The lockdown period has probably been one of the most uncertain and unexpected periods of most of our lives. To be able to keep ourselves sane, motivated, and most importantly happy, has been quite a challenge.

The Aara Health community has been trying to be the force that helps women be all that they wish to be, and above everything else, Aara Health helps women embrace themselves and accept themselves the way they are. Aara Health refers to someone that brings light.

Yesterday, I got to experience that light.. the light of love, the light of support, the light of positivity and the light of hope. Aara Health’s community meetup on 24 th February, ’21 gave us an opportunity to look back at our life’s highs and lows, reflect upon them, ponder over our thoughts, and be able to process them. Life is no bed of roses, and thorns are a part of everyone’s life, however beautiful and glamorous it may seem from outside.

The community meetup saw 13 beautiful and empowering women come together, get to know each other, and talk about ‘mental health’. As someone who was a part of the session, I cannot put down in words, how extremely inspiring and relieving the session was. To be able to express yourself among people you love is a very difficult thing to do, and here we are, meeting each other for the first time, and yet sitting and listening about each other’s problems, lifting each other up, motivating one another in whatever way we could.

The one-hour discussion helped us express ourselves and speak things out that bothered us, around our mental health, gave us an opportunity to learn from someone else’s journey and come out feeling stronger, lighter, and hearts so full. The environment was so warm, non-judgemental and appreciative, that we spoke as if we’ve known each other since forever!

We began our discussions with the not-so-pleasant experiences in our lives and ended the session on what we have been grateful for this journey and the calm and smiles, in the end, were the things we needed. Beyond grateful to have been a part of the session, and I hope to continue being a part of the upcoming sessions.

This piece has been written by Ananya Srivastava, a Hindi Journalism student based out of New Delhi. She finds herself steering her way through life by filling diaries, watching movies, and singing songs.