How My Work-from-Home Journey Began (The Steps of My Story)
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My work-from-home journey actually began in India.
I moved there at the age of 16, along with a group of young people who wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
We spent the summer involved in a variety of social projects — workshops for prison inmates, ministries to support mentally-challenged individuals, and help for residents of impoverished communities.
But the world wasn’t exactly my oyster.
For a girl who had home-schooled all her life, suffered from social anxiety, and generally felt more comfortable in the company of books than people, my early weeks in India were sometimes overwhelming …
The humid heat of Mumbai in April, May, June, July …
The sheer number of people.
The fact that I had no way to blend in, being blonde and nearly six feet tall and more than a little awkward.
By the end of the summer, most of my friends returned to the United States. Part of me wanted to head back to California as well. But I stayed.
Some part of me was trying to find a sense of purpose …
And I had a feeling that, despite the heat and challenging living conditions, India was the place to find that purpose.
To answer some kind of call.
One day I hope to write more about my time there, but that’s not the focus of this story.
I ended up staying in India for nearly 12 years.
I got married to a terrific guy from Chennai. We had three beautiful children, all born in Bangalore.
Then, my husband and I began to consider moving back to my hometown in California’s San Joaquin Valley. I wanted our young children to be closer to my family.
We had been involved in a variety of projects and ministries — from working with the deaf to opening sponsored schools for children from slums — and life was fulfilling.
But it was time for us to move on.
