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The Surprising Power of Rebellion to transform your Life and Career · Project Emerald Collective

• Eve McIntyre: Yeah. Welcome everyone. I'm my name's Eve and I'm the founder of Project Emerald Collective. What started as a marketplace has now moved into a movement for women ready to live intentionally and take their power back in terms of their energy, their time, and their money to lead a more meaningful and intentional life. So today we're speaking with Pragarfi, who's a community builder and marketer whose journey has taken her from India to London. Along the way, she's challenged expectations, embraced solo travel, changed careers from biotech to marketing, and become deeply intentional about where she invests her time, energy and attention. She's so inspiring to talk to and I'm so excited to get stuck in so to this conversation which is really about reinvention, courage and the power of creating a life that feels authentically yours. So Pragarthi, welcome. Thank you so much. can I get you to tell us a little bit about the hats that you wear today? Hi, so I'm currently like a student at ESCP business school. So I'm finishing my masters in marketing. I came from like a tech job and then I moved here to like upskill myself and along with that I'm also doing like an internship with a c startup based in Canada and I work there as a community manager. I'm also working in a very fractional role, I'm trying to build out a startup myself. So I'm being mentored on that as well and with the incubator here at my university. So doing multiple things together and genuinely trying to like better my life in like just like getting myself out there, talking to people. networking, connecting with people and making sure like I'm learning every day. So yeah, that's a little bit about what I'm currently doing. Yeah, amazing. looking back, what are the three pivotal moments that you can pinpoint that have shaped the woman that you are today? I think starting with was when I first moved out of home for my bachelors. This was back in twenty sixteen. So I just had finished my twelfth grade and like I was preparing for medicine but then I won't didn't get into like During that year in India, like the whole medical structure, system, everything changed. So I was very exhausted with that. So I decided if not medicine, I want to like stick to my biotech field and like my science field. So I moved into biotech. And this was not in the city. The college was like in another state completely and that took like a lot of patience and effort. A lot of my mom supporting me, a lot of my brother supporting me, my brother fighting with everyone. My mom practically fighting with every relative that I had 'cause they were like Why do you have to send her to another state when you have such good colleges here? And this is one of the top ten colleges in India. So I and I ended up getting a scholarship as well at the college. So I genuinely wanted to go and this was like a five year degree that they were sending me for. So everyone was very scared. But I think that completely changed me as a person. I went from being introvert to extroverted. I went from being someone who's su super shy to someone who's open. my life completely changed around. So first was that. Second, if I had to look back, would be when I finally learned how to handle my finances. I come from a business family. My brother's a charted accountant. His wife is a charted accountant. My mom works as the chief accountant at like her firm. My dad's an entrepreneur and I still am the worst person in the family and I didn't know how to handle my finances. And I think it's super important that women learn how to handle their finances. Cause that kind of gave me like the sense of safety and security. Where I could reject things and be like, No, I can choose better 'cause I have something to fall back on in terms of savings and I only started saving in like twenty twenty two. Wh when I was already like twenty four and like earning really well and all of that. So before that I was not saving anything in terms of like mutual funds or just investments in general. So when back then my expert friend suggested, that, you know, you need to start saving up, you need to plan better. And it finally hit me and that kind of gave me like a lot of confidence, like how I with how I was dealing with situations. So like it was really that's something super important that I stress can't stress enough on. Third thing would be this might sound a little like too too cliche, but like just Cutting people off and being able to say no and when I had to learn that, I started my therapy in 2022. I think that was like a big change in my life that happened. And because of that I realized that I need to have like very intentional people around me, very passionate people around me. And that's when I like don't feel drained out around people. So I cut a lot of people off. I made sure like my circles very focused or passionate ab about something. It does not have to be about their education. Just someone who's wanting to live and genuinely enjoy their life. So I picked my people up and that c that changed like everything for me 'cause then I was surrounded and I think more importantly, I started surrounding myself with a lot more women than I go than I have in like the previous years of my life 'cause I grew up with like a lot of brothers around me. We are just three girls in like the entire big family. So like we're just three girls in the family. So I intentionally started surrounding myself with like these absolutely wonderful women and it changed a lot 'cause then I had gotten mentoring and I got like to talk to them and about just in general my body confidence. Like I didn't have any confidence in how I was dressing up. That changed on how I was showing up to work and like how I was generally talking to people. Everything changed when I surrounded myself with women. Like the right set of women, it's very important. So yeah. So those three things are like I think something very close to my heart. Yeah. It's