Name: Aastha Joshi
Born: New Delhi, India
Lives: Vancouver, Canada
Handle: @Erratic_dreamer
I was supposed to be the elder daughter of a middle class Indian household who becomes a teacher and gets married by 25, have kids and take care of the family. Getting married at an early age, putting others before me and not having friends was considered normal in my family.
For me, I always consider myself as a trouble child, I have always questioned the norms! Ever since I became a teenager, I was taught on how a girl was supposed to be, but I could never come to terms with all that.
Well, I lived in a live in relationship for 3 years. Moved abroad when I was 22 and now living alone at the age of 26 (soon to be 27). I never took the normal good subjects in school. Didn’t try for a government job. Always listening to my heart! I started saying no and asking questions.
Unfortunately, I only had my mother who was raised a certain way and felt that was the only and right away to raise a girl. I did consult my counsellor and therapist in college to help me navigate through it. Now that I look back at it, I think life just unfolded in front of and it all made sense after a while.
I went into depression in 2016. I would just lie on my bed and not talk to anyone for days. I had shut off my social media and phone. I started to look and back solve things one thread at a time. The first thing was to accept that something was wrong with me and sleeping 18 hours a day wasn’t normal. My family didn’t believe in mental illness so I had to take up therapy sessions and would tel them that I am going for a class. It took a year of regular weekly sessions to regain myself.
I started writing to went my feelings. I started to meet new people. I learned a lot about myself. This was the first time in 26 years that I was living alone. Like ALONE! The first few days were terrible, the silence would kill me but one day while taking a walk It just hit that this is how it was supposed to be. I was alone because I had to learn to live alone, actually, I had to learn to live with myself.
I have started my own marketing business. Its very small scale right now, just two clients. But I wish to have a marketing agency with clients all across Canada and India. I would like to be financially independent and support my family at the same time.
Live life one day at a time. Learn to let go. Learn to go with the flow like a river that’s about to meet the ocean! Always listen to your heart! It may take you places unknown. It might scare you but believe me you will be exactly where you are meant to be!
