Last night Diet Paratha & Friends at @sohohouseuk welcomed our third guest: Osman Ahmed (Fashion Features Director at @i_d) in the speaker series. Osman thank you for spending your evening with us, your story was so incredible to hear. And thank you massively to everyone who came down. I wanted to share three learnings written by @fancymaansi_ who laid it down brilliantly: 1. GOING SIDEWAYS TO GO STRAIGHT Osman didn’t become the Fashion Features Director at i-D overnight. He had to sometimes grab the opportunities that he didn’t absolutely love and make the most of these opportunities. South Asian people and POCs in general have to adapt, develop, learn and grow in ways that those who come from fortunate backgrounds don’t have to. Realise that these moves ‘to the side’ aren’t wastes of time, or your path being changed. They’re strategic. Just because you’re taking the long route doesn’t mean you won’t get there in the end, because you will. 2. TAKE THOSE CHANCES. WRITE THOSE LETTERS. DREAM BIG WHEN YOU’RE SMALL. Osman got his first job at a vintage fashion auctioneers at 14. No, my finger didn’t slip there - I said 14 and I meant 14. He’d write to companies at the backs of the fashion magazines he read and hope for the best. So many of us hold our own selves back - success is about going big with your risks, even if failure is all but inevitable. And there’s no time like the present to do it. 3. SOMETIMES YOUR FAMILY WON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR WORK. ...but this doesn’t mean they aren’t proud of you and all that you’ve done. And it doesn’t mean they aren’t all you talk about, even if they change your occupation in every conversation. And it doesn’t mean you won’t find your home in what you’ve achieved and the world you’ve set foot in. Friends will be made along the way, some who will never stop nurturing you.