8 Comments

I appreciate you sharing your story Vinamrata! I come from a traditionally male dominated field (tech sales) as well and related to a lot of what you wrote. When I left my job, I knew I needed a break, but there was a part of me that really struggled with the idea that I was a woman leaving a male dominated space. I knew it wasn't my calling regardless, but I didn't want the perception to be that I couldn't even handle it. Of course, no one really cared except me, but it was a strange identity think I needed to detach from. Thank you for being so open about your experiences! You're so inspiring to me no matter what path you're on!

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thank you for the thoughtful and kind comment michelle! I definitely feel you- letting go of the tech identity can be tough, especially given the male centered industry. I really appreciate you reading and so humbled that you'd be inspired by me- I'm inspired by you and glad we have each other in our corners <3

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Hey Vinamrata,

This piece really spoke to and moved me. I can’t tell you how much I was nodding along to. As we’ve talked about it before, I’m taking time to rework my relationship to work, labor, and tech. This piece really reminded me that the frustration and burnout I experience may not be my own incompetency, but more so me trying my best to function in a system and environment that was not created for me flourish. Thank you so much for the vulnerability and sharing. Additionally, really great writing. I feel like you put in words something so many of us (female identifying people in tech and in the world) have been feeling. Thanks again.

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Thank you Sonika! Great to hear from you again as well. I’m glad this piece triggered additional insights for you and I really appreciate the encouragement. Thank you 🙏

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Hi Vinamrata! I'm a new reader who found your Substack after you posted on LinkedIn about doing a sabbatical, which is something I'm considering in the future. Catching up on reading during the holiday break and wanted to send my support :) Thanks for being so open to sharing your journey and looking forward to all your insights along the way!

I also wanted to comment on what you said at the end of this post: "Perhaps I’d been looking at this the wrong way, boiling a complex issue into a binary choice when in reality, it was a multidimensional spectrum. I could be feminine and masculine. I could be naive and experienced. I could be an authentic leader while playing into the stereotype of the type of leader I’m supposed to be. I was a victim and a winner." It really resonated with me and reminded me of a visual I had seen about it being possible to be different things at once: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqqKX3Os4zf/

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Hi Jen! Great to meet you and have you follow along on the journey, and thanks for sharing that visual. I bookmarked it! It’s definitely been a key part of my sabbatical journey- accepting conflicting dualities of different aspects of life, as emotional truths are often not binary but rather a multitude of possibilities. Thank you again for commenting, I appreciate it ❤️

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Very intense and honest insight in your journey so far

I am so glad you did this because not many people have the courage to do it

We all have both masculine as well as feminine aspects and it has to be a balance that is hard to achieve ( biology is a proof )

Mist important is that You are a strong and great human being

proud of you

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Thank you mom!

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