May a times people say that dreams don’t come true or it’s a waste of energy to dream or even it’s better to follow the safer option and do something in life which is less of a risk and assures you of a great job and hence a great career prospect .. Somehow none of what they said changed my habit!

I have always been a dreamer and this has really worked for me. I dedicate this story to the million girls who want to make a difference in life and have not taken a step in the direction… So read on

I was a chubby, shy and an invisible child in school with a very select set of friends who I usually stuck to. Teachers always told me to participate in events and be more proactive but I never really paid any heed. No-one took me seriously!  Infact sometimes even I thought it was just another day dream! I was quite lazy and laid back and never worked on my goal. I was a decent student and quite appreciated by teachers but not one who would stand out of the crowd. As school ended, so ended my sheltered world where I could just be a baby who enjoyed the smaller things in life, doing her own thing and was accepted as she was.

However I have constantly dreamed creatively… Always inspired by my workoholic mother I hoped to someday be a successful designer myself. Hence I pursued fashion design and joined a college which would ultimately change me! At SNDT, I met girls from all kinds of fields who came to pursue the same goal. Right from the entrance exams the caliber of girls and hence the competition was fierce. Apart from my family name nothing else seemed to convince them that I could make it. I was challenged more as a designer’s daughter and often picked on. Somewhere in between I lost faith too!!

I could have so easily quit had it not been that life changing day where in I was sitting in my mother’s office, looking at all her achievements and realized that it’s time to stop only dreaming but start acting on my dreams. This day I decided that I was going to take it one step at a time, focus on every small assignment, and every small detail in a garment and give everything the best I can. I had decided to face every situation from the academic prowess to my image of a chubby cute girl. It was time for me to grow into a mature independent confident woman.

I started my diet and gym regularly and with enthusiasm. Soon with physical image change started my personal change. I worked harder on my projects and accepted challenges set my peers. With hard work and perseverance results started flowing. My physical change got me surprisingly a lot of positive response. Then came my projects and individual presentations. With sweaty palms and a smile on my face I deceived the world that I was sure of my work and indeed with the cheers and applaud I received my fears left me and confidence oozed into me. I did very well in my course and made myself and teachers proud. I also won an award for the work done by me for a project with respect to the usage of the Khadi fabric.

Now the confidence levels were sky high and I was ready to take on the world. My mom mentored me considerably as I passed out of SNDT with reference to how one should respect work however small it may be and the importance to be true to yourself and your designs rather than being inspired by other designers in the fraternity. Seriously you can only be original if you trust yourself. My first tryst with stardom came as I won the Barbie Doll’d up contest at the Lakme India Fashion Week for the 50th anniversary of Barbie where in over 100 top Indian designers participated. The ensemble is worn by the latest edition of Barbie.

Since then there has been no looking back.

I am beginning to believe that unfortunately people’s first attraction is physical, while more than anything else self confidence already makes u physically more appreciated and accepted. You walk, talk bigger and bolder.

Today I constantly remind myself how important it is to trust in yourself because if you lose trust in yourself no one trusts you. When you trust yourself people start trusting you…. Dreams do come true! Mine did… My advice to all is dream… Dream big but remember only dreaming will only make u smile in your sleep but when you put your dreams in action and you see them come true in reality through pleasure and satisfaction is blissful.