Shailina Jain

It was the year 2018, almost midnight when my whole life came to a standstill. My mother suffered a major heath issue. She was having a lot of difficulty while breathing. We immediately rushed her to a hospital in Jaipur. The journey from our hometown Alwar to Jaipur was one the most strenuous and challenging journeys of my life. I was confused and worried, but somehow, I held myself together. We reached the hospital and my mother was taken inside for diagnosis. That is when we came to know that she had a heart condition from her childhood and at that point, we had no other option but to opt for surgery.

After a while, my mother was taken into the operation theatre. We were all standing outside the OT, with fear in our eyes. Beside me, standing was my little sister holding my hand tightly. Being the eldest, I had to keep myself together. Unbeknown to her, I wiped away my tears and wrapped my arms around her. I took a glance at my grandmother and saw her worried eyes. She was constantly praying.

I was merely a child when my father too suffered from a heart attack and left us. After his death, my mother took on the responsibility to look after our household. She had worked with an NGO for a while and later became a teacher at a school in Alwar. Gradually, with her hard work, she became the principal and made a name for herself. 

Being a single parent, she had to face a lot of challenges. Despite all that, she emerged out of every hardship and did not leave a single stone unturned to provide us with a beautiful life. She has always been a strong woman with a fighting spirit. 

Somewhere inside my mind, I knew she would win against this as well. And after hours of waiting, we finally received the good news. By the lord’s grace, my mother’s surgery was a success, and she was responding well to the treatments.

Difficult times certainly do make us understand better than before. And the same happened with me as well. I was still doing my bachelor’s when my mother underwent her surgery. So, I decided to be responsible and support my mother financially. I started looking for part-time jobs. This is when I came across an online tutoring platform that provided an opportunity for virtual teaching and learning. I started tutoring 10th and 12th students. It was my first job and along with teaching the students, I learned to build my personality and confidence.

After completing my graduation, I got placed in an MNC and moved to Mumbai to pursue my job. But after working there for a while, I realized, I was losing interest in the kind of work I was doing. Since my college days, I was passionate about A.I, M.L, and data analytics and wanted to pursue my career in the same domain. I started looking for similar jobs. With hard work and my family’s blessings, I landed a job as a Data Analyst in an organization in Gurgaon. 

For me, my mother has always been a role model. She has been my constant support and a mentor. To provide her with every happiness is the most important aspiration of my life. And the dream of becoming my mother’s pride is what motivates me to do a little better every day.