“It is wonderful, but difficult”. Referring to a scientist’s life, these words by a speaker hit home for me hard.

This statement is a feeling that comes with pursuing any passion. Along with being a scientist, I am also passionate about performing arts.  To be specific, Bharatnatyam, a south Indian classical dance form.  Today, I go to lab to study reproductive physiology and factors that could affect the quality of eggs (oocytes). Meanwhile, my creative side goes to a dance studio and brings out the dancer and performer in me. My interest for teaching and communication is channeled towards both passions, biology and dancing. My present is built by the strength given by my past and upbringing. Everyone undergoes their set of unique experiences in their life. I am no different. In addition to the many pleasant ones, I have also had many unpleasant experiences in life, mainly: an abusive relationship, sexual assault, and depression. It was not easy to recover from any of these situations and they still affect me today.

A person’s will power can actually be fairly surprising and quite transformative. I came out of these situations with the spirit of “never give up”. This has strengthened my belief in steady determination (drudnischay, in Hindi), and helped me realize that healing is a lifelong process.

I am thankful for what I have today. A loving family, awesome friends, a husband who is all I hoped and wished for, a workplace where I feel motivated to give my best, and to top all of that–my creative outlet through dancing and the ability to dance. Yes, I have future goals that I want to achieve, but more importantly I want to be happy and satisfied today. My life experiences have hugely shaped me to be the woman I am today and the human I wish to be in the future. A life of following your passion is wonderful and very difficult. But if you like it and you want to do it, then go for it and no one can stop you!!!