❝I hail from a small town in Bihar. Life was not easy for me and I made it tougher by asking my parents to let me study in a big city do a job and live my dream. As I was a girl, born in a lower middle-class orthodox family in a village it amplified the shock.

But after a long struggle; I convinced them and came to Bangalore, I took coaching classes for IT courses and started learning English. That gave me a bit of confidence and after finishing my courses I started hunting for a job in the IT companies.

After many failed attempts I finally got a job. It was not very lucrative but I managed to survive, as there was no financial support from my family anymore. I worked very hard and did several certificate courses on IT.

After about a year of hard work, my manager recognized my work and my certifications and gave me an opportunity to work on the technology I had learned.

Salary was not great as I was engaged on a contract basis. Still, I kept working hard. As time passed; my parents got impatient and started pressurizing me to get married!

But I felt I didn’t live the life with freedom, as I was always busy struggling. The first taste of freedom came to me when I bought a Scooter to commute in the city. I bought it with the years of saving and learned to ride it. It gave me a sense of pride too – I did not need to travel by the suffocating buses from one corner of the city to another to reach office! It was liberating to have the freedom to go anywhere at any time and hang out with friends. With time, it became my best companion and gave me a sense of confidence to take up bigger challenges in life.

Little did I know that the freedom will be short lived. As I got married (an arranged marriage with a person from my native state).

It was a really tough time; work-load at office, relationship, parents, society etc. The only solace I found was when I rode my in Scooter; it was always by my side- giving me a sense of freedom.

I work in a big MNC and look forward to life. Yes, I am a girl in the city, struggling, fighting, learning, laughing, crying, but living my life.❞

-Sweta Sneha

This story is submitted as a part of the #ActivScooterDiaries series, an effort by Castrol Activ to encourage women who commute by scooter to share their innumerable experiences with the world. If you too have any remarkable experience with your scooter, share your story here or write at [email protected]