Being a Wonder Woman in 2025: Find the Superhero Within

Who are your parents? Where were you born? What socio-economic and political circumstances shaped your early years? These questions define our starting points – what many call fate. Like a “Kolam pattern” drawn at dawn in some south Indian households, our lives begin with dots placed by circumstance. Some see these dots as fixed boundaries, while others, like master rangoli artists, connect them into patterns of their own design. We call such people heroes, though they often walk among us unrecognized.

During my December visit to India, combining business with family time, I found myself seeking a few hours of personal indulgence at a Naturals Salon in Coimbatore. What began as a simple beauty treatment transformed into an encounter that would leave me deeply moved and inspired.

There, I met Lakshmi, a 22-year-old beautician whose gentle hands worked skillfully as she provided my manicure, pedicure, and facial treatments. Like a river finding its course through rocky terrain, her story gradually emerged during those three hours while I lay there, unable to use my phone or do anything but rest with my eyes closed.

Lakshmi came from a poverty-stricken village in the outskirts of Madurai district. Her parents were farmers – her father working their small plot of land while her mother assisted in the fields. As the youngest of five children, Lakshmi grew up watching her family struggle with mounting debts, a common plight among small farmers in the region. Her father, unable to cope with their financial burdens, frequently turned to alcohol, and their home became a place of fear rather than sanctuary. On his drunk nights, both Lakshmi and her mother faced his verbal and physical abuse.

Like a lotus rising from muddy waters, Lakshmi harbored dreams of education despite the hardships at home. She excelled in her high school studies, but her father refused to support her further education. The family was already deep in debt, and in his view, investing in a daughter’s education was as futile as watering a desert. Her older sisters had received some schooling before being married off, and her brother had moved to another state for work, eventually settling there. But Lakshmi wanted more.

One day, gathering all her courage like a monsoon cloud gathering strength, she made the bold decision to flee her village. With nothing but determination and dreams of a college degree, she arrived in the city of Chennai. To survive, she took whatever jobs she could find while enrolling herself in a Bachelor of Commerce program. Her days became a gruelling rhythm, like the steady beat of temple drums – attending classes during daylight hours and working evening shifts.

But fate had another cruel twist in store, like a sudden drought in fertile soil. After months of hard work and sacrifice, Lakshmi discovered that her college lacked proper accreditation – her degree would be worthless. Though the college authorities attempted to transfer students and even encouraged exam cheating to help them pass, Lakshmi found herself back at square one, having lost both precious time and her limited savings.

This setback could have broken her spirit, but like a bamboo that bends but never breaks, it led her to an unexpected path. A friend suggested she train in beauty and salon work – a field with growing opportunities in urban India. Lakshmi, though initially hesitant, embraced this new direction with the same determination that had driven her to leave her village. She threw herself into learning every aspect of beauty therapy and salon work.

Her dedication paid off when she secured a position at a salon in another city, offering better pay than she’d ever earned before. Like a perennial stream that never runs dry, for the past year, she has not only supported herself but also sent money home regularly. She helps her sisters when they need financial assistance and provides for her mother, harboring hopes of one day helping her mother escape the abusive environment she still endures.

When I asked about her future dreams, Lakshmi’s eyes lit up like brilliant temple lamps at dusk as she shared her ambition to own her beauty parlor someday. But more than that, she wants to see her sisters employed and independent, breaking free from the constraints of being financially dependent homemakers.

What makes Lakshmi’s story remarkable isn’t just her personal triumph over adversity. Like ripples in a temple tank, her courage has created waves of change. Her father, who once believed daughters were burdens, has been forced to recognize that a girl child can support her family if given the chance to flourish. Her success has begun to challenge deep-rooted prejudices in her family and village, like fresh shoots breaking through old soil.

Later, as I sat in my flight back home, sipping a drink and watching Wonder Woman perform incredible feats on my small airline screen, my thoughts drifted back to Lakshmi. While Gal Gadot’s character saves the world with superhuman powers, I had just met a different kind of hero – one who, like a sacred river flowing through ancient lands, quietly nurtures and sustains those around her with nothing but determination and hard work.

Look around you. There are countless Lakshmis in our world – women who, like banyan trees breaking through concrete, refuse to accept the limitations society places on them. They fight their battles not with magical weapons but with unwavering resolve. They may not be saving the planet from supernatural threats, but they’re transforming lives, one day at a time.

In 2025, let these stories of resilience inspire us.

Remember: being a wonder woman isn’t about having supernatural powers – it’s about finding the strength within yourself to change your destiny, and in doing so, becoming like the ancient banyan tree that provides shade and shelter to generations that follow.

Universal love and abundance,