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She wore a red dress that day.
It was the 24
th of December and us, the 7
th graders of Sacred Heart High School were engrossed in the spirit of Christmas celebrations that our school had put together. I, for one, had especially been looking forward to the party since long.
I knew that Karen liked Christmas and that she always wore the prettiest dress in the class. I told myself, “Today, I shall definitely muster up the courage to go and talk to her. At the least, I shall wish her a Merry Christmas”. Putting my thoughts to actions, I finally walked up to her. But, as luck would have it, I had not rehearsed the next line to be said after her “Thank you”. However, in my moment of panic, I displayed great composure and ended up saying, “That’s a nice dress. Where did you buy it from”? To this Karen replied, “Oh, I got it from this new store called ‘Pantaloons’. You should visit too.”
That’s how Pantaloons made an entry into my teenage life. Next, dragging my mom to a newly opened fashion store was not the easiest task but once she got acquainted with the clothing line and the value for money that the brand offered, there was surely no turning back. What started as a bid to impress Karen turned out to be one of my favorite childhood ventures. The free-spiritedness of the Pantaloons brand had definitely managed to capture the imagination of an entire segment of our generation.
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It is rightly said that “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them, leaves an impression”. And some of these impressions might not be for the good. Moments of self - doubt and lack of confidence that one experiences as a child can have a detrimental effect on the overall future development of the person.
For me, such instances left behind an impression of a stuttering child. I don't believe that my continuous struggle with stammers and stutters weaves a unique story. What I do believe, however, is that not many would have resolved to turn such weakness into a strength.
While stuttering could have hampered my effective communication skills thus rendering me unsuitable for many opportunities, I ensured that I made the best of every one of them. During the course of my 4 years of engineering, I did not only go on to become a good public speaker but also held the record for the highest ever number of speeches delivered in an academic year. I still encounter uncomfortable moments in my day to day communication but again what worth comfort really is. As they say, " Comfort zone is a nice place. But nothing good ever grows there"
I also believe that the above philosophy can be extended to a conglomerate like the Aditya Birla Group, which has not only voyaged into unchartered waters on more than one occasion but also has emerged victorious and lead by example in every industry.