"Started late? Took a break? Careers that don't always make sense" Meetup Recap [16th August, 26 | Bangalore]

I finally had a meetup that was TOO big 😭

And yesterday's TwoXMeets was probably the biggest one I've done so far.

(Yes I'll be calling the meetups TwoXMeets from now on. That has always been the official name but not all of you know that)

I've always kept my meetups small.

Not because I don't want more women to come, but because I want everyone to actually get a chance to talk.

Yesterday, a lot more women showed interest than I expected. And honestly, I didn't want to tell someone "sorry, you can't come" when she was genuinely interested in being there.

Also, if you've attended my meetups, you know how many people cancel at the last minute 😂 So I let everyone in.

And well this time almost everyone actually showed up.

The TwoXMeet was about careers, the choices women make around their careers, and everything that affects those choices.

Because for women, a career isn't always just about "what job do you want?"

Sometimes it's about marriage.

Sometimes it's about moving because your husband got transferred.

Sometimes it's about giving up something you worked years for because you have young children.

Sometimes it's about not working because your in-laws don't want you to.

And then somehow, if you don't earn enough, you're a gold digger. If you don't work, you're dependent. If you prioritise your career, you're selfish.

Anyway, we talked about all of that and SO much more.

There were stories about COVID and the recession, career setbacks, switching into completely different fields, failures, successes, starting over, and figuring things out much later than you expected.

And when you put a bunch of women in a space where nobody is judging anyone, something interesting happens.

People start opening up.

At one point, after hearing so many stories, one woman said she didn't feel like her own story was worth sharing.

She felt she hadn't suffered enough.

And I told her: it doesn't work like that.

Just because someone has suffered more doesn't mean your suffering doesn't exist.

We all have different capacities. We deal with things differently. And if something hurts you, it hurts you.

You don't need the most tragic story in the room to deserve to tell yours.

You are the hero of your story. And it wouldn't be your story without you.

And honestly, this meetup reminded me exactly why I usually keep these meetups small.

The conversation went on for SO long and in so many directions that, for the first time, not everyone got a chance to speak.

But even then, nobody seemed particularly bothered.

Because sometimes you don't need to tell your own story.

Sometimes hearing another woman describe something you've gone through yourself, and seeing that she made it out the other side, is enough.

But I don't want this conversation to stop with the women who could make it to Cubbon Park.

Not every woman can come to an offline meetup. And I obviously can't do these every Sunday.

So I'm starting something new 🧸

Pyjama Talks.

Same kind of conversations. Just online.

I'm planning the first one for next Sunday at 8 PM, and I'll be keeping it small so people actually get to talk.

More details later this week.

So from now on:

🌳 TwoXMeets = offline (parks, cafes)
🧸 Pyjama Talks = online (Gmeet)

And both are just women getting together and having conversations we don't always get to have elsewhere ❤️

If you'd like to join the first Pyjama Talk just comment here to show your interest and let me know what topics would interest you.

I'll patiently go through all of your choices and then choose a topic that I like anyways 😝