Aspire & Express

I’ve had so much fun talking about myself, my hobbies, creative work, and what shapes me, but want to take a minute t o talk about a very special community that I am part of and share some memories. 

During school breaks, I visit my dad’s ancestral village in rural Haryana, India. It’s the kind of place where cows wander through courtyards, power cuts are frequent, and Wi-Fi is a luxury— but the natural beauty is unbeatable and the people are even better.

The first few times I went, I was mostly just a visitor. But in the summer before junior year, I went back with a small goal: to help the children at the local school feel more confident speaking English. I had grown up with my dad telling me about the lack of English support in the local school; growing up, his English essays had looked vastly different from mine. A classic example of an essay that he wrote always  lives in my head rent free: a cow has four legs, two eyes, one nose… you get the idea. With all of this in mind, I went to the girl’s school and kicked things off with a mini talk on language and opportunity (very TED Talk of me), and the next day, my name showed up in the local newspaper. 

I waited eagerly for the students to connect me and tell me when they wanted to start learning. Minutes turned into hours and hours turned into a day. I realized that a talk wasn’t enough for them to trust me with their education (who could blame them, I was a student just like them after all). I returned to the classroom the next day not as a teacher, but a student. I sat down, ditched the formal tone, and tried something different: “For every English sentence I say, teach me something new in Hindi.” Silence stretched across the room and shy faces avoided my gaze. 

Until finally, one girl looked at me and blurted out that she liked my hair and asked what shampoo I used. And just like that, the silence cracked. Everyone started laughing. Questions followed. Real ones. Silly ones. Hesitation had been the real barrier all along, not vocabulary or grammar. That day planted the seed for Aspire & Express, a weekly spoken-English club I now run over Google Meet from home.

We meet 1-3 times a week (depending on their exam schedule). It’s a small group, 5 to 10 students, but it’s become the highlight of my week. I create lessons with short stories, essay vocabulary, tense practice, sentence- building games, and guided conversations. In the beginning, everyone kept their mics muted. Now, they take turns leading questions, sharing stories, and even correcting me. 

I won’t pretend like I’ve had ground-breaking success stories; after all, I’m learning alongside them. But one of my favorite moments was when Kajal, a student who started out whispering her answers, became the most confident with her ideas and even began to lead group discussions. 

We still deal with internet issues, shared phones, and the time difference, but we always show up, speak, and laugh (a lot). 

Honestly, I’ve learned just as much as they have. I used to think leadership meant giving a good speech or changing someone's opinion. Now I know it’s more about creating a space where other people feel safe to speak— at their own pace, in their own voice.