Ivana Atmojo

This time I’m going to write about some very important things that I realise even more after watching this movie called “Ratatouille”. For those who haven’t watched the movie, relax! I’m not going to reveal any bits that will diminish your contentment when you finally go watch it J  

Since the beginning of the movie, Remy (the name of the rat) really captured and attracted our 100% attention. And you knew right away that he isn’t just like any other rats—not because he is the main actor and others only have supporting roles, duh… BUT…it’s because he is a very passionate someone. When he speaks about food and cooking, his eyes really sparkle like never before. He talks and reacts so passionately about gourmet cooking, while other rats are so indifferent about something other than the ordinary life they’re living. Fast forward for about 90 minutes…Why does he eventually get to the place where he is? Because he dares dream high and wild, as if he isn’t just a rat—and the truth is, he isn’t!

Back to our life as human beans (I prefer to say human ‘beans’ than human ‘beings’, it’s cuter that way hahaha), have you ever realised that we are naturally more drawn to people who are passionate about life, than people who aren’t? Have you realized that people who capture our attention are normally people who have this thing called passion that other people may not have?  I think it’s very important that one has a PASSION in life. You may be passionate about food, you may be passionate about cars, computers, photography, sport, religion, animals, books, anything! Having THAT passion is what makes you SOMEBODY, not just NOBODY. It’s PASSION that makes you WHO you are! And it’s PASSION that makes you someone SPECIAL.  PASSION should then naturally influence your DREAM. I would see the two as a pair, as two things that are purely intertwined. If you have PASSION but not DREAM, chances are….it’s not PASSION—but ADDICTION.   

I think DREAM is something that we should not limit. For in reality, we will only go as far as what our mind says we could. And logically speaking…why on earth should we bloody limit ourselves from doing or being something GRAND, something that we could only dream of?

That being said, of course I understand the concept of being ‘realistic’. But you know what? I think PRACTICALITY shouldn’t kill IDEALISM. In fact, it should bring it one step (if not more) ahead. As human beans who have matured with age (just like wine and cheese), we should realise that there is no one who understands ourselves better than ourselves. You should by now know your strengths and weaknesses. So WORK AROUND it, people!

Wouldn’t it be nice if every day for the rest of your life, you wake up with something to look forward to? Wouldn’t it be nice to be doing something that you really love your whole life? Wouldn’t it be nice to see that when you grow old, you’ll look back with no regret whatsoever? Wouldn’t it be great that when you’re all wrinkles and white hair, you’ll be able to say with dignity: “You know what? I wouldn’t have done it any differently. This is my life, I’ve given my all, and I did it MY WAY.”

I realise that it may take a while, if not a long while, for someone to find his/her passion & dream. All too often, we’ve been molded by our society and the people around us, much more than we may ever realise. But the KEY is: be honest to yourself. There’s no other way around it.

 Speaking about dream, it takes 24 years to realise what I really want! Within my 24 years of life, I’ve done so many different things, things that gave me priceless exposure in different fields. And now,  at 24 years old…do you know what I dream of becoming? I want to be a DESIGNER! And that’s something that I finally dare say only a month ago. That’s the fruit of my honest deliberation with my very self.  I want to do fashion designing for the rest of my life. Crazy isn’t it? My degree is in finance and MBA, it has nothing to do with fashion-designing at all.   I used to think no one can be a fashion designer, unless they go to fashion design school. But do you know that Giorgio Armani was about to become a doctor before he changed direction? Do you know that Miuccia Prada had a Phd in political science, and not in fashion design?   I then come to realise that it’s never too late to learn. You always have the chance of working SMART, not working HARD. I thought: “Hang on a second, I should not compromise with my dream. Yet that’s exactly what I’ve been doing all this year ! My business degree should be my added strength, not something that pulls me back from what I really want to do!! ” And so I’ve done my research that sort of gives me the whole view of what I need to learn and what I need to do to be able to reach the dream that I wanted. From sketching to pattern making to sewing, I will learn and work it all out! I know it’s not going to be easy, no one ever says accomplishing a dream is ever easy—but I’m going to work really SMART and HARD at the same time. Why? Because I want it really really badly.  

So this morning, my fashion illustration books that I ordered from Amazon have arrived. I’ll be practicing on making sketches from now on. And I assure you, I’ll be working my cute lil’ arse off (hahaha!). A few years from now, I’ll be wearing my own design. And who knows? It could be my label on your shirt’s inner collar

 Lesson learned: Dream high, & don’t give up on it!!