A personal profile is quite a demanding exercise in introspection as we need to not only delve into our past but also accept it with grace. Normalcy is what we strive for without a clue as to what normal is or whether such a thing exists and if it does would we really want it forever.
I was the baby of the family with one sibling and a host of cousins, uncles, aunts, rules, and regulations. As a good south Indian brahmin girl, dance and music are a given but for some reason I wanted something different. School was a chore that I endured thanks to my best friend. I always wanted something, not sure what. Simply put I was a confused, complex, and inhibited child filled with dilemmas and questions with no answers. I was really a handful especially for my mother as a rebellious and adamant teenager.
I thought I had found what I wanted when I pursued computers as my career line to quickly lose interest in the real-world tedium of machines. Marriage, family, and responsibility brought within me a sense of stability and patience to gradually explore and steady myself. My foray into psychology was the first step. Counseling and working in a school opened me to observing, learning, and working with children and adults and that gave me a sense of purpose. My future slowly unravelled before me as I developed the clarity, curiosity, and confidence to take opportunities whenever they presented themselves. My growth as a person has had a huge positive impact in my relationship with people, both on a personal as well as on a professional level. While I have my flaws and idiosyncrasies, today I can look in the mirror with a smile and say “I LOVE YOU”.
Anupama Anand
May 2023
