I’VE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THIS QUOTE IN LIFE, AND EVERY TIME I BEGIN SOMETHING NEW, I AM REMINDED OF MY YOUNGER SELF, THE FEARLESS SMALL-TOWN GIRL WHO CONQUERED BIG DREAMS.

Growing up, I lived more out of a suitcase than a wardrobe. My dad – my role model – worked closely with the government and was transferred nine times in twelve years. For me, this meant nine different schools, nine opportunities to start over, and nine different sets of friends. But my heart still wanted to wander. While my childhood friends were picking out wedding dresses and getting ready to move into their husbands’ homes, I packed my bags for the final time and booked a one-way ticket to Dubai.

Like most Indian parents, my mum and dad were worried about my future. I’d been enrolled in a prestigious college in the UK, and the fees for the first semester had been paid; but instead, much to their dismay (and threat to my matrimonial prospects) I took a promotional job at L’Oreal. It was a temporary gig that paid me by the hour, but I loved it! Days later, I bagged myself a full-time role in L’Oreal and a year later in real estate.

A girl who was so sheltered she didn’t even know how to operate an ATM machine or use public transport was now handling a sales team of 12 from different nationalities. I was only 20, and I had big dreams.

Here’s a funny story; it took a wallet for me to realise my dreams were within reach. There was this red Louis Vuitton wallet in the store window, and it became a ritual for me to stop and stare at it every time I visited the mall. 16 years later, I still use this wallet. It’s a daily reminder that the world is mine for the taking – all I need to do is dream it, and work hard to achieve it.