so great that you've refined those as well and, you know, certainly been more focused on the energy that you're surrounding yourself with. And and the finance thing is a big one as well. Yes. What does so what does living intentionally mean to you? when I started taking therapy, I think that was my first step to living intentionally 'cause I was in this auto zone of you need to like get your degree, you need to start working, you need to do this. But like I I lost myself somewhere in like that race of like just like trying to be. And I think taking therapy was like the first intentional moment that I started like dealing 'cause I needed to like get unlearn so many things that I had learned. Secondly, I think I was injured like today living intentionally for me is taking care of my health, taking care of my body, taking care of like how I show up to work, how my energy is throughout the day. So for now I've taken like these smaller steps where I started working out, I started like focusing on what I'm putting in my body, like the food that I eat, the kind of water I drink, making sure like everything that I eat is right and you know, fresh or like cutting down on like so much of junk that I used to eat because I used to stress eat a lot. So that the second part to this is like with people in general as to how I engage with because there's so much because you're in a university, there's so much gossiping that goes around and I'm just like, I do not want to engage with this. I'm going to focus on my career. So I move myself out of like a lot of spaces which result also not getting invited to things but I'm just saying this is my focus, this is my priority and this is where I feel safe and my energy is feels good. So I move my out of there. So currently that's what living intentionally means to me. Like yeah, just improving myself and being able to show up completely and fully just being me. I love that. So what conscious choices are shaping your life right now, given that you've moved to London? So working out is like the biggest change 'cause like That gym makes me feel so much better. Like just in general, because I am very anxious as a person. I I get like a lot of panic attacks and a lot of anxiety attacks before. Jim has changed so much of that. Like Jim really helped me cause stay calm and like sh like my energy levels are better throughout the day. And it's not just like one part of your life, right? Like you go to the gym and everything sorts out. Because you're going to the gym, you're eating better. Because you're eating better, you're drinking more water, you're taking your supplements on time and like you kind of like pull your life around in a very healthy way. You start being active and like all of that. So like I think that was one of the biggest best decisions I've made for myself. It is enough to show up to the gym. But like afterwards the the like the effect of the gym is really good. Conscious choice secondly is with my clothes. Fashion struggle with me the entire my entire life 'cause I was very two-sided on how women should dress up or how I dress up for example. And I loved being comfortable in my clothes. so everyone used to call me a tomboy back then. And I used to get very offended. Now I know how to dress up for myself and how to like still be comfortable I dress up like according to my body style and stuff. Fashion's been a constant trigger for me and now that has gone down and I also have like decided not to buy from like companies that do polyester or do like these fast fashion things. So because I can make that choice and I can afford to make that choice. I thrift stuff or I buy from peop stores that are not fast fashion. So majority of it is thrifting 'cause London's London loves thrifting. I'm fascinated with the courage that you have to leave what's familiar. So moving countries is I guess one of the biggest decisions that someone can make. So what inspired your move from India to London? While I was preparing and seeing and like exploring courses and colleges, I'm like, I can't believe there's so much out there. So then I got super excited and instead of US I picked London because conscious living has been a thing for me p for the past few years now. And I didn't want to become like one of these extremely overworked persons or someone who's like workaholic all the time. So I decided that I can't if I need a s space which is like countryside and like city life combined, what would be the best country and I think Europe does that. Europe has perfected it. So they know what work life balance is, they know how to like show up to work and also like take care of themselves. So I decided I Europe. around. It's like the third best in marketing across the world. here. And then I moved here and then so many opportunities open up. I'm like, yeah, good decision. Yeah. When it flows, you kind of feel like you're in the right place, don't you? Yeah. Yeah. And what were you hoping to find, experience, or become through the move? So back then I was hoping that I learn a lot more about just marketing because I was so overly focused on my career. But then now when I'm here, I've learned marketing has nothing to do with my move. My experience has been compared completely around learning more about myself as a person, how I show up, what I know, what I don't know, how much of that it is there to l unlearn as a person. And also the difference in culture, right? India is like so I come from a conservative family, like kind of conservative family. I wouldn't really call my mom conservative, but like my dad's side of the family is super conservative. So I repelled my entire life and coming I was like it I'll get out of that when I come here. So that was the expectation. But then when I came here Like it it was so much more learning for me as a person rather than just about marketing or just about like, you know, running away from home. It's it it's just so much more than that. Yeah, you were touching on the challenges just before we started the recording. So take us through that briefly. So yeah, London's been challenging in its own