"...In the cluster of these duties, identifying one's own individuality fades over time."
- Mubashira Aysha
Author: Mubashira Aysha
As a child growing up in a traditional household, I witnessed my mother working in a joint family with other ladies of the house to take care of the cooking, washing, and child care, and this became her routine until her last breath. The routine bothered me because I sometimes feel that she could have done a lot more in her life if she had been given the opportunity or if she had taken the initiative, but like all traditional women, her life was dedicated to her husband first, then to the welfare of the children, and in the cluster of these duties, identifying one's own individuality fades over time.
After graduating with honors in commerce, the next logical step was marriage. I got married 10 years ago and have three children, and before I knew it, the routine had taken hold of me. I began to consider doing something on my own to break free of it, and with the help of my husband, I launched my own blog with the goal of providing a step-by-step procedure for cooking from appetizers to main courses, with a reference picture in each step so that anyone could do it.
I currently have over 300 recipes on my website and over 120 YouTube videos, and I am hungry for more. The plan was to make it popular, earn money, and donate a portion of it to a good cause. I've tried digital marketing with the help of my brother-in-law, but because we're bootstrapping, we're finding it difficult to achieve our goal. We gained traction through digital marketing and now have about 1000+ monthly visits to our website, but this does not translate to monetary gains and my vision to share with others who may require my expertise on a social level.
I'm also currently on the lookout for someone to guide or coach me on how to market myself better, perhaps a shout out about my website and the work I do, or getting positive feedback on my handmade chocolates from a small network outside of family really makes it all feel worthwhile. During the lockdown, I experimented with making a small batch of biryani mix powder, homemade bread, and cheese which turned out quite well!
I am still working on breaking the routine that is embedded so thoroughly in our culture. It disturbs me and the mere presence of it is what motivates me to further get out of it, and I know that one day, I will succeed.