My story

I grew up in a sleepy rural town in southwest Kansas, the youngest of four in a conservative Catholic household. From an early age, I knew I wanted more than what the high plains could offer. Still, I went through the motions—school, church, social activities—appearing to others as the model daughter, student, and citizen. Inside, I felt stifled, carrying the weight of expectations about who I was supposed to be while trying to figure out who I actually was.

The “good life,” as I understood it, meant going to college, finding a nice Catholic husband, securing a respectable job, buying a house, and raising 3.75 kids. I accepted this as truth while secretly daydreaming of more—traveling to Ireland or Italy, earning an advanced degree, or living in a city with suburbs and a skyline. Despite being an awkward misfit, I tried to squeeze myself into the boxes laid out for me, believing conformity would somehow turn me into the confident, happy, valued person I longed to be.

Life, of course, had other plans. Instead of marrying a toxic college boyfriend, I turned down his proposal and worked abroad. By twenty-six, I had visited multiple countries across continents, including Ireland and Italy. At twenty-nine, I became the first in my family line to earn a master’s degree. By my mid-thirties, I was established in a major metro area just a few miles from the beach. And at thirty-nine, I surprised everyone by marrying my now-husband in an abbreviated Hindu ceremony—wearing hot pink and gold.

I’m grateful for where my life has taken me, and for the people who have supported me along the way. But the journey has also been marked by unnecessary adversity, criticism, and judgment from overt and subtle voices insisting on the “right” way to live. I’ve wrestled with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the fear of failure more often than I’d like to admit. Still, those struggles pushed me to examine belief systems, biases, and inequities—both internal and external—and how they shape lived experience.

Those lessons fuel how I approach life and work today—with curiosity, growth, and a human-centered design mindset. I believe there’s no universal “right” way to live—only the right way for each of us in this moment. One of my greatest joys is equipping people with the permission, tools, and resources to design and live that life fully, in whatever context they’re in. After all, the world needs us to show up as the badasses we already are.