Our next story is the story of a true warrior princess. When I think of Sunita, I see a simple, humble, girl next door with an endearing smile on her face, down to hearth, a girl of few words, who has a certain unruffled aura about herself. I never knew that behind that sweet face is hiding so many emotions and years of striving to build the life that she has now. Listening to her as she narrated her journey, I was emotionally choked, I had goosebumps while I was typing her story, I hope my words do justice to her emotions. The struggle, the courage, the conviction, and the utmost simplicity with which she went through all of that, it will an understatement to say that it is inspiring. I have known Sunita for over 10 years now, I never knew that behind this soft-spoken, always smiling face was this brave warrior.
I came to the US with the promise of a job and I took my chances as I wanted to escape India. I grew up in Manipur in the period where Naxalites activities were at it’s highest peak and filled with corrupted people. To get a decent job, either we had to be filthy rich or pay a hefty bribe or be linked with powerful people or Naxalites. There was no place for people like me and families who wanted to work and live sincerely and peacefully. My parents suffered a lot. I hated that place, so I left Manipur to peruse my BSN. But coming from Northeastern India, we were either looked down upon as sluts or had to face racial discrimination. I remember one time a random guy from the bus I was traveling on my way to work spit on my shoulder. Being a nurse in India was not helping either as we all know very well how nurses are treated in India. So I left India with only $1500 that I borrowed from my father and it was the beginning of my journey. I got my first nursing job in Miami after a month of moving to the US. I and my roommates struggled during the initial months in the US. We slept on the floor for months so that we can save money to rent our apartment. I had to overcome much discrimination at work too. I won’t say my work and life were perfect but at least I was respected and got the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I moved to Houston after getting married. Life was getting better. I found an amazing job with awesome co-workers. I was able to save money to send my younger sister for her further studies in Australia. Then came new challenges. I was pregnant with our first child in 2010 and on my 2nd trimester, I ended up in the ER because I was exhausted after taking care of a very sick patient in ICU. I was put on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I had my first child through an emergency C-section. We had just started enjoying our small bundle of joy and the next thing we found out that my husband’s company told him to return to India. Luckily, we had filed his Green card so, after a month of having our child, he got his GC. But his new job was in Austin, me, and our newborn stayed in Houston. My parent’s visa got rejected multiple times so they couldn’t come either and mother in law had to go back to India too. I hired a Nanny as I had to go back to work. To add to the problem, our daughter refused the bottle at any cost. Her Nanny was feeding her milk with a spoon while I was at work. It was taking a toll on me and our child. So I left the job and moved to Austin. We lived in Austin for a very short period of time. My husband had to move to Boston to pursue his MBA. Since I didn’t want to go through the same ordeal as before, I decided to move with him. My husband was in a full-time MBA program and so I needed to find a job soon. Even after trying for months, I couldn’t find a day ICU job in Boston. So I called up my previous Boss in Austin and took back my job in Cardiac ICU. This time in Austin I had the support of a few great friends and colleagues every step of the way. Some of them became just like family. I will always be grateful to them, without their support I wouldn’t have been able to take care of my little kid with a demanding job as an ICU nurse. After completing his MBA, my husband couldn’t find a job in Austin. He found his next job in Houston. So we were back to where we started. He would come to Austin over the weekends from Houston. This went on for quite some time but after we had our 2nd child, I decided to move to Houston for good so that we can bring up our kids together. We still have our ups and downs but then who doesn’t? My husband has a traveling job. He travels on weekdays and is home on weekends. I left my job too so I can concentrate on our kids. But now, since both kids have started school, I am back to hunting for a job. And until I find my perfect job again, I am enjoying my life with my family, a side business of home baking, gardening, crafting, and DIY projects. I am thankful to my parents who had faith in me, my husband and kids, my in-laws, my friends who stood with me when I was struggling to stand up, and to this country that I now call as Home.
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