way. There's like I c I did not think how much of a seasonal depression can hit a person. Because yeah, it's super sunny, like like Australia, India is also like super sunny all the time and it's warm and nice and London's like raining all the time and I did not think how much of seasonal depression can hit you and like make you sad and like that's the reason. Also, when I moved to London I had just gotten out of a knee surgery, I d tore all my ACL ligaments. So I just gotten out of surgery and the city is meant for working and I couldn't walk for like the longest time. I had to wear a brace walk around. There are no lifts in these houses. There are no like it's staircases everywhere. Like even my university does not have a lift. So they have like a provision for like wheelchairs, but they do not have someone like who's just wearing brace thing on your knee. So I didn't know what to do around London. So like the first few months was super difficult. Just meeting know people here was also very difficult 'cause I was trying to understand what the culture is. And it was surprising in a very nice way as well because people here are so kind and so warm. There are dogs literally everywhere. Everyone has a pet and it's so cute because everyone's dogs are like jumping around the city. And one of the s most surprising things for me is dogs are allowed everywhere here on the buses, on the trains, inside the cafes. 'Cause in India you had to kind of Google where is my dog allowed and which cafe can I take my dog to and they're not allowed in public transport. So just seeing that made my heart so happy here. Plus like being able to walk again and like having a city where you actually have paths to walk being able to walk. And it's called a fifteen minute city 'cause I everything's available in fifteen minutes like of walk. So just like when I recovered and I was able to walk again, it was the best thing. I l I truly love walks. Like I loved Works and like this city like just keeps giving when you like keep exploring it more and people are just very nice 'cause when you order a coffee it's hey, how are you doing? How's your day going? And like even if it's like a casual conversation or a small talk, someone's still asking 'cause in India you do the can I have my coffee and like you leave. But like here you actually like try to have a conversation, smile at each other. I don't know about like people here in the cafe, they must have b gotten used to it, but like when someone smiles at me, Trioly makes my day. that's so beautiful. so what surprised you most about starting over somewhere new? I was generally preparing to do another masters, but like I did not realise how lonely it gets, which is why I think it reinforced the message how important the job of a community manager is in general. To just able to integrate people into like spaces where they feel belong. Like because I went through like the whole cycle of loneliness and a new place, new people trying to adjust, trying to understand someone else's boundaries, being able to talk to someone else all over again. It is so much work more work than like people like admit. Like it's so difficult. Because perception that if you're going somewhere new or especially in India if it's like if you're moving towards the West and or like if even like Indians a lot of Indians go to Australia to study as well. So if you've moved abroad to study, it just like makes them seem like you have all gotten it sorted. But like I don't think people stress how much loneliness hits you. Especially when you're moving during the winter months to like Western countries. And just like I have this fear of abandonment a lot in me. It's been there. It's something I have had since childhood. And just moving here I was like, I'm going to lose all my friends. I'm going to lose all my friends. And you know, things are going to change back at home. They're not going I'm not going to be able to relate when I go back. And I'm not able to fully connect with people here 'cause I'm still thinking about people back at home. This spiral gets really bad in my head and like I thought it was just me, but then I started talking to my roommates and like my flatmates and everyone and they're like, This is something even all of us are going through. as well. So we spoke to each other after I think one and a half months or two months where we discussed like this is something I'm going through and that is something they are going through and we realized like no one like warns you about these little things. Everyone tells you about where to shop, where to get clothes from, where to buy new shoes. No one talks about these things when they move abroad. Even when I connected with so many seniors, none of them like warn me about all these things. So it could It was like a huge thing for me when I moved here. Second thing I think the most surprising thing was I'm going to sound really petty but like I've like my god I am smart. Like I d on like I came here and realized that I underestimate myself a lot because like when I started working on these projects in the university or just star going out and started talking to people, I knew what I was talking about. And like people genuinely appreciated the fact that I knew what I was like I had like a political perception. I knew my industry well. I knew what job I was doing well. And I genuinely love my job and love the work I do. And when I started talking to people and like understanding, I realized that like a lot of people told me, like for a podcast I did for one of my projects, my professor's feedback was you need to tone down on your negativity for yourself. Like self-criticism needs to be reduced. And that was a podcast about just in general about my day. So I don't know where that feedback came from. But like I realized that I actually am smart and like I have not gotten where I am today just by luck. I genuinely have like in me to like sh put myself out there and like grab these opportunities that I have now. So I just just that just knowing that you are confident as a person and you are showing up and you are