Motherhood
Meera
Meera began her journey in Hong Kong as a strategy consultant in the early 2010s. Moving here as a gateway to a new milestone with her husband, a way to end their long-distance relationship. As she recalls: “I was actually okay to live anywhere, I was good with any place, I wanted to start a life together.” Building a shared life was the goal, yet she also recognized that Hong Kong offered opportunities.
She describes her early working life as long hours, mentoring others, and investing deeply in outcomes, but always needing passion to sustain her. By her fourth year, she became pregnant. “I remember last pregnancy I was working really long hours,” she says, while also admitting: “I didn’t want to go to work, it was really clear that I didn’t want to go to work.”
Motherhood brought a turning point. One day, her son was burning with a 104-degree fever, clutching her hand and whispering, “Mommy, please don’t go.” Yet she had to leave for a client pitch. The moment haunted her. “That’s not the right way to live life,” she realized.
She chose to step away from the corporate ladder and take the risk of building a business for her family’s future. It was her decision, not her husband’s, though she needed him not to stand against it. Today, she is an entrepreneur, running a children-oriented product business inspired by her son, which allows flexible working hours and her to run it from home, a vision born from motherhood.
This step also reshaped her identity. As she explains: “I want to speak Cantonese, and I want to be seen as a local, because I think that’s how I become a successful entrepreneur here.” Her words highlight the flexibility of identity and how motherhood reframed her sense of belonging.