Life was beautiful, owing to the dreams that filled the heart; and the ideas that propelled the mind.

Little did I know, that a phone call was about to change my life for good. The phone rang again – for the second time that evening, and this time, we ended up talking for two hours. Sharing our hopes and ambitions, our common love for food and travel. Describing ourselves to each other as best as we could over a phone call that was connecting us across continents. In my awkward excitement, I even ended up asking if there was enough space in his wardrobe for all my clothes! That phone call, as you might have guessed, ended with the decision to get married. Something had clicked and it was hard to describe what exactly it was. I hadn’t even seen his picture and honestly, that really didn’t even matter to me.

Frankly, I had never really visualised the physical image of my prince charming. But I was very clear that I wanted someone strong-willed; someone who would respect me and always love me for me. And somehow after that special call, I knew he was just right for me. Four months later, we were married.

I had just finished my Fashion Degree in Canada and was looking for jobs when the first call had come in. I hung up abruptly saying I was busy running some errands. Not surprising for anyone in the arranged marriage game, as he wasn’t the first of my suitors. I remember things not progressing with a few other prospective grooms before that. Every time I described my aspirations of pursuing fashion and modelling, I knew that it was going be the first and the last conversation. I had stopped taking these phone calls seriously. Little did I know that this time it was my Mr. Right on the other end of that phone call. Looking back on this today, I’m so glad that he called back. And this time, it was different, this was the first of a lifetime of conversations to come.
Here I was, married to a true gentleman, who not only respected and valued my dreams but was a key driver in all my successes to come. Having gotten married young (I was 22 and he was 26), sure did have its advantages. It was almost like growing up together. I think you also tend to make a lot of effort to understand each other and to adapt when you are younger. The differences in our personalities peaked our curiosity more than acting as annoyances. We hadn’t really had much of a courtship before we got married, so being married almost felt like dating but without any curfew time. Make the most of this beautiful phase, we did!

Our common love for travel took us around the world and we were out of the door every three months. It helped that my husband was good at managing his businesses without being physically present and I was freelancing at that time. It was funny though that we enjoyed recreating a life as normal as possible whenever we travelled. We rarely thronged to famous tourist destinations. Instead, we enjoyed just doing stuff a regular couple would do at home but in another city or country than ours. I always fondly remember our 3-week visits to the Florida where we used to rent beautiful apartments by the bay, get gym memberships, go grocery shopping together, and cook for each other. The best part of it all was that we had all the time in the world just for each other. Our relationship really blossomed during these travels. Falling deeper in love and cherishing our companionship had been so invigorating.

Our personalities are quite contrasting, and yet we complemented each other so well right from day one. He is never one to sugar coat a conversation, whereas, I, plan all aspects carefully before approaching a tricky conversation, almost always doing a psych analysis of my own. So when I sheepishly asked for “permission,” obviously after ensuring the timing was right, I was met with quite a surprising response. My husband was quite literally surprised. Not because of what I wanted to do but because I felt like I needed the permission to do it. This is how different we are in our thoughts and expectations, and yet, in the end, it has always worked out so well. It had been my dream to contest in a beauty pageant and I’m so very lucky to have had the support of my wonderful husband.