smart. I don't know, just got that weird insane s validation in my head that I can make it. It it does not have to be this bad, the overthinking is really bad. So when I got that validation that you actually know you because we won like the entrepreneurship festival competition here as well. We were supposed to make a whole product and like a whole pitch around in like two one and a half months. We won that and then like my projects we won though a lot of those as well. So just like knowing like no, it's not nothing to do with luck but you actually know things. It it was just a huge thing for me. And also like I I spoke to a lot of people and I realized that I jet like my whole engineering degree really supports me. It's not my weakness. It's actually a biggest trend that I have. That's so cool. Yeah. Yeah, you would second guess yourself after doing engineering and then changing to Yeah. Good on you. yeah, that's great to hear that you've had that moment of reality absolutely. Yeah you So deserving, we all are of love and self love and belief. So has living in a different culture helped you understand yourself differently? It sounds like it has, but if you can reflect on that for us, that'd be great. Yeah, it did. It did, I've realized London's one of the major fashion capitals as well. So is Paris and so is like a lot of kind of cities in Europe. It I used to look at fashion as something that's going to bother me so much. I used to hate shopping. I used to hate like doing things. The culture here is so beautiful. People express themselves through their clothes and through the clothes that they wear, through how they dress up. If someone feels like dressing up as Snow White today, they're going to dress up as Snow White and show up on the streets and they're not going to care about who's there next to them or who's doing work. I've seen goth and like cottage ghosts sitting in the same seat on a subway train. And like going to the same stop and like walking out with so much confidence. It just changed my whole perspective on how I see clothes and fashion in general. And that con kind of like dropped off on me as well. Cause now when I dress up, I dress up h with what I want, like how I wanna look, how comfortable I wanna be. I never got skirts because I was just like, you know, I will never be able to wear skirts and that it probably wouldn't look good on me. But then I got like a lot of skirts here and everyone l says that I look really could. So just like that different culture, like you're able to express yourself through your clothes is something that I learned and something that gave me a lot of confidence in the last six months. Second thing about the culture here, I think people here are really health conscious, which also rubbed off on me because like I started gym again after coming here and in general taking care of my health. people here are super health conscious, like and super health fake. So like really love that about them. And that kind of added to the already conscious living that I kept like thinking about but never acted on. This country kind of gave me the space to like just start like, you know, growing as a person as well. they understand human empathy, human emotions and stuff. There's space to like for everyone at the table. There's space for you to grow, there's space for you to learn. And like I think it was very beautiful how like people here have been to me and like they've just been very warm. I also like volunteer here with one of the it's called Kodior Future. They help like a lot of these immigrants and lot of l low lying background students to find jobs. So I volunteer with them as well and it is so heartwarming to see how they help these students because I've seen a lot of charity organizations and people to just like, you know, run off just give something and like their job is done. But these people like take care of that entire part to like make themselves resilient and like be independent. So it's really nice. Like I've learned so much because of the culture that is here. So many unexpected benefits that you've had and it's like really got nothing to do with your degree. Do you think sometimes we need to leave familiar environments to discover who we really are? One hundred I don't think I would have ever pushed myself out of my comfort zone, out of like the normal that I knew with if I didn't leave India. I think after coming here because because I was so lonely I kept like trying to meet more people intentionally and trying to like get out of my house. Also the traveller in me, I love exploring new places. So I kept like pushing myself to get out there and like explore because I was in a new country. I think it's really important because it teaches you a lot about yourself. Like such little things. Like I didn't I used to think I never liked cooking, but after coming here because I had to cook for myself I realized I enjoy cooking so much. I genuinely love cooking. Because cooking was introduced to me as like a very girls thing to do. You need to learn cooking how to cook for your husband and all of that was taught to me. I that's why I never cook 'cause I was rebelling. And then I realized I love cooking so much. You learn such little things about yourself. It's super important to leave. So You mentioned a couple of times that you're a rebel, which I love. So rebelling against expectations is something that you've touched on. And that's one thing that I admire about your story is your willingness to change ac challenge expectations. can you tell us about your experiences with solo travel? So I my first solo travel trip was to this little beach town in India that's called Ponditari. It was like a two hours, three hours travel from my university back then and I left without informing anyone because I was just like, I wanna do this and back then I was following like two, three Facebook pages that like introdu where women were solo travelling and I was so inspired. I'm like, I can't believe these people are doing this and one of the one of the stories really stayed with me and I still think about it till today