This is My Story

Ever since middle school, I’ve found myself in academically rigorous and competitive environments, which led me to believe, from a very early age, that we need to work hard and struggle for what we want.

These hyper-competitive environments also led me to seek validation through external markers of success (test scores and pedigrees) whilst simultaneously leaving me to deal with a severe case of impostor syndrome. I never felt like I measured up to my classmates.

Despite feeling academically inferior, as a low-income, first generation college student from an immigrant family, I was also very driven to “succeed” to break out of poverty. During my senior year at Yale, I landed a coveted consulting job and felt like I was on top of the world.

I quickly realized that consulting wasn’t for me and left after 1.5 years. This became a turning point and marked the beginning of my deviation off the conventional path – I took sabbaticals, left jobs without backup plans, and sought out opportunities that took me to far-flung places from Australia to Zimbabwe.

Whilst these decisions felt true to me, the people around me vocally voiced their disapproval. During a sabbatical, my dad criticized me for being a beach bum. Another family member told me that I had wasted my Yale education. These external voices did nothing to assuage my fears and instead held me in a liminal state where my soul felt like I was doing what was right for me by listening to my intuition and my ego felt like perhaps it would be good for me to “settle down” – to choose one thing and just stick with it.

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Along the way, I stumbled upon the digital nomad lifestyle and it resonated with me for many reasons — I needed the distance from my immediate circle to tune into my inner voice of wisdom, figure out my preferences and values, and, ultimately, I was searching for a sense of belonging, which had eluded me at Yale and in the corporate world.

After breaking from the conventional path, I pursued long-held desires – I completed my 200 Hr. Yoga Teacher Training in India and made my way around the world. I wrote and published a book about my post-graduate experiences. I overcame stage fright to perform stand-up comedy in multiple countries. Despite these accomplishments and checking off items on my bucket list, a low-level dissatisfaction continued to linger within me.

It took time for me to understand that external pursuits couldn't, can’t, and will never fill an inner void. The mind perpetually craves for more – something different, something better, something more exciting. No measure of success, no one else, no exotic location can fill the inner void. The only way to fill the inner void is through self-love, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. We all have an inner sanctuary within us, despite our external circumstances and it takes consistent practice to love ourselves home.

As I traversed the globe in search of home and belonging (literally and figuratively), I realized that what I was doing was narrowing the gap between the person I thought I “should” be and the worthy being I am.

I am worthy simply because I exist.

I am worthy as I am.

I am worthy.

The ultimate goal is to embody this sense of worthiness, this inner peace without the external trappings, whether that comes in the form of a career, status symbols, accumulated travel experiences, etc. This is a lifelong journey so I haven’t “arrived” but I’ve sure as heck come a long way. I want to show you how to get there too, fellow wayfinder.