An Encounter with Tosin.

Fear is what is behind me, and the goal is what lies in front of me, but the passion within was the driving force to conquer the fear and reach for the goal.

Some years ago, February 8th was the start of my fashion design journey.
I began as an amateur with so much passion to learn new designs and eventually own my own fashion home.

I was oriented by my seniors about a particular dart manipulation and how difficult it was to achieve, so I began to develop a fear of that particular design or sewing technique.

Three weeks later, a new student was enrolled in our fashion academy, and after two weeks, she was already doing well, cutting basic bodices and even some complex bodices all by herself.

"How does she do it?", I wondered. How could someone who joined our school two weeks ago become so skilled in just a few weeks? This fueled my passion once again, and I was determined to conquer my fear.
Tosin, how do you do it?", I humbly asked her one day after class. "Amie, how do I do what?", she innocently replied.

How do you cut so well in just two weeks? You seem to be focused and not even afraid to try."That's why I came for an upgrade; there's so much to learn in so little time as I have my own business to face too." Her honest response helped me rethink.

Tosin came back for an upgrade, which meant it took a lot of determination to learn and even want to upgrade her skills. From that moment on, I changed my circle of friends and started to draw closer to Tosin because I admired her burning zeal to be a better fashion designer.

One weekend, I was at home and decided to pick up fabrics and try the almighty dart manipulation. After placing the fabric on the floor, I decided to do face time with Tosin, as I trusted that her words of encouragement and little correction would help me achieve my goal, unlike my other seniors, who only made the whole process difficult.

"That's the spirit girl; fold it like this; deduct two inches; yes, you are right." Her words were motivation for me to keep up the good work, and viola! I faced my fear and felt like a burden was lifted off my chest.

The dress didn't come out perfect, but I loved the surprised look it left on the faces of my seniors while I showcased it to our fashion tutor; like the "how did she manage to pull through" kind of face, I didn't stop there; I kept practising and practising until I became a pro using that sewing technique. Meeting Tosin was the force behind me reaching my goals, and I am still thankful I had an encounter with her.

Even though we both own a fashion outlet in town, I still look up to her as I fondly call her "my mentor", It's amazing how Tosin has grown in the fashion business and I am not doing badly for myself either, I would still go for an upgrade whenever I have the money to do so, because one never stops learning until death, as my mentor keeps upgrading I keep getting motivated to do the same.