because she was a Muslim woman. Who was married and then got divorced and then she had a very difficult time. But she somehow managed to get a loan to travel and like explore around Egypt, I think. And she was exploring and she discovered so much about herself that stayed with me. I'm like, I don't know anything about myself either. So I should I go, should I just like leave? And this was back in like twenty twenty March and right before COVID hit the world. So I got my trip. I went there for two, three days. It was Beautiful. The beach town is very pretty. Just sitting by myself for a few hours, I've learned so much. I genuinely really like my company. I love good. And then basically I changed completely as a person when I solo traveled for the first time to the mountains and I saw the mountains and everything changed for me. This is near the Himalayas so this is in Himachal, which is another state in India, it's towards the mountainside. I have never seen anything that beautiful ever in my life. When I saw the mountains for the first time and I experienced the culture, I think true community sits in the mountains. Like the true values of community, empathy, how you are with people. People are just warm. if you ever come to India, I would love I like that's the one place I would want you to go. People will invite to their house just to have tea. And they they expect nothing out of you. They don't ask you for money or anything. They just want you to like experience the tea that is that grows there. My host where I was staying, he like Took me around the entire town, showed me unexplored places that are not on Google Maps or like any of these travel itineraries because he's just like, you know what, you're a traveller, you need to see something that is not so touristy. So like let me take you around. No expectations. You meet such warm people on the trip. And I realize that I really genuinely enjoy my company and I like and I also end up reading a lot and I like l like listening to other people's stories and connecting with them and understanding other people's lifestyles as well. Like it gives you so much perspective like on different things. 'Cause for me North India was always supposed to be super problematic. But then when I started listening to stories of a lot of women, they rebel in their own little ways. 'Cause I was just like, Why can't you just get out of that? I didn't know enough. And I used to judge people a lot. But when I started seeing their perspective and their side of the story, everyone rebels in their own little way, all the women. And it's so beautiful to see them. It's so beautiful. Everything's like solo travelling is like something I can never stop doing. I've I've since then I've been on like so many trips and I've stayed in the mountains for two months before coming to London as a solo traveller and it's just been really it's always giving. Like I always learn something new. Yeah, absolutely. I've done quite a lot of travel and I love it. For that very reason is that you you know, you do take the wrong bus or the wrong train and you end up you've got to think on your feet and constantly make quick decisions and problem solve and yeah, it teaches you a lot about yourself about yourself that you didn't know. So was travelling alone something that was encouraged when you were growing up or Or was that a conscious rebellious choice? It was rebel it was rebel through and through. My my dad is not someone who's going to so again like I grew up in like this conservative household, so my dad was never okay with like me going on a solo travel. My mom somewhere knew that this is going to happen 'cause I've already rebelled so much, but she didn't expect that it would be solo travel. She thought I'm just going to rebel for something else now. But then I started going out like It became hey, I'm telling you that I'm doing this, I'm not taking your permission and I just went and after that they started getting okay with it. They're like, Okay, cool, she's just going to go anyway. Might as well go where she is rather than like not support her and she goes in hiding. So like they started becoming okay with it. The biggest change that happened was because I was solo travelling. My mom's sister got inspired and my aunt went solo traveling herself after that. And a lot of my cousins got inspired, the younger ones, and they started solo traveling as well. So i it was not encouraged, but now I'm I've become like that encouraging point for everyone 'cause they just see my Instagram and they're just like, my god, this looks so much fun. Yeah. So cool. Did you what fears did you have to overcome to be able to do that? I think just being financially independent that was the first thing to like being able to take these decisions 'cause I knew I had something to fall back on. 'Cause you like I don't want my parents to come tomorrow and be like, you know what, we you you keep like going on our money or someone else to come tell me that. So I cannot stress how important it is to be financially independent to be able to take these decisions, being able to like afford the lifestyle you want and also just like knowing at what just being independent, resilient and Not like settling down for anything, though these three things I think are very important. Like that sense of safety and belonging needs to be there to be able to do things like this. Yeah, for sure. So I guess it it's taught you a lot about trusting yourself. I think first thing like if I start trusting myself and beling believing in myself, others will follow through as well. Because if I am anxious, then they are anxious about it and then it's just a spiral. So I think first of all is just that. Like if I believe in myself, that gives others the opportunity to do so too. I also think like once you start doing that, opportunities start start opening up. Because then you're not blaming anyone and you're trying to grow as a person. So I genuinely think that once you start believing in yourself, opportunities and doors open up for you. Cause I was struggling till like twenty twenty two and then