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