by Sheena Pradhan

There are definite moments when I feel wealthy.

Today, I worked on the set of a video and photo commercial shoot where I was paid to pretend I’m having brunch and drinks to advertise a brunch and happy hour special for a hospitality brand. (We ate the brunch food and drank the drinks too!) I felt like I was paid to chill with other actors on set.

Of course, there is more to acting and modeling than “chilling” on set. There was some posing, fake conversation, fake cheers, some pretending to become infatuated with the actor near you or feign love.

[Read Related: The Life of a Brown Girl Breaking Barriers in Modeling and Acting]

I felt lucky today. I am so fortunate to have a gig, where I can just show up, be myself, and get paid for it. There are definitely times where I don’t appreciate my job as a model and actress enough. Today was one of those times where I realized I need to appreciate this more.

Although I felt so lucky and fulfilled today, I also realized that I’ve been slacking. My manicure was chipping when I got to set. The first few shots were “tapas” shots of my hands and a male model’s hands eating tapas. Because my nails were chipping, I didn’t do any hand modeling that day. Prior to the shoot, I was not told that I would be hand modeling, but as a model, I should know better. My hands should always be manicured.

When I was younger, I was never a high maintenance girl. Up until the age of 23, I had two manicures, ever. And those two occasions were my junior and senior high school proms. Beauty upkeep just wasn’t something I paid attention to when I was younger.

When I started competing in pageants when I was 24, I got in the habit of making sure that I was waxed, tweezed and manicured, every time I had to be in front of an audience or camera. I even perfected the art of doing my own makeup and was on an accurate-to-the-point-of-science nutrition and exercise regimen.

Something that I definitely took for granted when I had my nine to five job was that I had expendable income for all of the upkeep that I had taken on. Since leaving my job, my income has been in steady decline as I move farther away from the 9-5 life and closer to making a living freelancing. I’m getting called into auditions daily, sometimes a few times a day. If I have a job during the week, I miss out on these opportunities. Needing flexible time during the day makes it hard to commit to even a part-time job.

[Read Related: Burning Bridges to Achieve Success as a Model]

Although I feel like my freelance career is slowly but surely getting bigger, my bank account certainly isn’t.

Lately, I’ve been reverting to the old me. When I say the “old me,” I mean college-Sheena that was able to go an entire week without spending a dime. That includes not spending on upkeep.

However, back when I was working nine to five in nutrition, I didn’t have time for photo shoots. If I ever got a modeling job, it was a big deal! I would always make sure that my hands were manicured and that I was waxed, tweezed,and dieted to perfection, for every single occasion that I was in front of an audience or camera. And I wasn’t in front of a camera on a weekly basis.

Nowadays, I should be on point 24/7 because I have photo shoots weekly and auditions daily. Looking immaculate all the time will help me get work. I’ll admit that I’ve let go a little.

I have said things like, “People in the industry should know that most models and actresses are poor. I shouldn’t be expected to pay for my own manicures and bikini waxes if my gigs aren’t high paying gigs!” The flawed thing about saying this is that looking on point is a part of my job. It is something that I need to invest in to move my career forward.

[Read Related: Highs and Lows of Working in the Entertainment Industry]

I also realized that when I am on set, I often follow the cues of other actors and models on set. That is a mistake. Sometimes people are not as hard working and committed to their role as me. Sometimes I am on set with folks that are comfortable goofing off. I love modeling. There is no reason that I shouldn’t be fully committed when I am on set. Sure, sometimes running scenes can be slightly awkward, but I am there to model, not to socialize, nor to make sure that there is chemistry on set. If there is no chemistry, I just have to ignore the awkwardness and be the best model that I can be. It’s more important that my directors get good clips and photos.

Today I realized that I need to take what I do as seriously as the day I started. I need to look on point all the time, invest in myself and give 115 percent to every single thing I do.

Sheena Pradhan is a 27-year-old actress, model, writer, stylist, nutritionist, fashion blogger, content creator, and self-proclaimed branding expert. She always thought she would be a buyer for a big fashion brand, but in her winding journey, she has fallen in love with acting and modeling, which she does full-time. Follow her personal journey on her blog, Tuline Tulip. 

By Sheena Pradhan

Sheena Pradhan is a digital marketing consultant, former F&B entrepreneur, model, and writer. Sheena got her start in pageants and … Read more ›

“What you do is not who you are. Our capitalist society spends a lot of time trying to convince us that we are our work, but we don’t have to fall for it.” 

When I first met Joy Batra, she wasn’t an author. She was a multi-hyphenated individual who floored me with her charm and her aura. Joy not only had gone to business school and law school at one of the most prestigious universities in America, but she also valued her hobbies and her passions that were completely extraneous to her working persona. Her nontraditional career path was one that, at first glance, confused me. “I’m a dancer and freelancer,” she had said, and I batted my eyes as if she was talking in a foreign language. What’s a freelancer? Why and how did she come to identify herself as a dancer, when her degrees all point to business and law? 

[ Read Related: Indra Nooyi Talks ‘My Life in Full’ and her Journey to Becoming PepsiCo’s CEO ]

Joy Batra’s therapeutic and timely book “Freelance Mindset” provides relevant stories, guidelines, and motivation to take ownership of your career and financial well-being. Particularly, the book is centered around the pros and cons of life as a freelancer and practical advice for how to get started as one. At its core, the “Freelance Mindset” encourages diving deep into the relationship between career and identity, and how the balance of both relate back to your life view.

In the words of Batra:

“Freelancing is a way to scratch a creative itch that is completely unrelated to their day jobs…Freelancing harnesses that independent streak and turns it into a long- term advantage.” 