therapy happened and then I started like, Okay, cool. I am confident in my own skin. And it did start opening up. Like I shifted jobs that year. And then I started trusting in how I look and how I feel. And That like started opening up conversations and things and just how people saw me as a person as well. I also think it is super important as to how you want to show up. So like knowing that you want you have to show up as yourself and not like a s like with a facade. It's super important. And what would you say to women who are waiting until they feel completely ready before making a bold decision like that? I I Like just be financially independent when you're making this choice and like don't wait. Like like there's n your knees are not getting any younger, first of all. So you need to like get out there. Second thing, like I get the fear and I get like the hesitation to go out, but once you do, you yourself like will open up so many doors for yourself. Like you learn so much about yourself. I think I did not understand the word empathy till I stepped out of my house. and started traveling and then I understood truly what empathy means. So I think like just get out. Like don't wait for anyone to like say yes to you. Love that. So from biotech to marketing, that's a massive change. Anyone listening may feel drawn, I think, towards a different path, but are are afraid to start again potentially. So how did your journey from biotech to marketing unfold? I was graduating in twenty twenty one and twenty twenty was when we were supposed to do master theses, but everything shut down. And I did get a few opportunities at one of the biggest research labs in India, but the lab shut down and they were all focused on COVID. Then a hospital offered me a internship and that also was based on COVID. And they like, if you're researching on COVID, then you can't go back home if you have like a sick parent or a grandparent. My dad is a terminal kidney has terminal kidney disease. And my I had a grandfather back then. So there was no way like my parents were going to allow me to take up those things. So as and during college I was doing like these part time graphic designing internships. They they those like freelance thingies that I started doing it for pocket money. And I continued that throughout COVID. And eventually I moved cities 'cause I back then I was in Indian households as soon as you turned twenty one. your relatives start sending marriage proposals. So I ran away from home because of that. And when I moved cities, there I started working as a graphic designer full time. And they realized I was really good at my job. So they wanted to move me to their client relationship role. And because I was good at speaking to people and their client relationship manager had also just left. So they were like, can can you like take over? You understand her work. You like know how to talk to people. So I took over her work. Then I realized, my god, I enjoy this so much more than what I was doing in the labs. Like I really like talking to people, I like helping people out and this whole just relationship management is so much nicer. Then my parents like asked me to come back home. So I came back home, did one year as a communications manager. I was like, my god, this job is also really cool. Like I did I like communicating. I like like doing these things and I realize that I genuinely don't know what I like anymore because I'm just like all over the place. And when I was interning, I interned as a graphic designer, as a digital media person, social media person, salesperson. I just wanted my pocket money. You make me do whatever you want. Like these skills are so new that like anyone can do this. So like just make me do whatever you want. I just want my pocket money. But after the communications job I realized that I'm actually l in love with like marketing as a field and I genuinely enjoy what I do. I just need to find something that's like that has everything in it. And when I was starting for another communications role, like I told you, I like thought communications and community management is the same thing, but it was not. And then I got into Darwin Box, which is like a HR Tech SaaS company based in India. And I got in there and community management was there. And I realized, my god, this role combines everything that I know with also like it's such a win-win situation community, because you're not being directly salesy, you're taking care of your clients, but also like letting them know like this exists if you ever want help our product exists. So it was such a fun, fun, fun, like the best job I've done because I loved my job. We used to do so many events. We used to do so many things. Apart from the corporate KPI things, I think I really loved and enjoyed my job. So I stuck to that. I wanted to upskill so I came into like doing marketing degree, but I'm also doing like community management with like a startup again. So I genuinely loved my job. So that whole biotech to marketing move like made sense in my head back then. There were so many people who were against this. They're like, You're wasting your degree, you have a master's in biotech, how can you not like do your degree in biotech? But I I've been a rebel throughout my life, just with my family. So I'm just like, you know what? Another rebellion, just take it. Well, I think a rebel being a rebel is an act of intention as well. Yes. What did that the transition teach you about identity and growth? So while I was transitioning, except I think my mom and my brother, no one really supported that decision. Because no one could see what I was doing and what I was going through. I worked for like the lowest of lowest paying jobs just to gain skills and understand myself. I I didn't take like proper coaching or degrees or anything while I was transitioning into like the whole graphic designing industry as well. I used to sit with YouTube for like late night hours together and like learn on YouTube and I had no mentor. I didn't know the concept of mentor or reaching out to people to ask for help 'cause I was