At age of 5, I was a
dancing celebrity in my hometown Ratlam. That recognition gave meaning to my
name Garima, and I received a lot of love and respect throughout my
childhood. After the ninth class, I stopped competing in dance
competitions for personal reasons, and everything was going well. I did well in
the 12th grade. My Marwari parents then began dreaming about my marriage.
That’s when I dropped the bomb, "I want to become a CA." After asking
a few questions, they answered "do what you want to do."
It took 6 years for me to
become a CA. My journey in Pune was a life-changing experience. When you live
in a small town, there's some pride in you if you have accomplished something
at a young age. You do feel high on confidence, if not arrogant. But when you
step out of your little castle and go to a bigger place, you realize how much
you are lacking, and how much you have to learn. That is exactly what happened
to me too. Being around my colleagues and friends in Pune constantly gave me a
feeling that I have a lot to catch up in life. I have a lot to improve, and I
have done nothing. The support of my wonderful friends in Pune and the
unconditional love of my family never made me feel less about myself. I kept working
on myself, cluelessly, not knowing where I wanted to go. I could sense
something was changing me, and I wanted to do something more.
People go to a bigger place
to become better. But I decided to move back to my hometown and connect with
myself again, as I was not liking what I was becoming. Mummy Papa said, “we
believe in you, come back". With the blessings of my family and the
support of my best friend Aarti Rathore, I was back at my place, having no idea
why I was going back. I continued with my CA commitments, and I desperately
tried other things. I invested in a project of a friend that failed. I tried to
get married. It didn’t fail because it didn’t happen. While I was trying too
hard to control my life, life held my hand and took me back to pen and paper.
That was something that I always enjoyed. I was not a writer since childhood. I
was far from the world of books as I was busy dancing. But I remember writing
handwritten letters and random things in dairy with calligraphic fonts. Back to
the present, last year around the same time, I told my brother and parents,
"I am going to write a book," and their reply was “we believe in you,
go ahead."
Today! when I look back, I
get a smile because I know I carry confidence in my heart. But this confidence is
the gift of my family to me. This confidence has always made it possible for me
to switch careers or balance parallel careers. Every time I drop a bomb, they
have the same reaction with different questions. I don’t even know if I am
worthy of that trust and unconditional love, but maybe that’s what I am trying
to become through writing. I am trying to become worthy of the trust, love, and
support I get. And because I understand the value of a support system, I try to
be there for people and help them with my limited knowledge but an unlimited
passion.
I know my journey has just
started. But I wanted to give the due credit for what I have become to the
people who deserve that. Trust me, when you are open with your family about
your plans and ideas, they don’t doubt you or question your abilities, they
only support you.
I am deeply thankful to my
entire family and so should you.
Ending with something beautiful
"मुसीबत में खड़ा जो साथ बन दीवार होता है
हमारा हौसला हिम्मत वही परिवार होता है,
बड़े मजबूत दुनिया में लहू के रिश्ते होते हैं
कहाँ सबके नसीबों में लिखा ये प्यार होता है।"
Thank you
for reading.
Garima Soni
WORDS WORLD
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