NiMA

It’s official, folks. On 1 February 2010, I stop working for the man and start working for the woman… me!This is an exciting time for me, as I’ve long wanted to be an entrepreneur but always found reasons not to go out on my own. Over the last couple of months, however, I stopped thinking about all the reasons why I couldn’t do it and started thinking about all the reasons why I should do it. Once that paradigm shifted, there was no holding back. 

There are days when I have so much energy and enthusiasm that I want to go for a run. Then there are days when I have so much angst and anxiety that I want to throw up. Luckily, I’ve been able to take advantage of the former without succumbing to the latter. 

Still, I have my doubts and fears, and when those creep in, I find strength and reassurance in the most unlikely source… an eight-year-old girl.  

Hanging out with my cousins while growing up in Pakistan

That’s how old I was when I first came to the US. I left behind everything and everyone I had ever known to join my “new” family – my birth parents and my little sister. Until then, I had lived in a big house in Pakistan, where I was raised by my grandparents and surrounded by my aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was an incredibly happy time in my life.Then, my uncle – who had been like a father to me – died in a car accident, and my mother came back for his funeral. When she returned to the US, I came with her. 

It was an incredibly difficult time in my life. I didn’t know the language. I didn’t know the culture. I didn’t even know my family. I was lonely and scared, and there were days when I begged my parents to let me go back home. Fortunately for me, they never did. 

Whenever I think back to that time in my life, I have this incredible urge to go back to that scared little girl, give her a big hug, and tell her that everything is going to be okay. Obviously, I can never do that. 

But what’s ironic is that the eight-year-old girl is the one that now gives me reassurance. She constantly reminds me that if the little girl I was could make it through such a difficult time, then the big girl I am now can make it through anything… even launching my own business. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go for a run.