so in my head that back then that I need to like just earn money and like make sure I get a job stable enough to like support myself. That was it, that was all I could think about. But when I finally did end up in like a good job and like I did it all by myself, I realized sometimes you just have to like teach yourself and trust in yourself to be like able to like grow as a person and it it changed my the whole way I started looking at career in general, the whole biotech to marketing shift. And once you are a on the top and you're like actually doing well, people start supporting you. Like, we always knew you were going to do good and you're going to be really great at what you do. And I'm just like, okay. So people will tag along, but when it gets hard, you need to support yourself and you need to take a stand for yourself. That's so true. So I agree. Yeah, you've got to surround surround yourself with the right people. And I do agree with that saying, you know, that's thrown around a lot that are the sum of the five people that you spend the most time with. So make them count. Conscious consumption. you've spoken about and touched on becoming increasingly mindful about what you consume and where you spend your time. Why is that important to you? I'll give like a super basic example of Instagram. People do not realize how much anxiety Instagram scrolling generates. Just constantly seeing through everyone's updates. So just in general, like I've seen my friends go through and be like, Look at her, she's going here. I'm like, You are in a park. Can you like put your phone down and look at like those flowers and there's a river flowing and everything? And she's like, No, but can you look like it's she's like doing this? Are these people together now? And I'm just like, Why is that important? Like focus on your life and yourself. So I think Like it's super important, at least in this age and day, as to what you're consuming. It just not limited to your food and your life choices, but also like your media consumption. There is so much that is going out in the world right now. It's very important as to what you read and what you understand and what you put. Especially with digital media, the amount of anxiety it gives is I don't think people realize it and the attention span is gone. So like for me that conscious consumption is very important. So I stick to only posts on Instagram. I don't see the stories. I'm like very focused on like just seeing my close friends because like understand what they're up to, but like otherwise I don't like go around seeing everything. I don't think people realize how much muting people on Instagram can help, like just lower down your anxiety levels. In terms of food as well, I've started like noticing my food habits have like direct connection to how I feel as a person and it's super important as to what I eat. So yeah, just and where I spend my time and what kind of people I surround with is super super important to me. Like I need you to be passionate about what you're doing. It could just be travel, it could just be about how you live or your food or just your university or work. It could be anything. But I need you to be ambitious and passionate and that's when I'll be able to like fully be myself with you. Otherwise it's just a constant rant. You can keep ranting about things not going well. But if you change that little s shift in your energy, then you're thinking about how can you be more better in your field or how can you do this better? How can you like do get out there more. So I think it's super important to me the kind of people I am around with. Yeah, absolutely. It rises your vibration as well. And then it yeah, has a flow on effect to other areas of your life. So how do you decide what deserves your attention? That's such a good question. what so currently I am fully focused on everything that is going to better my career deserves like my primary attention. Anything that has to do with like my health deserves attention 'cause I have ignored my health continuously over the years, over like work calls or deadlines and things like that. So health is my number one priority. Making sure I get my career done right is like my second priority. My third priority is traveling. So I'm just like anything that is going to help me explore better is going to take priority over anything else. I try my level best to not engage in like negative conversations or neg like just gossiping in general. So I try to keep myself out of that and completely focus on how also like my work needs to create an impact and like provide something meaningful. So that's super, super important to me as a core of my work. So I think like anything that can help me do that and reach that where I can create meaningful impact, I focus on that part more and I like try to like do that better. you've got a fine art time on this earth. Like how are you spending your time and energy. that helps you prioritize as well. So reinvention in the next chapter. So if someone listening feels like they're standing at the beginning of a new chapter, what would you want them to know? Be rebellious. Like be super rebellious, especially if you're a woman in this nonsensical world. You need to be a rebel because and be very difficult as a person to work with. Because these two things are the only things that has kept me going over the years. Like I have rebelled for such nonsensical things back at home 'cause like my dad would not allow me to wear shorts at one point and like eat so basic. I've rebelled against that. I've rebelled against going to college. I've rebelled against like coming here to London and then I've rebelled against just in general food that comes to home and how I live and how I what time I come back home. 