Hatch & Bloom Origins: Sheltered by the Checkbox Life (Part 1 of 3)
Hatch and Bloom is really about my own story.
As a brown, female, only-child of Indian immigrants, I was taught that I had to strive, to work hard, to achieve, and to prove myself worthy. Worthy of the generations of hard work that brought me here, and worthy by the standards of American society.
This ended up with me living what I call the checkbox life, a.k.a. the “American dream”: go to college, get a job, buy a house, get married, have kids.
I chose to study engineering at Virginia Tech (one of the three Indian-family-sanctioned paths: doctor, lawyer, or engineer). I was part of the 10% of women that become electrical engineers. I worked with 18,000 other folks to build a new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the Navy.
Six months after starting, I bought a house that was way too big for one person.
Goals met, right? WRONG. I was 23, with a 30-year mortgage and a salary. Was this what life was about? If so, why was I so miserable?
I had followed what everyone else said was the right path, but my inner voice was growing too loud to ignore. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life. I didn’t know what my next step would be, but I knew I couldn’t stay here. It took me the next seven years to slowly break free.