Heena Shah is a single individual with multiple identities. She is a mechanical engineer by profession. Apart from this, she is also a blogger, a traveller, a teacher of the Japanese language and the list goes on.
To get a better picture of this one of a kind person, the ItsGoa team got in touch with Heena and got to know a lot about her life, her career, her hobbies, her passions and much more…
Excerpts
Its Goa: Tell us a bit about yourself
Heena: I was born and raised in Mumbai, India but I grew up in Sikkim, Manipal, Montenegro, Japan and many other countries in different parts of the world. I enjoy exploring cultures, foods, sights, languages and meeting people. I have travelled through all union territories and most states of India. I have experienced about 20 countries including 45 of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Apart from blogging, I spend my time looking for greener alternatives in daily life, working out, and collecting and writing postcards. At the moment, I work remotely as a mechanical engineer, help SMEs in improving efficiencies, own a postcard shop and study the Japanese language at Mumbai University. I also teach Japanese and English language, do interpretations and translations and conduct postcard making and writing workshops.
Its Goa: What was that one moment that changed everything?
Heena: Taking the flight to Japan for the very first time, 10 years ago and returning with the idea of wanting to live there.
Your Instagram handle is: @explorer.heena
Its Goa: Any funny or inspiring childhood story or memory you want to share that shaped your life…
Heena: I never went for tuitions and my French teacher back at school told me I’d not make it by myself in my 10th grade exams. I managed to score a 39 on 40 in the written exam and that was a lesson learnt that one can take you down only if you let them.
Its Goa: What’s the biggest challenge when pursuing this full time?
Heena: Time management and discipline to be able to pursue everything I am doing.
Its Goa: A bit about your role models.
Heena: My parents are definitely my role models when it comes to working hard.
Its Goa: What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you recall?
Heena: My family inspired me to do more than what I always did and friends were family.
Its Goa: What would you tell yourself if you went back in time?
Heena: Your dreams will come true, so keep at them.
Its Goa: Any person/celeb from the past you’d want to meet? Why?
Heena: Probably Einstein because he was a genius.
Its Goa: What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?
Heena: That I made a difference and left behind a slightly better world for generations to come.
