humans of leap — tanya appachu
tanya appachu is a content creator and founder of yourinstalawyer.
tanya appachu is a content creator and founder of yourinstalawyer.
“i was 3 or 4 years old when my parents got divorced. my mom was alone but she took care of me with no support from my father whatsoever. as a single parent, she never made me feel like our life was incomplete. it’s only when i got married and became part of a four-member traditional family, it hit me that something was missing all my life — a father figure.
my dad was an advocate so that always pushed me to get into law too. i never knew him and i still don’t, which is why it was always a fantasy for me to become a lawyer because i felt that would get me closer to my dad. i was also a very shy kid so becoming a lawyer and being more outspoken was a dream to me — i could never tell anyone about my aspirations.
i finally decided to get my law degree at the age of 21. i studied at ils pune and then started working as a consultant — it was very hectic. i wanted to take a break desperately and around the same time, i got married to an army officer. we started moving to different cities every few years and so, i gave up my career in law. i was initially very thrilled to take a break but i didn’t realise the consequences. being a full-time housewife did not make me happy, i wanted to do something more with my life. soon after, i got pregnant and also had a lot of postpartum struggles which extended my career break.
it was not easy just sitting at home, taking care of my child. society makes you believe that being a mother is fulfilling but it was the opposite for me. i felt so lost and demotivated since there was nothing to look forward to every day. i couldn’t get up and head out to work, all i did was take care of my baby — it was the lowest i had ever been! and that’s what led me to creating my instagram page.
when i started, my insecurity was instagram’s young base of followers since i was comparatively older and unfamiliar with the platform. i felt i didn’t fit in and questioned if this was even the right platform for me. my biggest challenge was dealing with imposter syndrome and not knowing if this will work. but then i started getting a few followers. i started wondering — am i actually good?
it’s not easy being a content creator even though people think it is. on most days, it’s hard to stand up in front of the camera! and it doesn’t help that the internet has so many haters/ trollers. i speak a lot about women empowerment so that always attracts a lot of negative attention from men. and when i see someone questioning my integrity or knowledge, it really brings me down. i get 100 dms every day from women sharing their problems, but also 100 dms from men who troll me. it was something i wasn’t ready for when i started out, but there’s a need to be genuine on social media and that means constantly standing up for what’s right!
the truth is, many of us want to become ceos and lead companies but not all of us get that opportunity. i’m grateful because my instagram channel allows me to have a purpose, be financially independent and talk about law, women empowerment, child support, and mental health — things I genuinely believe in. this is important because my mom raised me with no financial support from my father or awareness of her basic rights.
my dream? to have my daughter live in a world where there are no conversations about women empowerment, feminism, or equal rights. everybody gets it and nobody needs to talk about it. do we have a long way to go? definitely. but we’re getting there, one day at a time!”
