How Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud’s Failures Led to Multimillion-Dollar Success (originally posted on Brown Girl Magazine)

---In hono(u)r of the Independence Days of Pakistan and India, I wanted to share the following post I wrote for Brown Girl Magazine--- We all remember the day we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. In first-generation South Asian households, the responses are often predictable: doctor, engineer or lawyer. Your parents …

A New Year.

New years hold some kind of promise, don't they? They whisper of new adventures, new escapes, new getaways. With a new year, we can learn something more, something new. Every year, I try to set a reading goal, books read or papers highlighted through. But this year, I want to make myself a promise of …

So, I’m a woman who wears two rings.

  Every morning, I slide on two rings. When I wear them, I am on the receiving end of "ma'am," sly remarks about my husband, and intrusive questions (and yes, I include questions about the medication I am or am not on as intrusive). The number of children I must have or must be about to …

In time…

In time, you'll understand why parents say the things you do. You'll see the logic of the unknowns that govern their lives. Or you'll wrap your head around new ideas, beliefs, and myths. In time, you'll develop your voice. You'll listen to opinions that don't agree with yours. Or you'll be too stubborn to hear …

To the peeps that made me, me.

Once upon a time, a doctor and a Master of Home Economics had a child. Wait, they had two. The Master did all sorts of things with her degree. She worked in nutrition; she owned a furniture store; she taught at a school. The doctor...worked a lot. All the time, actually. Two hours after his …

It’s time to stretch out your thoughts.

As we grow up, we turn into different versions of ourselves. We are still us, but we have experiences that shape us and shorten us and (sometimes) stretch us. When I was younger, I only slightly veered from the safe routes. I strayed by listening to rock music, but I didn’t venture into mosh pits. I stepped …

The Language of Loving a Difference

My parents moved here before my sister and I were born to follow an American dream. I feel lucky every day that my American story begins in love. But I want it to continue that way, too. Modern media has finally caught up with the fact that not all American families fit one mold. There are finally …

There’s a chance this could be WATER

“No, thanks, just water for me.” In America, when I say I don’t drink, my conversations often end. People turn away to someone who can relate to their experiences. When I say I don’t drink, people assume I won’t join them out at a bar or a party. “No, thanks, just water for me.” It …

Musical realism

Music runs a fervent stream in my head all day long. It ranges in genres (teenage me will never let me forget punk/indie/rock), styles (boy bands are always a staple), and origin (mysterious, or otherwise). But music, unfortunately, knows no bounds when it comes to sexism or racism. Sexism in the music industry has been around …

How did independence forget about similarity?

We have officially crossed into August 14 (if you go by Pakistan time)... Which is Independence Day in Pakistan! Celebrations today range in ferocity, effort, and beauty. Going to Pakistan to see family meant I was able to partake in some celebrations. But one of my dearest friends is Indian. In her country, Independence Day is celebrated …