'Cause there was like a deadline as to how when I can come back home versus when my brother can come back home. I'm like My life is going to work. in general very difficult person to work with 'cause I have like super defined boundaries. I'm like, no, you cannot like cross those boundaries. Like they've I've been called difficult a lot. And I think every woman needs to be a little more difficult than they already are. Hmm. That's so true. Yeah. Instead of the people pleasing we need to probably become more difficult to deal with. Yeah. So what how do you approach uncertainty in your life today? I try not to. my god. I have so much anxiety around uncertainty. It's very difficult. It's something that I'm trying to learn and understand and how to deal with it. I'm in London for six months and Paris in four months. There's so much uncertainty where we will be after Paris term. 'Cause it's like taking your life again and again and like starting all over again. And it it just like didn't sit well with me but I think a lot of therapy helped me to just like know that you don't things will fall into place. Like just be conscious about what you do and things will fall into place. So like therapy is one thing that helped me, trusting myself and staying in very close contact with all my friends 'cause then you need that space to kind of like feel motivated and talk to people uncertainty that is my life. Yeah, you're making peace with uncertainty. I love it. And what role do you think curiosity has played in your journey? So I have been a very curious child since like this beginning. Like my this is something that used to happen in like parent teacher meetings where my mum was always told that your girl asks such ridiculous questions and I have been very curious as a person, different people are looking at. And it just helps me learn a lot. Like it helps me learn so much better than I would generally do. curious as a person to know more about others. So it makes me a better listener as well. So I really like that. I love that. That's such a cool way to look at curiosity. And what are you currently learning about yourself in this season of life? Stop looking up to people and start looking at them. 'Cause when you like realize there's this one quality you really like in person, there's this worship culture that's just that is human nature. You start like thinking, they're just perfect and this is something like my mother taught me that you need to start looking at people and not up to them. Because you could take just that good quality and define what version of that you want to become. So I think that is something I used to struggle with a lot you will have your niceness. So like start looking at people, pick what you like, learn from them and like you make your own version of what you want to be. So what's one conscious choice that has had the biggest impact on your life? I haven't spoken about me reading, but I think reading fiction really, really changes your perspective of the world. world. I would recommend like everyone reads a lot more fiction. It's just it just makes your life a little more whimsical and it's very, very nice. what advice would you give your younger self, Pragathi? Work out way before I started actually working out. Like be healthy. second thing. don't be afraid. Like I was very scared, very fearful as a choice. Like I I think it would have made a lot of difference if I started like trusting myself a lot earlier. Like don't be afraid to make the choices. And I'm actually very proud that she's always been a rebellion. Like I think that like really helped me now. Absolutely. Okay. Be a rebel, trust yourself and work out more. Yes. What does taking your power back mean to you? Taking my power back. So okay, like like a little trigger warning here. Like I was defined by my problems as a person. I have gone through like major depression during like my college w when I was like doing my bachelors. And I was being defined as a person who's depressed all the time or who's like anxious all the time. people started defining me instead of me like telling people what I am or who I am. I used to tell people I'm spiritual and they would never believe me. And like just taking my power back is how I want to tell my story. You don't get to tell my story. I want to tell my story. And like so I have been a victim of like sexual harassment as well. And that became my story for some reason in the family. And in college also when I shared it with people, they start looking at you with like these really pretty eyes and stuff. So like I'm like, no, that cannot be who I am. I am a very different person and not like my entire personality. So for me it means how I can tell my own story and you don't get to like define what what defines me as a person. that is super important to me. 'Cause I I don't know how people do it, but I am the same person at work, at home and with my friends. There's no and like I've been told to have filters like it's some places I'm just like But you need to show up as you are and let people accept you for who you are instead of like constantly changing from one place to another place 'cause that's draining for me mentally. Like if it works out for you, it's really good. But like for me it's mentally very draining. So for me taking back my power meant just showing up as myself to every place and being able to tell my own story. If every woman listening took one intentional action this week, what would you encourage her to do? Prioritize yourself over everything else. Like if you are a mum, if you are a partner, if you are someone's wife, prioritize yourself first and all these things come next. If you are like just a single person living out there like me, still prioritize yourself over all the other things that you're currently doing and like give yourself a little break. Solar travel a little. Yes. Love that. So where can people connect with you or and follow your work? So I don't really talk about my work but my LinkedIn is always open. My Instagram is also available to everyone so like they can like reach out to me anywhere. I love talking, connecting with people so they can just like DM me anywhere. I love that. Thank you so much for your time today. We'll include those links in the show notes and yeah, thank you Pragarthi. You've really For listening and inspired, yeah, so many women with this talk. I hope they do. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you.