something that has bothered us all at
some time in life or even right now ever
wondered if there’s such a thing called
purpose or if we were destined to do
something or be someone chrishi Tyra
Barrowman is here to talk about purpose
and how you can find it everything has a
purpose
clocks tell the time and trains take you
places they do what they’re meant to do
maybe it’s the same with people maybe
even we have a purpose now there’s a
story that I enjoy listening to and
sharing it’s about my mother and her
supposed purpose unlike me she had
already found it
she wanted to be a part of the
extravagant world a part of the hustle
and bustle involved in thinking reading
and writing she wanted to be a lawyer
and her purpose came to her doorstep in
the form of a short rounded individual
named Oscar Nellie he was the MLA for
anglo-indians at that turn and he
offered my mother a seat at Madras Law
College one of the best colleges in
China and here’s the best part it was a
full scholarship however her mother said
no there’s no bigger obstacle than no
right I mean you must be thinking why
why would someone say no to such a big
opportunity why miss out on this her
mother has the chance for her daughter
to study what she dreams of at no cost
in her defense though she was a single
mother raising two children
and back in the day woman one paid as
much so she needed her children to start
earning as soon as possible so then my
mother was forced to go to church part
Teachers Training Institute a place
where she would be molded into a teacher
in the span of just two years
my grandmother was ecstatic and during
the interview with the headmistress
sister Pam she asked my mother
so Charmaine do you like to be a teacher
and my mother replied in the hope of
being rejected no but sister Pam wasn’t
going to take all that nonsense she said
well you better like it from now and my
mother often thought to herself why did
I have to take the science stream why
did I have to work so hard and put in so
much effort so much weight on my
shoulders when even the vocational
stream students were accepted in this
Institute why did I have to do all that
but my mother didn’t have a choice she
had to do that and soon she was my
mother didn’t have a choice right she
had to do it but my mother’s club had a
silver lining little did she know that
she would be called for and selected for
a government job at church parks sister
school st. Ursula’s little did she know
that all the supposed sacrifices that
she went through all the pain would
prove positive now my mother worked at
st. Ursula’s for 11 years 11 long years
and then of course she had to resign and
move to Abu Dhabi during her first
interview in Abu Dhabi at the age of 31
for the post of her principal the
interviewer told my mother you know
you’re one of the youngest candidates
I’ve interviewed on Abu Dhabi
that’s so qualified for this job today
my mother is still a principal and she
couldn’t love a job more she still tells
me you know Christina when they when my
kids come to me and say Monsieur Meade
look what I’ve done look at what I
learned in school today when my mother
sees those smiles on those kids faces
she knows that everything she went
through all the hardships that she faced
everything that she thought was gone was
actually preparing her for a better
future and you know my mother had to
rise to the occasion she knew that there
was no way out of this she was a
survivor of her own demise as they say
when life gives you lemons make lemonade
and my mother’s lemonade was the most
delectable of all the thing with purpose
is that you don’t find it purpose
appears finds you and latches itself on
to you whether you like it or not and if
there’s one thing I want you to take
away from my talk today and now to go
back where we started
it’s that everything has a purpose
clucks tell the time and trains take you
places they do what they’re meant to do
it’s definitely the same with people
even we have a purpose and I’m sure that
one day purpose will find each and every
one of you if it hasn’t found you
already thank you [Applause]