Welcome to this corner of the internet, where we believe dreams are precious and something that cannot be sold. I'm Nafiza, and I want to ask you: What's your dream that is not for sale?

I was born into a sweet middle-class South Asian family, where my father was the only breadwinner. Growing up in an environment following traditional South Asian norms, I always thought dreams were just stories parents tell their children to fall asleep at night; having dreams of your own and stepping outside the box, that's why, never felt like a valid option. After my father had his second heart attack, it changed everything. It pushed me to a journey I had never imagined I would take. That's when I learned what it feels like to be powerless— not in my heart, but in the eyes of the two wonderful sisters whose dreams were fading every day. As if one disaster in life wasn't enough, the pandemic hit hard, and I had to break us free from this downward spiral leading nowhere.

So, in the midst of 2020, I took the boldest step of my life and moved alone to Berlin, Germany, without any financial support from my family. This journey immersed me in diverse cultures and unique perspectives, shaping my vision and fine-tuning my philosophy. It was a spiritual awakening that ignited a quest to uncover my true potential and create a better future for my family.

Now, you may think,

Here's my answer: some moments break us, and if we don't give up, we can leverage those moments to make us. When all those horrible things were happening around me, that's what I did: I did not give up— and the result? Every step I take feels like I am living those fairy tales from my childhood, not because I have achieved all my dreams, but because I now know that I have broken the chains that were holding me back. And this feeling empowered me to finally say, “I can overcome anything now and be who I want to be.”— and that right there was my dream.

I believe you have dreams that seem too far-fetched at the moment in the middle of the struggles you fight every day. If no one else said it yet, let me be the first to say that they are not fairy tales— they can be real. So, don't let those dreams fade away— keep them alive, and the only thing you need in your heart to achieve them is never to give up!