Obviously we’ve all had to make sacrifices since the pandemic came along, mine is my routine and doing things that help me meet new people.
But during this indefinite lockdown which is a source of frustration for I’m sure all of us, my friend Simi has inspired me a lot.
She lives in Philadelphia with her Indian family and she’s really struggling with her anxiety at the moment. Her parents are quite conservative and won’t support her emotionally or financially.
I relate to her so much because at 21, she’s lacking in self confidence — she’s apprehensive about moving out into the world on her own; it’s scary. But she inspires me because I noticed that though she was going through inner turmoil and outer adversity, it was starting to bring out the best in her.
Though she loves her parents, she’s starting to rely on them less and flag down her own taxi. I told her that if she ever feels defeated, she can take a rest instead of quitting. I’m 32 and have only just learned how to do that.
I think it highlights how sometimes we can’t see the woods for the trees, that we can’t always solve our own problems until we see someone else going through similar things. By looking at parts of her life, I’ve discovered some insight into my own.
I’m so proud of Simi, we’ve been talking for 3 years now and I’ve seen her go from strength to strength. She’s made so much progress. And if anyone is interested, she’s just self released her third book, The Weight Of Our Souls on Kindle and paperback. They’re available on Amazon.