The Wonder Woman

 

This post is dedicated to Joyce….. Yes, this was the name given to her by the American Missionary friends of her family. Today in the twilight years, she often sits alone with a cup of tea and reminisces of her bygone sixty-five years.

“She has hated this woman. She has not loved herself and has allowed others to tell her she wasn't good enough.

She allowed herself to be broken. She let others treat her disrespectfully. She fought battles for others, knowing they would never stand for her.

She bungled up many times as a friend, a daughter, a wife or mom because she has a smart mouth who doesn’t always say nor do the right things.

She goes without makeup; she doesn’t dress up half the time nor would pretend to be someone she is not.

She has learnt lessons from her failures, trials, and disappointments with sheer grit and faced the challenges boldly. This has made her brave.. proud of who she is. 

She puts up a brave front yet she is afraid. She’s broken but standing gracefully. She is a warrior woman, who may not be perfect but she’s a woman of substance… 

Some people love this brave woman, some dislike her; people, on the whole, find her difficult. But nobody can ignore her and one thing is sure if she loves you, she will do it with her whole heart, she would be committed to you.” 

The above summary of Warrior woman fits Joyce very well. She has come a long way, two failed marriages, trust betrayed, criticized …..

But wait, was she looking for trust in the wrong places?

Didn’t she believe in herself?

Why she felt guilty when she was told she wasn't good enough?

Why she was devoid of the emotion called LOVE or sex, a physical need was that mistaken as love?

Why she couldn’t free herself from her shackles? 

These questions loom large in front of You…Me...n…Us. We often come across such troubled women. Every person has a story to tell, we all have our share of heaven and hell to live.

Are they jinxed??? Why are they compromising??? Is it for the sake of kids or the fear of society?

Mind you they don’t break in one day….. It takes years of mental n physical abuse to break somebody by constantly reminding them that they are worthless. 

They suffer silently while their spirit is crushed; dreams are taken away, confidence is broken. 

Yet a spark n hope is hidden in some corner of their heart which whispers, ‘stand up, dust yourself …. Life is not unfair, it’s beautiful…. Live for yourself. Don’t believe what others have been telling you.’  

Life is not a bed of roses… true, everyone struggles for survival. But breaking away…. it’s a tough decision.

When they finally decide that enough is enough and step out of their cocoon, the whole world is new to them. They feel naked without a shell around them.

They regret how much time they wasted living in fear…while time and years just flew away….

But better late than never…. more importantly, they forgive their abusers and move ahead taking those years as learning lessons to improve their souls. 

What a hard way to learn the lessons?

They may smile or laugh but they hide the pain, insecurities…tread carefully ahead not trusting anybody, that’s the saddest part of life. They have miles to go before they discover themselves.

I wrote this post taking Joyce as an example because ours is a patriarchal society where men, be it a father, brother, husband or son, play a dominant role.

I have seen women being ruled by male counterparts. Families put in more faith in strangers to marry off their daughters rather than educating them and help them to become professionally.. financially independent.

Women are forced to hand over their earnings to their fathers, husbands or in-laws. This I am quoting from my experience, seeing educated, professionally qualified women around me in my circle.

I have always felt that women are very strong personalities, despite facing all the opposition and adverse situations they come out strong. If a woman loses her husband she prefers bringing up kids singlehandedly but when a man loses his wife he needs another woman in his life to take care of his family.

In my earlier posts, I had mentioned that I strongly feel that God has not abandoned us on this planet. We all are here with a support system; in fact, we are part of that system.

Knowingly or unknowingly we become supportive to someone….. bring smile on someone’s face, restore somebody’s confidence, help people to heal up emotionally. The list is long…

Look around you… one doesn’t have to look far. You may bring a smile or sunshine into someone’s life.

Be somebody’s sunshine!!!!

A New Beginning in Twilight Years !!!!

I always wanted to pen down my thoughts. My retirement plan was to devote time to my ‘Me time’ to do two things in my bucket list….. Road tripping across India, and online work (teaching n content writing). 

I did go for a Mobike trip to Uttrakhand for a week on Royal Enfield Himalayan with my son. It was a road trip to remember. 

                                              

I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was young once again at 64. It was an experience to remember.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic stalled my plans to travel, so I decided to switch over to writing.

While browsing I came across ‘Work n hire, site. I created an account and landed with my first Content Writing project meant for freshers.

I grabbed the opportunity; it was an entirely new experience. The handler was very supportive and guided me through 30+ assignments.

 It was an exciting journey but the payment was pathetic. No doubt the plus point was I learnt the writing skills needed to become a content writer.

I had joined an entirely new field ….. I learnt about plagiarism, SEO/keywords, writing strategies….. The list is long.

After a few more experiences it was evident that I must train myself in this new field to be a successful content writer.

About a week back an ad flashed on my Facebook wall, ‘ContentVidhya - Learn Content Writing!” https://www.facebook.com/contentvidhya

Unlike other intimidating, boring corporate ads on custom made templates, it had a simplistic approach.

Something clicked ….. Firstly it was a very client-friendly, simple and straight forward, a professional approach with a personal touch and secondly affordable.

pic courtesy:https://www.facebook.com/contentvidhya/

It was a God-sent opportunity and without giving a second thought I enrolled for the course. I waited excitedly for the classes to begin.

I was a bit nervous in the starting but overcame my fear of unknown. Our Guide UmaMadhavi connected with us immediately. She has come up with sheer grit and hard work. 

The workshop dealt from basics to a higher level. I knew I have a lot to learn.

Assignment guidelines, introduction to different types of writing styles, use of power words n key words, choosing our niche, developing writing skills, the power of social media in promotion of content writing.

  All the possible strategies were discussed and apparently, my stumbling steps were getting firm ground. I was on my way to improve the skills a content writer should have.

Each day assignment was given. Voila!!! I successfully submitted it in time. It proved true that ‘start writing and work towards perfection, don’t wait for perfection to start your journey.’ ContentVidhya

Last but not least the 5 step portfolio guidelines, to announce our entry on the different social platforms, was the ultimate. I was unaware of this side of the strategy.

Above all, I loved the shrewd business strategy when we were asked to write about our journey of the last 6 days with Content Vidhya and post it on our blogs.

Undoubtedly it’s a smart move ….. We divert our subscriber’s attention in our trainers and get them interested. This is how the business is generated.

My journey of the last 6 days was an informative experience and remarkably exciting.

In my future efforts if mistakes are committed, no problem “we learn from our own mistakes as there is no readymade package for success." I feel to establish myself as a Content Writer, there is a lot more to learn.

Thank you Content Vidhya for giving me a chance to polish my writing skills.

You, Me.. n Us we all have to keep learning to enhance our skills and knowledge.

A new beginning always waits for us around the corner. All of us are gifted …. We just have to find a little ‘Me Time’ to devote to ourselves and find that gift!!!!!