Molika shares about her journey from India to Chicago as an immigrant and spouse.

She considers the process to have been a journey of leaving behind the old and walking into the new, which she describes as a transformation. 

After her marriage, she left a thriving career as a patent licensing associate in India to accompany her husband to the US. Once here, she gained her second masters degree and re-entered the field of patenting. In addition, she started a support group specifically for immigrant spouses.

The support group came about as Molika was writing a memoir. She found she kept meeting other immigrant spouses, and she wanted to find a way to serve them. In the course of considering how she could stay connected with and support these women, she asked herself:

• How can I do something bigger than me?
• How can I leave a legacy?

As a result, her online group was born!

She addresses feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, and more - all of which she says are quite common ways for accompanying spouses to feel. Due to visa constraints (or even just feelings of failure), many spouses find themselves unable to work in their previous career fields. Living in the shadow of their pasts with no clear picture of the future, it can become overwhelming to create a new path.

Immigration opens up new worlds...but it can also shatter confidence and self-concepts.

Immigrants should see themselves as brave warriors, heroes exploring new frontiers. Too often, however, they shrink back out of worry and fear. Molika encourages these women to use their immigration as a catalyst for growth and transformation.

Molika has started incorporating gratitude, affirmations, and journaling into her daily life. She reports that even these small practices can lead to great changes in your daily life and future.

She urges us to remember the humanity of everyone, and to respond to one another with empathy and compassion.

You can find Molika's Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/ImmigrantSpousesRewriteYourStory/