To all the women I’ve loved and met before, I cannot express how grateful I am to have you in my life. In honor of it being the last day of Women’s History Month, I want to write a couple of mini letters to those that make me who I am.
To my amma/mom –
I can say all these things about my mom, but in order for one to genuinely understand what kind of person she is, it’s vital that I share something that my dad told me in the past. He once asked my mom: “Why are you straining yourself this much for a second child? We already have one daughter, and she’s more than enough for all of us.” Despite my dad’s frustration on how my mom was physically and mentally hurting herself through the process of conceiving a child, she responding back with: “I don’t want her to grow up alone. I want her to know what it feels like to have a sibling, and I want her to know what that love is like.” In the present day, I can very much so attest to the fact that I do understand the love that comes from having a sibling, and I could not imagine my life without my brother. I am incredibly thankful for everything that my mom has fought for despite the amount of life-threatening obstacles that were thrown her way. Not only did she fuel the passion behind my love for obstetrics and gynecology, but she has shown me a sense of graceful, perseverant bravery. I have never seen anyone fight the way she does for someone/something she loves, and I only hope that I can be a fraction of all the amazing things she is.
So Amma, thank you for all you do for me. Thank you for feeding me as I sit on the countertop in the kitchen when my appetite falls short, thank you for all the cookies and sweets you brought back from your office when I was in elementary school, thank you for throwing the best sweet sixteen for me even though my attitude at the time was not the best, thank you for making the weird voices and songs you make up which allows me to know it’s okay to be a little crazy at times, thank you for giving me all the STAAR practice tests you would print out in your office (me in 4th grade would not thank you for this though), thank you for taking care of our puppy (I’m still upset that Kai likes you more than me, but I guess it’s valid), thank you for listening to me and hearing all my stressful rants about everything that’s bothering me, and thank you for always being there for us in the family. You truly are what makes our house a home.
To my nanama/grandma –
I really am my nanama’s granddaughter, and it’s not hard to see why. Especially after spending a year with her and my grandpa in India and then both of them living with me for most of my life in America, I have always been incredibly close to my grandparents. In the process, I have come to realize how much of myself actually stems from my nanama. We both share the same voice tone (we are quite loud, I will admit), we are fiercely protective of the people we love, and we are incredibly passionate when it comes to anything we came across in life. I always knew my nanama was great, but in the past year, I have also come to realize how she’s always been my own personal cheerleader all along. During times when I would question my self-worth or potential, I would frantically rush to my phone to call her, and she always had the right words to lift me back up. She has taught me the importance of faith and how believing in yourself can make you achieve anything you want to. After all, in her words, the universe truly does fall in love with a stubborn soul because your determination is the only thing that can save you.
Nanama, if you’re reading this, all I’d like to say is: ఈ వారం మీకు కాల్ చేయనందుకు క్షమించండి. నేను మీకు రేపు కాల్ చేస్తాను. (For anyone who is wondering what I just said in Telugu, well, Google Translate always exists). I’d also like to tell you that I love you so, so much, and I cannot wait to visit you in India (whenever those flight tickets get finalized).
To my piano teacher, Ms. Creider –
The first time I met Ms. Creider was back in 3rd grade when my old piano teacher was leaving her job to go back to college. I remember when Ms. Creider sat in a chair in our piano room as she observed the class between me and my previous teacher. As a young child, all I could think about was how much I was going to miss my old teacher, but little did I know, Ms. Creider was about to become one of the best mentors and friends I have ever had. For the next 9 years of my piano experience, there has never been a dull moment during our routinely scheduled private lessons every Saturday.
Thank you Ms. Creider, for all that you have done for me. I don’t know if I ever told you this outright, but you have been one of the reasons I held my mental health together during the absolute rollercoaster that was high school (especially high school). You have always been the best listener, and you have never failed to give me the most insightful advice even if it meant going over time during our lessons. I am so thankful that you were my piano teacher, because I honestly cannot see what my childhood and the past few years would have been like without having you there.
Even though I only talked about three people here, there are a myriad of young girls and women who have influenced me and taught me the value of human connections along with the tenets of kinship. I cannot thank the women in my life enough, and I will always be eternally grateful for everyone who has made me who I am today.