Crochet: My Medium

What would a 22-year-old with two years of work experience in 2019 think of the future and family in the next year? If asked then; I would have confidently shared the big plan of going abroad for a degree in finance and becoming the best closer the city has ever seen in the M&A market. But then the pandemic and the existential crisis hit me too.

The consequences were that I moved home after seven years of staying alone. The hard truth of staying away from home is that it trains one to care for themselves and live independently. While it is the accomplishment of self-reliance, it also puts our loved ones in a position that does not allow them to share the difficulties they are going through openly with us. I discovered the deteriorated health conditions of my mother and how distant I was from my brother in reality. My presumption of having a close family was just in my head. I had to rethink my bond with the ones I love.

In the last two years, I worked from home and built the habits that would improve my quality of life and make family an inclusive part of my daily life. One of these habits is crocheting. I found an old crochet needle while cleaning the house on a random day. The crochet needle (hook) doesn’t have a pointy head like embroidery needles. So, like a four-year-old, I asked my mother, what is the use of this weird non-pointy steel rod? To my surprise, she told me to google (Clarification: Mother is still my google). I found tutorials on youtube on how to use the needle with wool. I started by making chains and flowers. Later I made dinner mats and explored further to make dolls and headbands. I share my progress and journey of each project I take on with my mother. It is astonishing that a year before, I didn’t even know what the crochet needle does, and now I make things beyond my imagination with just a thread and a needle (lots of patience). Crochet has become an identity that I am proud to associate with, as it is a tag I have intentionally and mindfully worked towards to become the person I am today. The goal was always to become closer to my inner feelings.

Crochet is my therapy; with every loop I make, I uncover another layer of my existence, unravel how my day passed, and journal those revelations of introspection. Over the course, my biggest revelations were about relationships, and the one that stands out for me the most was “ the thread of support you offer should neither be too tight nor too loose for your beloved in their growth journey.” The approach could be applied to organizational behavior too. Managers that are aristocratic or laissez-faire face challenges with order and control. However, with mindful leaders supporting their teams with just the right amount of support and direction, innovations and experiments thrive, driving further growth of the organization. The following are a few of my realizations.

• Always trust the process, maybe the vision is not clear on the first step, but it will get less blurry over your continuous practice.
• Consistently up your skill set and challenge yourself.

I chose my medium of expression to be Crochet to understand and deal with my emotions. The same could be Trekking the grasslands, Hiking the mountains, Painting beautiful scenery, or Baking a delicious cake. To sum it up, find a medium to explore a layer of yourself and create memories; in the end, it might help you to build a layer of your personality that you can share with your loved ones.