that would give me a ton of inspiration in what I write about.

I loved writing but it’s taken a quite a back seat to the rest of my life. It scares me sometimes that I’m not experiencing the outside world the way I used to. My world view has narrowed (other than what I read in the news). So now I need to figure out what I should write about. What are things about parenthood that need to be discussed? What can I write about where the discussion can help improve and influence the lives of other South Asian people? How do I translate this new life of mine into a conversation?

This blog was started for a reason and with a purpose. I don’t want to lose that. That means I have to adapt to the change. I have to find times and ways to continue writing with a purpose.

There are always things to talk about. So let’s talk about them.

Mom Life

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I know I posted regularly for about 2 weeks and then, I stopped posting again. I go through this phase of trying to be productive so I schedule my day and try to keep up with everything. Somewhere between the start and the end of the week, I get tired or sick and everything goes to hell. I lose all momentum in trying to rest and recover and it takes a genuine effort to start becoming productive again.

So many times, I feel like I’m just barely keeping on top of everything. I’m barely getting the laundry done and cooking dinner and cleaning up stuff. I get my kids through each day. My last priority ends up being exercising or blogging or anything with regards to self-care.

I know this is on me (because I could give up watching that last tv show and go to sleep earlier which in turn would give me more energy throughout the day). I’m not sure how to do everything I want while doing everything I need to get done.

It’s difficult to give anything my full attention as well. If I want to blog (like I am doing now), I’m not paying attention to my child. If I want to play with my kids, something else takes a back seat. Nap time is only a temporary break where I feed myself and sit for a moment. And that’s only if both kids nap at once.

Before kids, I always had me time. Sleep was never a priority. So now, everything shifts as me time is a very specially planned segment of my day and I have to put sleep over other things I want to do.

I’m not sure how to feel like I’m on top of everything all the time. No matter what, there is always something to be done.

This blog post feels a bit like I’m rambling on about something with no focus. Welcome to my brain right now.

Where Did My Passion Go?

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I used to have passions. A weekend wouldn’t go by where I wasn’t dancing. Even now, the thrill of performing is like nothing else to me. When I started this blog, there would be a new post every day. The feeling I got from putting my thoughts together and out into the world was amazing.

But, somewhere along the way, my passions seem to have disappeared. It’s not that I don’t love dancing or writing anymore. It’s that making time for them has become more and more difficult. Taking the time to do so requires a lot of careful planning and effort. And,sometimes, it feels easier to just do nothing than to use your down time to do any kind of work.

I know that having a kid changes certain things. Your priorities change. Your child comes before anything and everything else. But should we let everything change? Or should we still find time to pursue our passions?

How do we balance the things that make us happy? How do we keep up the motivation to do everything that really defines who we are? Do we owe it to ourselves to make the time and put in the effort to do the things that give us a sense of fulfillment?

How do we keep our passions from disappearing when our life changes?

Things Change

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I haven’t written a blog post in over 10 months. There was a reason for that. In that time, I had my first child. Pregnancy is such an interesting time period in a woman’s life. There are those for whom it’s the most amazing time in their lives and there are those where it is the hardest 40 weeks they will go to. And then, there’s the stuff that no one ever tells you. I get it. In the end, you have this really cute baby that is a part of you and your significant other. You have now created a family. There’s so much you go through to get there and no one can fully prepare you for everything. I’d like to try to talk about it honestly. The good, the bad, and the ugly. My entries won’t just be about pregnancy but also the changes as a result and it will always continue to be about things in the world that I have opinions about. So I hope you enjoy the return of Who We Are Today.

One of the biggest things no one ever talks about is that you become a parent the second that positive sign comes up on a pregnancy test. Every little thing you do, you double check to see if it will affect the baby. I can’t tell you how many times I googled different types of food and drinks to make sure that it wouldn’t be bad for the baby. It’s crazy how many things you can’t eat or drink. It makes you wonder what our parents did without internet over 30 plus years ago. I also wonder if everyone is as paranoid as I was with what was happening as my baby developed or if I was just crazy. I sometimes forget the age of my baby based on when she was born. I consider her age to be that of when I found out I was pregnant. Once you become a parent, that’s it. There’s no going back.

Another thing no one ever tells you is 40 weeks is a long, long time. If you count that there are 4 weeks in a month, it’s actually 10 months. If you count there are more than 4 weeks in a month, it’s actually somewhere between 9 and 10 months. Trust me, when you’re throwing up every day or your legs hurt or you’re just craving sushi, it’s a long time. You just have to get through it.

I had to keep reminding myself that a lot of women go through all of this every day. It doesn’t feel like that though. It feels like you’re the only one in the world and no one can understand it.

Pregnancy is definitely an interesting phase of life. The one thing you always hear women say, though, is no matter how tough it was, it was definitely worth it.