When I was a little kid, my parents struggled very hard to raise me. Both mom and dad were working, Dad was at a day job so he would leave home before I left for school and would be back by dinner time. Mom was working in shifts, so she would sometimes be working whole nights. I guess I didn't realize how difficult it would be until I grew up and started doing night shifts on my own.

We stayed in rented houses till I was 15 years old, when they bought their first apartment. They always wanted me to get the best education, so we used to shift houses every time I switched schools. They never ever put their comfort first, even if it meant commuting 1 hour every day to office. My mom used to take the bus during her night shifts because the train was not considered safe for women at that time of the day. I never understood what she went through every time she stepped out of the house at 8 PM in the night to start her 9 PM shift. My dad used to take care of me during the night when mother was at work. It wouldn't be until I was 30 or so years old before I reflected on those time to realize the sacrifices they made trying to bring me up.

In many ways I feel lucky at the way life has treated me all these 35 years. When I was not doing well in my primary school, I got the best teacher who taught me and moulded me during my formative years. During middle school, just when it seemed like my life was going to take a turn for the worse, my parents switched my school so I could focus on my education. At high school, even though I was not doing well enough to get good scores in my final exams, my teachers stepped up to the task and somehow made me pull it off. When applying for college, nobody in my family knew which college to choose. Out of the blue, a close friend of the family materialized and suggested a college which was fairly new at that time. We did not look at any other options. The seat was available and I took it. That decision proved to be a life changing one. 

Even when it came to choosing a stream in college, my parents made me opt for one even though my mind was set on another. That too,