Batra’s older sister’s advice is written with forthright humbleness and glaring humility. Batra leads us through the fear of facing our existential fears about careers, productivity, and creativity. She leans into the psychological aspects of how we develop our careers, and reminds us to approach work not just with serious compassion but also with childhood play: 

“You are naturally curious and passionate. As a child, before you needed to think deeply about money, you probably played games, had imaginary friends, and competed in sports. Those instincts might get buried as we grow up, but they don’t disappear altogether.”

[ Read Related: Learning How To Freelance in a Cutthroat Industry ]

Batra also provides us with a diverse cast of inspirational freelancers who provide their honest perspectives across a wide range of domains from being a professional clown to actors to writers. Especially noticeable is the attention paid to South Asian women through notable interviews with Vyjayanthi Vadrevu, Saumya Dave, and more. On social media, it’s easy to find these women and immediately applaud their success, but behind the scenes, it takes a lot of grit, persistence, and determination to reach the successful level of freelancing that you see. Batra encourages a spiritual way of thinking that is marked by rational needs (ex. Maslow’s hierarchy): not to seek immediate gratification and corporate climbing, but rather to view life as a “jungle gym” as coined by Patricia Sellers. Taking risks is part of life, and just like entrepreneurship, freelancing is just as ambitious and off-the-beaten path, despite stigmatization.

“One of the strange paradoxes of the working world is that entrepreneurship is fetishized and freelancing is stigmatized.”

I recommend the “Freelance Mindset” to anyone who is starting out their career in these economically uncertain times, as well as seasoned workers who are looking for inspiration or a shift in their career life. Whether or not you are considering becoming a freelancer in a certain domain, this book is the practical wake-up call that workers and employees need in order to reorient their purpose and poise themselves for a mindset of success. I view this book as a “lifer,” one to read every few years to ground myself and think critically about the choices I make and where I devote my time. 

I leave you with this quote:

“We can adopt the new belief that no single job will meet all our financial, social, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs…We have one self, and we must figure out how to integrate it into the various situations we find ourselves in.“

You can purchase a copy of the Freelance Mindset here. Follow Joy Batra on Twitter and Instagram for more content!

By Anushree Sreedhar

Raised in Edison, NJ Anushree is an avid reader, imaginative creative writer, dramatic storyteller, obsessive shopper, experimental yogi, and a … Read more ›

Photo by kittirat roekburi via Shutterstock.com

Social media has stretched a number of news headlines:

“Social media rots kids’ brains.”

“Social media is polarizing.”

Yet those most affected by social media ideals are the teenage users. Apps like Instagram and TikTok perpetuate an image of perfection that is captured in pictures and 30-second videos. As a result, many young women chase this expectation endlessly. “Her” personifies this perfection in an unattainable figure the narrator has always wished to be. These ideals deteriorate mental health, create body dysmorphia, promote a lack of self-esteem, and much more. Even so, social media is plagued by filters and editing—much of what we hope to achieve isn’t even real. Therefore, young women, much like the narrator of “Her,” strive for a reality that doesn’t even exist.

[Read Related: The Emotional Roller Coaster of Getting Your Legs Waxed for the First Time]

Her

When she walked into my life
Her smile took up two pages of description
In a YA novel.
My arms could wrap around her waist twice
If she ever let anyone get that close
Her hair whipped winds with effortless beach waves
And a hint of natural coconut
Clothing brands were created around her
“One Size Fits All” one size to fit the girl who has it all
With comments swarning in hourglasses
But when sharp teeth nip at her collar,
She could bite back biting back
And simply smirked with juicy apple lips
Red hearts and sympathy masking condescension
“My body doesn’t take away from the beauty of yours”
“We are all equal, we are all beautiful”
Beauty
A sword she wields expertly
Snipping, changing,
Aphrodite in consistent perfection
Cutting remarks with sickly sweet syrup
And an innocent, lethal wink
When she walked into my life
She led my life.
My wardrobe winter trees
Barren, chopped in half
Unsuited for the holidays
Mirrors were refracted under in my gaze
Misaligned glass was the only explanation
For unsymmetrical features
And broken hands
Still I taped them fixed
Over and over
Poking, prodding
Hoping to mold stomach fat like wet clay
Defy gravity,
Move it upward
To chest
Instead of sagging beneath a belt on the last hole
In the spring
She would stir me awake at 2 AM
“You need to be me”
Lies spilled from her tongue but
Solidified, crystallized
Fabrication spelled dichotomy
And I drifted farther out to sea
When she walked out of my life,
I was drowning.
Reliance had me capsized
Others witnessed
Furrowed brows and glances away
Like spectators of a shark attack
They can watch but the damage is done
They clung to my mangled pieces
Gravestones spelled
“Stressed”
“Depressed”
But I was mourning too
Today I looked back at my mirror
But glass turned into prism
Broken pieces rainbow
Colors coating clothes
She didn’t pick
Aphrodite
Perception changing
She wasn’t perfect
Just lost at sea

[Read Related: Finding Freedom from Gender Roles Through Poetry]

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By Kashvi Ramani

Kashvi Ramani is a writer, actress, songwriter, and singer from Northern Virginia. She has been writing songs, poetry, scripts, and … Read more ›

Photo Courtesy of Varsha Panikar

“After so Long” is a poetry film created for Simha’s EP, which is streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. The poem was collaboratively written by Simha, a U.S. native, and Jae, who is based in India, during the 2020 lockdown. “After so Long” was recited by Simha and their parents. In 2022, I directed and produced the film through my studio, Star Hopper. “After so Long” premiered on Nowness Asia in March 2022.

By Varsha Panikar

Varsha Panikar (they/he) is a filmmaker, writer and multi-disciplinary artist from India. They are the co-founder of Star Hopper, a … Read more ›