Solutions 8 Senior Specialist Riddhi Raj Believes Life Is Too Short to Waste Time on Material Things (and Would Rather Travel the World)

2023 Update: Riddhi began her career with Solutions 8 in March of 2021 as a Virtual Assistant. She was promoted to Specialist in November of 2021 and again to Senior Specialist in October of 2022. 

You know how sometimes you hear people refer to other people as “old souls”?

Riddhi is one of those people, I think.

She has this lovely sense of awareness that struck me almost immediately—even from 8,500 miles away—and I knew this was a person who was perfectly at home in her own skin.

That said, I hope you take a moment to get to know her, too.

Riddhi is a Virtual Assistant here at Solutions 8 and one of the newest members of our extraordinary team. Each day she helps to create and manage our clients’ Google Ads campaigns and evaluate those campaigns to ensure they are performing. She says her natural persistence and “problem-solving attitude” make her particularly good at her job.

When she’s not working, you can find her “in a corner with a book” or spending time with her dogs.

(Clearly this girl has her priorities straight.)

Riddhi says books are something she never travels without, and she recently finished reading Waiting for Willa by Dorothy Eden. It’s a story about a woman named Willa who vanishes into thin air and whose cousin sets out to find her and solve the mystery of her disappearance.

And of course, she absolutely adores her dogs: Dalmi, Polly, Nanny, and Hugo (the only boy), all of whom are adopted strays.

Riddhi actually wanted to be a veterinarian when she was younger, but she knew that she would need a “strong heart” to do so, and she has a difficult time seeing animals in pain. But if she had infinite resources, she says she would make sure no stray animal was ever abused or left to starve.

Born in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh (India), Riddhi now lives in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh with her family.

She has actually lived all throughout her home country, in nine different cities total. She says Dharamshala, Mashobra, and Shimla (all located in the state of Himachal Pradesh) are her top three favorite cities, and each holds cherished memories for her.

Speaking of memories, when I asked Riddhi if she collected anything, this is what she told me:

“Memories, in a unique way. Recently, two of my adopted strays gave birth to 10 adorable pups. We had to part with them for their better life … but before parting, I had their paw prints taken. I believe the only thing that can never be bought or traded are memories.”

One of her favorite memories from the past year was her sister’s wedding. She recalled that it was an entire month of shopping and festivities, and she was able to spend some quality time with relatives she hadn’t seen in a while.

During quarantine, Riddhi discovered her innate ability to stay strong and positive.

Still, she says she looks forward to a time when things are back to normal and she can travel again. In fact, the top three things on her bucket list are all travel related:

1. Experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
2. Go camping in Tso Moriri in Ladakh, India. (I’m putting this on my bucket list, too!)
3. Live in a tree house. (Yessssss.)

Instead of maxing out her credit card at any store, Riddhi says she would just travel around the world because “Life is beautiful and too short to spend on anything materialistic. I would prefer to explore the world.”

A few more things worth knowing about Riddhi…

If she could snap her fingers and become an expert in something, it would be the ability to read people and change their minds to do good.

She would love to learn origami and calligraphy, because she says both art forms would help her to build patience and precision.

Her favorite holiday is Diwali, the festival of lights, because it represents hope over despair.

If she could create a new invention, it would be a technology that allowed you to actually feel the presence of a distant person—something more than just video and voice, she told me.

Her favorite artist is Indian film composer A. R. Rahman, whom she calls a music legend. “I grew up listening to his magical composition.”

She loves eating nachos, and her favorite local place to eat is called Two Brothers, where they serve “mouthwatering cheesecake.”

Her nickname is Chinti, which is Hindi for ant.

“I am named Chinti because, like ants, I am social,” Riddhi told me, then added, “I might seem tiny and non-harmful, but I can fight for my life if required.”

Her favorite quote (which happens to be tattooed on her body) is “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” It’s a Japanese proverb that means choosing to never give up hope and to always strive for more.

And finally, if she could travel back in time, she would tell her younger self to “be strong, keep faith, fear nothing and just trust in the process. You are exactly where you should be.”

Old soul indeed. Welcome, Riddhi!