SHEROES In Your City

Against All Odds (, ) Suma

I met one of my Sheroes last evening. Let’s just call her  S as she wouldn't want anyone to be talking about her. I know her for over seven years now. When I met her, she was painfully shy, not wanting to talk or look you in the eye. But there was absolutely no doubt how talented she was, as a writer and editor. She became part of my team, going on to handle some of the toughest challenges clients threw our way. But you could also see how much she struggled for it. 

She went on to do her post graduation, just to prove to herself that she could do better at academics, unlike her grad and school days. At some point she figured out on her own that she had an anxiety disorder. The day she told me that, I finally understood why everything was such a struggle for her. Meeting new people, speaking to people on the phone—these are mundane tasks for most of us. But for her, they were major battles to be won. 

I don't know of anyone who has diagnosed her own personality disorder. She went to meet a psychiatrist by herself. Wow, I thought. The doc sent to her to a counsellor, who, over time, has helped her sort out her thoughts, emotions, and how she deals with them. I don't know of anyone who keeps her appointments with a counsellor/or a doctor so regularly. And you can see S she is a far more confident person now.

Last evening she updated me about the new bike she has bought, and the sports group she has joined. She spoke about how she is meeting more and more people who travel, and how she is insanely jealous of them. A year from now, I expect her to have done far more travelling than she usually does.

Why is she my Shero? She is fighting odds, all the time. Things that come easily to most people, are tough bridges for her to cross. Yet she has the awareness to find some little spaces in her mind to figure out how she can beat the odds. And then she goes ahead and does it. Again, and again. 

I don't know many people like that. That's why she is my Shero.