The extra mile for dreams

i

am pella a name i gave myself when i was

10 years old

in that attic of class 8b

in loretto convent darjeeling

it was then i imagined myself if

there would be a future and someone

would ask me what are you wearing

i would say it is pella

little did i know then that 20 years

down the line

i would have found my label with the

very same name

the name i gave myself looking back

i was just a knife girl who was dreaming

because you could dream that time you

had no worry

no responsibility so you could be a

dreamer

i’m glad then that i had my sister

prativa who told me about

nift its national institute of fashion

technology

the only design school for fashion in

india at the time

when i first heard about it i just

wanted it

i just had to be there and that was it

i’ve realized over time that when you do

want something

unknowingly or knowingly you do things

which

actually make you closer closer to that

particular vision you have in mind

somehow those small moments those tiny

moments be it those small

fittings during a concert in school

or the very fact that i took arts with

maths and economics

it actually made me help it helped me

during my later years when i was doing

the business

so i’m actually glad to say that

everything whatever happens in your life

does take you there you know it does

mean something even if it’s a very tiny

minute to detail

what i’m trying to say is

when i look back to my school days there

was one

moment in my life it was the time when

mrs subba gave me

this small card before passing out i

believe

i was in the library this very well-lit

library of loreto i opened that card

and time paused as i read

re-read what was written it said

your dreams are not that big a dream

unless you can laugh at it

ever since it has actually

somehow um it’s embedded in me

that it is true if you cannot laugh at

your dream

then it is just a goal it’s right in

front of you you can just do it

so you need to dream dream

so whether you’re a 10 year old or a 40

something

if you want to do something do it

if you’ve always wanted to write a novel

please pick up that pen and start

writing

if you love video games you could become

the coolest game developer in the world

or in the country if you love music

or art or acting

please go record that demo you’ve always

wanted

apply to juilliard if you may

no name is too big a dream or no name is

too big that you cannot do it because

everything

is possible if you just believe you just

need

to take that first step you need to

dip that foot inside water and let that

ripple clear

the second thing what i wanted to share

today

is this time in school again

for the very first time i raised my hand

and said

yes i can do it this was something i

wanted to try

because mrs oja told us in class you

need to take responsibilities

you need to say yes you can do it if you

want to

and there was this time when there was

a place a vacant place for someone to

represent a school for an enter school

fest for art

and i did not think much i just raised

my hand

and said yes it was also then

that art of living instilled in me that

yes you can

so yes ever since i’ve actually said

yes to opportunities yes to challenges

when you know not what’s to come but

still you make it happen

when for the very first time i said the

three-letter word

y-e-s i realized there’s no going back

it’s like you’ve said it you’ve made a

commitment and you’re like

i have to do it i have to make it happen

so yes

even if you cannot help someone when you

say yes i can help you

you’ll figure it out how later and

you’ll actually do it

so here’s to saying yes

i can because when you do that

half the battle is already won the third

thing i’d like to mention

today is

you need to take that distance

you need to go that distance you need to

run that extra mile

looking back when i was applying for my

gen x application for lakme fashion week

india

i had to send samples for my second

phase of selection so

i did not want to be late obviously i

wanted to

get it there at the neck of deadline so

in all the hastiness i somehow

did one wrong stitch

a mistake i was the only one who could

see it but i knew it was there

i somehow packed it because i had to

send the career

and i sent it off it was

two whole months of gruesome work hard

work that i wanted to

just take rest and have fun with my

friends

little did i know the very next day i

would wake up

and while washing my face i had a deja

vu

where tears blurred my vision and i

realized the only thing

the only reason why i would not make it

to the final cut would be that

single stitch so

i cried i was crying

i just knew that i had to stop that

parcel somehow

i did not know how but i needed to

all my friends and family looked at me

and disbelieved asking why

but i knew i needed to

yes i called up the career service it

was a sunday i remember

so curry services are usually closed in

india that time

somehow i managed to tell them

please hold the career

only to know only to get informed

that it had already reached mumbai so

i’m based out of bangalore

so yes i did exactly that at three

o’clock

in the morning i booked my flight to

mumbai i went to the warehouse

where my friend was waiting me waiting

for me my friend or may

i went there before

the official hours impatiently waiting

for my parcel so that i can fix

what i had to do yes i took it

i opened it redid it re-ironed it

packed it and taped it and delivered it

to the img

reception myself

it was surreal and crazy hectic

but i’m so glad i did that because at

that moment

when i delivered it i felt satisfaction

i felt like happy

because i knew i had done my part

so what i’m trying to tell you is

whatever you do

you need to give it your absolute be it

whatever whatever you love you need to

run that mile you need to

go the distance you need to do that

and surprisingly when you love something

you

do it naturally you will not even know

that you’re doing it but you do it

because you love it so much so

find find that passion find

it because when you do

that is the single most thing

which will fuel you at your lowest low

there will be dire circumstances dire

times

when you will ask yourself is this what

you want to do

is this really what you want to be

do you are you happy doing what you do

and at that low point you’ll smile at

yourself

and say i’m exactly where i’m supposed

to be

i’m happy doing this and this is the

very reason i do what i do

so find that and that is

the only way and the only reason why

people would not stop what they’re doing

we hear about so many people you know

leaving they start something they leave

it

the only sole reason being that was not

exactly what they wanted after all

so search keep on searching for you will

get there someday

the third the fourth i guess

the last but not the least

i’d like to bring to light that as

you find your greatness

you create a ripple effect to everyone

around you

so that everyone around you also starts

searching for their own greatness

so yes when you shine and pursue what

you love

everyone around you does the same

what more can you do than light that

fire inside someone else’s heart

what more can you do

than let someone else feel that their

dream can come

true their dream can become real too

what more can you do than let a person

take that leap of faith because they

believe

so i stand here before you today

to tell you when i can do it

you can do it too

i am going to turn 30 tomorrow

and i’m so glad to tell you that your

dreams will come real

you might be living the dream that

you’ve only dreamt of

so yes

dream because you can

and four dreams

have the magic and the power to manifest

thank you