Stella | Caramel

They gave me wings and gave me permission.

A few years ago, while teaching at a girls' school, I was fortunate enough to have a group of powerful future leaders as students. Without our knowledge, they were my teachers as I, through literature, encouraged them to see themselves as capable, to dream without hesitation, to imagine possibilities, and to look beyond fear. Little did I know that, like a boomerang, all of this would come back to me as a challenge.

At the end of the classes, they gave me a portrait painted by one of them. It was my face with perfectly round black glasses, like the ones I usually wear, and my hair in curls formed by phrases like "Follow your dreams, even if they seem impossible," "Make a change," "Be passionate about challenges," "Dream." It was a great location, although to them it was simply a collection of treasured phrases. "Thank you for teaching us to dream" was the phrase that marked my neck, separate, standing out from the rest. I didn't understand the impact of this gift until recently.

With the STELLA I honor and pay tribute to them because they made me fly.

Stella is the name of one of those students; she represents those women I motivated to dream, and who today are building what was once just a wish.

From the other side of fear, I thank you and confirm that nothing is impossible.