Independence Day Special: I’m Grateful I Had the Option

In some places, women still can't vote, work, or study freely. In my India, I grew up watching something far more empowering.

My mother — a retired Army officer — treated duty like a calling, not a chore. She never checked the holiday calendar before showing up to serve — not because she had to, but because she could.

I’m not glorifying hustle culture. I’m celebrating choice. Because as a mother myself, I’m thankful every day that motherhood didn’t mean ending my journey — it meant I could keep walking it my way.

Some women leave work after marriage or after having a baby. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that — but having that choice? That’s freedom. And I’m proud to say I chose to continue — for me, for our daughter, and for our daughter’s daughter.

I want my daughter to say, “I admire my mother,” just like I admire mine — not because we never stopped, but because we were allowed to.