And then, one day, it happened.

It was a small thing, a tiny penny, a morsel to the hungry, ravaged person in me, but it was soul food, indeed. If you are wondering what this is all about, let me start from the beginning like all good stories.

If you have already read my bio in the Writers’ Page, you know that I have a post-graduate degree in Electronics for whatever it is worth. I also worked in the corporate world of sleek car electronics for six whole years; and like life and all other things, I had both, a love and a hate for the place, for the job and my time spent at work.

It was a livelihood, paid some bills and kept the bank balance healthy. With all the managing of the baby (I was a new mom back then), home, work and my own self, life still went on.

And, one day I quit.

To make a long story short, there was no primary care giver for my son, and I did not want to leave him at day care, and so, I quit. (See my post, “Mommy Guilt: Working Mommy”.)

I knew that my heart was in writing though my writing was, and still is, a bit rusty. But, I aspire to be a famous writer one day and plan to earn a decent income and livelihood being a writer. So, I dove in and am still at it! I rediscovered my passion for writing. I rediscovered the joy, contentment and benevolence I felt towards life by writing. I started my blog.

(My personal blog has been stagnant for a while because of a lack of time from domestic life and hectic summer holidays, but there have been some good pieces there.)

So, writing is for me. But, it does not pay immediately; and well, even if it does, it is not lucrative for an amateur like me with no contacts in the literary field.

But I still wrote. I wrote often on my blog. I posted some articles, and some I did not post because they were too personal. I was shy, I was scared, oh, and for numerous reasons. I wrote anyway. But, I did not know how to make it pay.

And then one day it happened.

My college friend, who is a regular follower of my blog, suggested that I link with his cousin and see if she can help me, as she is a free-lance content writer. And, I did. We were in touch for a couple of months and nothing happened for a while.

And then, one day, her friend (we’ll call him P), who is the proprietor of a culinary website, asked me if I can write cookery blogs for him.

What?! Cooking?

I am not an expert in the kitchen. Oh heck, I am not even a novice. I am just a blind lady meandering in the kitchen and pantry and keep praying that, Voila!, everyone has had enough to eat.

And so, I was requested to write about my joys in the kitchen. I took a deep breath and said “ok”. And, there I was, writing articles at Awesome Cuisine. After all, I love writing, so I knew I could make this work.

And well, it started happening. The money trickled in.

I get paid less than one tenth of my last drawn salary at work. But it is money, nevertheless. And, I somehow get the feeling that it is a great step forward. Yes, it is meager. (Hey, P, if you are reading this, I want to send you a huge Thank You! And, oh yes, you are welcome to pay me more, but then that is not the point. 😉 It was a great break, though small, and I’m glad I did it.

And, I also want to mention that it was my first post at World Moms Blog that helped convince P to give me the writing job at Awesome Cuisine!

And well, I hope to get more opportunities as a free-lancer to make additional money writing. I know it will grow.

Like they say, life goes on; but, I also think, life grows. It helps you grow stronger, more confident and makes you more mature as you grow.

I was the twentieth person to join World Moms Blog, and now there are at least thirty-nine writers, and World Moms Blog founder, Jen, says she has more requests in her Inbox. I mean, I just think back to the day and imagine when she registered at WordPress – the first lady, so to speak.

Though World Moms Blog is a volunteer effort, it has helped me take a huge step forward.

And, although Awesome Cuisine does not pay me lots, it still has upped my strength and confidence in no way I can explain.  I am grateful for these opportunities, and I plan to keep writing!

Are there any “It Happened” moments in your life? Small, Big, Significant, Not-so-significant; but nevertheless, those “It Happened” moments shaping you as a stronger individual?

This is an original post to World Moms Blog by The Alchemist, our Indian mother writing from Chennai, India.  She also rambles at The Alchemist’s Blog and dishes out Indian culinary expertise at AwesomeCuisine.

Photo credit to quisar.  This photo has a creative commons attribution license.  

Purnima Ramakrishnan

Purnima Ramakrishnan is an UNCA award winning journalist and the recipient of the fellowship in Journalism by International Reporting Project, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her International reports from Brazil are found here . She is also the recipient of the BlogHer '13 International Activist Scholarship Award . She is a Senior Editor at World Moms Blog who writes passionately about social and other causes in India. Her parental journey is documented both here at World Moms Blog and also at her personal Blog, The Alchemist's Blog. She can be reached through this page . She also contributes to Huffington Post . Purnima was once a tech-savvy gal who lived in the corporate world of sleek vehicles and their electronics. She has a Master's degree in Electronics Engineering, but after working for 6 years as a Design Engineer, she decided to quit it all to become a Stay-At-Home-Mom to be with her son!   This smart mom was born and raised in India, and she has moved to live in coastal India with her husband, who is a physician, and her son who is in primary grade school.   She is a practitioner and trainer of Heartfulness Meditation.

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