Achieving The Dancer's Dream

My name is Rhea and I am a proud asthmatic. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was just a little girl. I still remember the day the doctor had outlined the treatment plan, gave me my first inhaler and showed me how to use it. 

Even though the other children in my grade never teased me or singled me out because of my condition, I had still always felt like an outsider because of the inhaler which I had used often and had always carried around with me. 

Dancing had always been my passion and even as a little girl, I knew that I wanted to make a career out of it. I refused to let my asthma stand in the way of me achieving my goals and made sure to use my inhaler before every dance rehearsal and on-stage dance performance. 

Slowly, as I grew older, I got over my fear of using my inhaler in public and started to appreciate the role it played in keeping my asthma symptoms at bay. Today, I am a dancer by profession and an outspoken asthmatic. I am not ashamed of my condition and am proud of how much I have achieved in life in spite of it with the help of my inhaler. 

When I first came across the #BerokZindagi campaign, I was touched by how much I could relate to the entire campaign and its central message. It was very well done and I can see its implications going a long way.

- Rhea V