Raise your vibe with the right tribe.

T Shobhana
2 min readAug 30, 2020

I watched Gunjan Saxena on Netflix. The film talks about how Flight Lieutenant, Gunjan Saxena makes history in her journey from aspiring aviator to India’s first female combat pilot in the Kargil War. Despite all the controversy surrounding this film, I was immensely drawn to the character portrayed by Gunjan’s dad. The unassailable support he provided her came from a heart filled with unconditional love; Unquestionable backing for a daughter whose passion was to just fly high (literally!). And he would do anything to see her succeed — even if no one in the family or society approved it.

Some children are fortunate to have such parents growing up. Family is a tribe that gets handed to you. It is at around 20ish, people start to choose and build their tribe. You’ve obviously heard friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for life. I believe friends for a reason and season don’t mean they don’t serve a purpose; it just means you are done learning lessons with them — either you learn and grow with them else you move on. However, many continue to stay in a tribe that doesn’t encourage all members involved to develop. What keeps them stuck is the choice they make. They decide to become co-dependent rather than nurture a healthy support system — primarily driven by age old societal conditioning or lack of self-worth.

If Gunjan’s dad decided to hold her back, either ’cos he might lose his daughter to the nation or the fear of what the society will think of his family, she would not have achieved her true potential, even worse, she would have led a miserable life. Clearly, disowning family or real friends is not the answer, but what you can do is stand for what you believe will make you grow and be bold to face its consequences.

When I turned off the TV, I left thinking:

  1. When you do something you are passionate about, it becomes a rendezvous with destiny, every single day.
  2. And I quote Martin Luther King, if you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving forward. The right tribe will never stop you from doing this.

Lastly, this film reminded me of my mother, who is the wind beneath my wings, has always been at every step of my journey. Thank you, ma.

P.S: While you create a better version of yourself, do something for the society we live in!

Just one kind deed for one other living being a day — is all I ask.

Welcome the New Earth! We owe it to our creator.

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T Shobhana

Helping you challenge conventions. One article at a time.