From Despair to Purpose: A Nightly Routine and a Global Mission

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the weight of the world. Like many of you, I struggle daily with the sheer volume of things going wrong around us, and there are moments when it feels deeply depressing.

But recently, I’ve found a quiet anchor in the storm.

Every night before I go to sleep, I look ahead to what tomorrow will bring. I map out what I have to do, but more importantly, what I can do. In those quiet moments, my attitude shifts. Just today, a powerful realization hit me: tomorrow presents a limitless opportunity to create.

That thought alone brought a wave of profound positivity. The truth is, not everyone on this earth is granted that chance. I don’t know how many people truly have the freedom of thought, the capacity for creativity, or the sheer luxury of time to build something new. Recognizing this fills me with immense gratitude. While I don’t necessarily believe a higher power orchestrated this for me, I feel a deep thankfulness toward whatever forces created these opportunities in my life.

Moving From Gratitude to Action

But as comforting as it is, simply feeling good or practicing gratitude isn’t going to change the world around me. It begged the question I have struggled with for several years: What can I actually do to bring about the change I desire?

A year ago, I found a definitive piece of that answer when I joined Edu-GIRLS (edugirls.org).

To truly immerse ourselves in this mission, my friends Yatin and Chetna Gola and I traveled to Jaipur, Firozabad, and Kolkata to see the state of schools supported by Edu-GIRLS; there, we also conducted theater and public speaking workshops for the students. Our goal was to use the stage as a tool for empowerment, helping these young women find their voices, build unshakable confidence, and command space.

Seeing the girls in action during these sessions blew us away. I quickly realized their transformation isn’t accidental; it is backed by the organization’s rigorous Ten Mantras Model. This holistic blueprint addresses every roadblock a girl faces—combining safe transportation, nutrition, and financial support with cutting-edge STEM immersion and the very kind of confidence-building communication skills we practiced on stage.

Watching these girls from the slums shed their hesitations, confidently command digital tools, and project their voices filled my heart with pure joy.

So I found my calling to serve Edu-GIRLS with the intent to bring change at the grassroots level instead of trying to change it with social media posts.

“It validated a belief I have long held close: educating and empowering girls is one of the single most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty and foster peace on this Earth.”

As someone who values tangible results, I look forward to watching the empirical evidence of this hypothesis unfold, one confident, educated girl at a time.