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“A dream doesn’t make reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”

Colin Powell

Our hero decided to give wings to his dreams. He started preparing extensively for the entrance exam of the Culinary Academy. Whatever resources he could find , he tried to take notes on the same as well as experimented a lot in the kitchen. His father, felt his son was wasting his time and ridiculed him for the same. But he decided to pay no heed to the ridicule even though it hurt him a lot. He decided to focus his energy towards sharpening his culinary skills and being updated about the field. After all competing against a big crowd was not an easy task and he could just not afford to spend his energy for fighting against a cause that seemed trivial. This was because he was just focused on one thing and that was making the cut and then rising to the top. To achieve this, he was willing to pay any price in the form of hard work.

The entrance exam to the Culinary Academy was divided into three sections-a written test, an interview and the presentation test. The written test was a mix of objective and subjective questions. The interview was a one to one session with the faculty members which was supposed to be an intense grilling session. And if the candidate could overcome the grilling session a final hurdle stood in between the way of the candidate and his or her dream – it was the presentation test wherein they were supposed to recreate dishes made by the experts within a limited time period and add their own creative twist to it. And if you think, after making the cut you could cut some slack, you are mistaken. There were a lot of classes and tests to be undertaken. In short, the academy was supposed to be sort of a pressure chamber from which graduating with top honors was a pretty daunting task and not for the meek- hearted. But it was also a gateway to the elite’s club and make a name for yourself . After all what was life without challenges and ambition? Also, our hero had a mission to prove his father wrong. It was not as if he hated his father . He just wished his father would have encouraged him more to pursue what he loved doing.

Finally, the day of examination arrived. Our hero had butterflies in his stomach. But he made sure not to show any signs of self doubt on his face. After all he could not show his fears . So, he put on a confident front and decided to give a brave face to all the obstacles he had to face. After all, “all our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”This quote by Walt Disney was what he had decided to make his go to mantra in his life. He took a long breath and entered the exam hall. One should have been scared by looking at the number of applicants . But not our hero. He had made up his mind to just compete with himself and never ever compare his journey with others . After all, not everyone would be able to fathom his journey and make sense out of it. He began cracking what was considered as one of the toughest exams with a serene expression. The exam which was considered as a tough nut to crack was not that difficult for our hero. This is because he had been preparing himself to face this day. So, how could he not breeze the exam? He finished his exam and returned home. The interview was supposed to take a month after the written test. This was unnerving for our hero;but he decided to prepare himself for the interview and the presentation test. So, he increased his working hours in the kitchen. He woke up at the crack of the dawn and spent his entire day in the kitchen which his mother ran sharpening his culinary skills.

The examiners at the Culinary Academy were surprised as no one had managed to score above 60% in their entrance exam. However, there was this one candidate who had managed to impress them all. No prizes for guessing who that candidate might be. He had topped the entrance exam with a distinction. The examiners were pretty impressed about the insights which were provided by our hero. Since, he had topped the exam, they decided to grill him pretty intensely in order to check whether he could handle the pressure. The evaluation was completed and the exam result was declared on the website. As the result day approached, our hero was busy in the kitchen. It was his mother who reminded him to take a break from his endeavor and check the result. He agreed to do the same. However, our hero’s father just gave him a smug smile. This was because he was confident that his son might not be able to make it and that failure will sting him and he will never dare to dream big.

With a soft prayer on his lips, he opened the website of the Culinary Academy and started searching his name from the bottom of the list. After all, he did not expect his name on the top. But, guess life has its own way of surprising people. He searched the entire list without looking at the top and did not find his name. He shut the website and returned to the kitchen with a heavy heart. He did not want to inform his mother that his efforts had gone in vain. So, he just started to work in a silent manner. His best friend came to the kitchen and asked him about his result. He just felt as if something in him had broke and he broke down . However, his best friend did not believe him and asked him to provide the website of the same. When his best friend opened the website and scanned the result , he was relieved and delighted as his friend had made it for the interview. He decided to reward his best friend’s efforts by searching for more issues of the What’s Cooking magazines and ran to give him a hug after searching for the same.

The best friend gave a tight hug and handed him the extra issues which he had found in the pile. Our hero was puzzled and asked him the reason for the tight hug.His friend did not say anything and just asked him to recheck his result. Our hero, though dejected was not in the mood to do the same. He refused politely and decided to return to the kitchen . This made his best friend a bit crazy and he slapped the hero on his face for being a fool. Then he explained that only a foolish person would not be happy about the fact that he has topped the exam and not prepare for the interview. Our hero thought his best friend was cracking a joke. He, a topper in the entrance exam of Culinary Academy? To this, his best friend showed him the result. That is when realization hit him hard. He had indeed topped the exam and got the ball rolling towards what was supposed to be a far fetched dream. Though he had topped the exam, he still had a long way to go. So, he decided to double his efforts after all the journey to the top was not going to be a cakewalk.

P.S. -Why am I having a feeling this story (When dreams come true…) is going to be a super fun as well as a very long piece? One which will be super inspiring journey as well as a journey where we stretch our imaginations and create something magical. If you are enjoying the work, don’t forget to share the love for the same and follow the same so that you do not miss an update. Links of the same are given below or in the About me section.

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Lots of Love and Hugs,

Roshani