By : Juhi Bansal

Wow that sounds so self centered doesn’t it! So, last week I was invited to an art event called “Art-o-Nama” where 45 artists had gotten together with as many kids to create an image (using mix media) of women from the kids’ POV. It’s was an exhilarating, self-discovering and an emotional moment. What I liked most about the images was that almost every child attributed “strength” to a woman’s personality and success.

And that made me question my idea of success. When I was growing up, success meant small things- scoring well in tests, becoming the class prefect, winning an inter-school drama competition and making my parents proud. When I was in college, my definition became more profound- it now meant getting into a B-school and getting placed in a good company with a good package and making my parents proud. When I started working the company defined success for me- yearly targets, ratings, bonuses, promotions and thus making my parents proud. Then I started up and the definition of success got reset to doing something meaningful ( & foolish), becoming mildly famous and still hoping I was making my parents proud.

Years pass, our goals change but this one thing remains constant. A few years later you add spouse, in-laws and kids to the mix. You constantly strive to make them proud of you and still always wonder if you’ve been successful in doing that.

After all these years of making my parents proud, disappointed and proud again, one fine day I woke up and realized I got it wrong all these years!  And finally I redefined Success- it’s making me proud of myself. Surprisingly, work seems fun now, I’ ve been sleeping soundly and while my parents may still be oscillating between pride and disappointment, I am extremely proud of myself. I finally found success! 🙂 Here’s hoping my definition of success doesn’t change anytime soon!

Hope you find the ever elusive success in your endeavors too. 🙂

When I dressed up for the above event there was no one around (except for Iy) so I clicked my own pics :). The quality may be questionable but I loved the fact that I could pose and pose, take re-takes and pout and no one was hurrying me along! 🙂

Here’s what I wore.

PS: All the pictures are selfies courtesy my old I Phone 4. Please pardon the quality.

Outfit: Shades of India
Clutch: Arancia
Footwear: Charles & Keith
Earrings and Ring: Amrapali
Lipcolor: Till Midnight by LA Splash

Charles & Keith Gladiators

Jewelry by Amrapali, Jaipur

Lipstick:Till Midnight by LA Splash

Hope you liked my pics. Write in and tell me what success means to you. Would love to hear it 🙂

Credits:

Tie & Dye Clutch: Arancia Bags (Buy)

I have styled the clutch here previously.

Psst: A lot of you write in and ask me if Charles & Keith sponsors my footwears. How I wish that were true! I am just an ardent C&K fan with over 30 pairs from the brand bought in India and Singapore!

Stay Gorgeous xx