VANSHIKA'SSUPERPOWERS.

Dear little Thangichi ❤️

If I had to name your strongest superpower, I think it would be CHARTING YOUR OWN COURSE.

You have this incredible ability to look at whatever life has put in front of you and somehow find your unique way forward.

School. Expectations. Things that hurt. Things that confused you. Science, when that course stopped feeling like yours. Humanities, when you found a different set of questions and a different way of looking at the world. And now, your own research, your own questions, your own little corner of the world that you’re beginning to build.

I’ve watched you do this again and again.

The map changes. The weather changes. Sometimes the road disappears altogether.

And somehow, you go: Okay. So what now?

And then you figure it out.

Maybe not immediately. Maybe not without a few wrong turns, a little chaos, and some serious questioning of why the universe has chosen this particular nonsense for you.

But you figure it out. You always have.

And I think what has been especially beautiful to watch this past year is that something has shifted.

You’re not just figuring out how to travel the roads that life has laid out for you.

You’re beginning to draw your own map.

You’re figuring out what pulls you, what matters to you, what makes you curious, what you want to spend your time thinking about, what kind of work feels meaningful to you, and what kind of life you want to build.

Life will keep throwing things at you. I have no doubt about that.

There will be storms. Detours. Weeds. The occasional completely ridiculous plot twist.

And honestly? I’m not worried.

Because give Vanshika a mess, a map with half the roads missing, and absolutely no idea what she’s doing... and she’ll figure it out.

She’ll find a way through. And somewhere along the way, she’ll probably decide she wants to go somewhere completely different anyway.

That’s your superpower.

You don’t need life to hand you a route.

You have this beautiful, stubborn, wonderful ability to chart your own course.

And I can’t wait to see where you take yourself next.

Happy birthday, little Thangichi ❤️

One of Vanshika's superpowers is how disarming she becomes when she's untethered.

When she feels relaxed and comfortable, the tension in her body melts away, and she becomes weightless. At times like those, even her walk stops being a walk, she floats and dances instead.

Watching her like this is much like watching a child at play: she isn't performing, she's being herself, and that simplicity disarms you.

Those moments are graceful and generous, so much so that some kind of osmosis happens which leaves you feeling lighter too.

This was one of the days when I was at my lowest.

I called you and you showed up. No questions asked.

It was not that I couldn't handle myself without you but, having you by my side made things infinitely better.

Better. That is what I am with you.

The conversations, the stories, the experiences, everything just got better.

Vanshika, you are an incredible person. Strong, expressive, intelligent, empathetic and so much more.

But I am glad to be the witness of the stupid you, the teary you, the stressed and irritated you, the “I am sure I would kill her” you, the angry you, the funny you, the excited you.

It was phenomenal to experience life with you.

In you, I see a great friend. I see an amazing person who just loves and cares. I see a person who is so adorable and beautiful.

I love you Vanshika. All of you.

Happy Birthday my Cappuccino.