Hello Steemit!

My name is Rahul. I'm really excited to be a part of this community! :)

That's me with my beautiful wife @chernern at a Halloween party.

I spent the first 23 years of my life in Gurgaon, Haryana in India. It's a city ~20 mins away by car from New Delhi. Here are a few things that I learned there:

Life
My dad used to have a factory where they made the upper parts of shoes (everything except for the soles). My grandpa used to sit outside it and watch me and my friends play. One day a beggar came to him asking for money. My grandpa refused to give him money, what he did offer the beggar was a job at the factory. He asked the beggar whether he would like to beg for the rest of his life and be at others' mercy or work for his food and living. The beggar took the job and worked at the factory for many years. Over the years I saw my grandpa offer the same deal to whoever came to him asking for money, because he believed in living with dignity.

Death
When my grandpa passed away in 2009, you could hear people cries from afar. Hundreds of people gathered at his funeral. That was his life's work. A community of people who loved him and who he loved. That says something about a man. When my time comes, I would be proud and satisfied in my death if there's even a crowd half the size of his.

Family
To this day I feel a lump in my throat when I think of the night when my dad told me that he couldn't afford to pay the tuition for the high school I worked day and night to get into. I was heartbroken because I thought that all my hard work was for nothing. I didn't understand it back then, but now I do. He had three other children to take care of.

What made the night more memorable was my brother telling me he would pay my tuition. Not only did he pay for my high school tuition, but he also paid for my undergrad and grad school (I went to grad school in Pittsburgh and it wasn't cheap). He has never asked me for anything in return. Ever.

Friendship
In May 2013 I had been out of school for a year and working at a tech company in Southern India. But it didn't feel right. So I quit my job and took a flight back to home. When I got back home and told my parents that I quit my job, they asked my what was I going to do. And I told them, "I'm gonna go to 'Murica!". There was just one problem, I didn't know how to talk in English. So I did two things: I paid to take the GRE and TOEFL exams in August 2013, and I got one of those "Teach yourself English in 90 days" books. No one believed I could do it. No one except for my friends. I think me suddenly quitting my job and moving back home stressed out my family. So I decided to live with my friends. During those three months, my friends paid for my food and living. They didn't ask me for anything in return. Ever.

I met my wife in 2014 at a hackathon when we were both in grad school. Nerd alert. I didn't know what love was before meeting her. Ever since that day I have learnt something from her everyday. Every day with her makes me a better person. She has taught me more than anyone else about kindness, love and caring. I really admire her eagerness and enthusiasm to explore the world. I feel lucky to have her in my life. We live together in Detroit. We love this city!

I work at Duo Security with @robrigo, who told me about Steemit. He is one of the best and most genuine people I know. I'm proud to be his friend :)

I like to read books and cook in my spare time. We recently got bikes and I love biking by the river! I'm also a trustee at Awesome Foundation (http://www.awesomedetroit.org/).

Closing thoughts:
People always ask me what am I passionate about, where do I see myself in 5 years, etc. I always tell them I don't know, because I honestly don't. The answer they're expecting is that I wanna have a house or my own business or get to a higher position in my company. But in all honesty, I think that's aiming too low.

Here are a few things that I do often think about:

• How can I help provide free healthcare to those who can't afford it?
• How can I help provide free education to kids?
• How can we preserve the environment so that it is there for our children and grandchildren to enjoy?

More to come on that. Thank you for reading. :)