Your 20s Were Never Meant to Look Like Everyone Else’s

I Stopped Dreaming of a Wedding. I Started Dreaming of a Better Me.

In this episode of Baji: The Big Sister You Never Had, we talk about something many South Asian women grow up hearing from a young age: marriage. For so many of us, marriage wasn't just presented as a milestone. It was presented as the destination. A future we were expected to dream about long before we truly understood who we were. But what happens when life doesn't follow the timeline you were promised? As I approach 30, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the expectations I grew up with, the dreams I inherited, and the journey of building a life that feels authentic to me. This episode is about letting go of the idea that your worth, happiness, or future depends on reaching a specific milestone by a certain age. It's about choosing growth over timelines, self-discovery over pressure, and building a life that feels meaningful on your own terms. If you've ever felt behind, questioned your path, or wondered where to begin when life looks different than you expected, this conversation is for you. Because you're not starting over. You're starting from awareness.

Your 20s Were Never Meant to Look Like Everyone Else’s

Welcome to the very first episode of Baji: The Big Sister You Never Had.  If you’ve ever opened Instagram and felt like everyone else was somehow ahead of you, getting married, having babies, buying homes, hitting all the “right” milestones, this episode is for you. As I turn 30, I’ve been reflecting on the pressure so many of us, especially brown women and eldest daughters, quietly carry. The pressure of timelines. Of expectations. Of being the first to do things differently while still trying not to disappoint the people we love. What happens when your life doesn’t look like what you were told it should? What happens when marriage isn’t your starting line? In this episode, we’re talking about choosing yourself now, not later. Building your identity before the milestones. Navigating the loneliness of being the first to question norms, take a different path, move away, or create a life no one before you modeled for you. Because different does not mean behind. And if the path feels lonely, maybe it’s because you’re the first one walking it. If no one has told you this before, I’m proud of you.

Welcome to Baji: The Big Sister You Never Had

This first episode is an introduction, not just to the podcast, but to the space I’m creating for you. A space for the ones who grew up being strong early, figuring things out on their own, and wishing they had someone older to lean on. Someone to guide, reassure, and remind them they weren’t behind. In this episode, I share why I started Baji, who this podcast is for, and the conversations I hope we’ll have together centered around growth, identity, healing, relationships, purpose, and all the things no one really prepares you for. This isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about learning, unlearning, and walking through life with a little more clarity and a lot more compassion. If you’ve ever felt like you were doing life without a blueprint, this space is for you. Pull up a chair, this one's for you.