Happy and Bright New Year and a fond farewell to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold. Happy 2019 to my readers. I am finally back to blogging after taking some time off over the holidays and could not be more fortunate than to begin 2019 with Shefali on this blog. Shefali Razdan Duggal is a member of the DNC’s National Finance Committee, serves on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Board in Washington D.C. (appointed by President Barack Obama) and is a National Board of Director for Emily’s List and the list goes on…
However, I honestly did not know her until I landed on her doorstep in San Francisco this past summer. As she opened the door to her home, I was awestruck by three life-size portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. in her foyer and I decided right then that this was going to be an invigorating meeting. A home full of love, values, inspiration, two amazing kids and an adorable dog who has his couch overlooking the bustling streets below ;)! I was in awe of this person whom I thought I knew, but in reality, had barely scratched the surface. Getting to know Shefali is like peeling thru layers of an onion to reveal yet another aspect of her gorgeous self.
Shefali was born in India and moved to the US when she was 2. She had a somewhat volatile childhood with her father abandoning her mother and her at a very young age. “Abandonment is a wholly different emotion for a child; it begins slow destruction within a young person’s soul.” Her mom worked two minimum wage jobs to support them, and hence she was on her own from a very early age. “Growing up I was a reticent, serious and introspective young person.” The summer of 1989 before she started college, she decided that it was now time to redesign her destiny and her perspective on life changed diametrically. She made a purposeful conclusion to let whatever light she might have within her heart to break through and shine! “My experiences certainly fashioned my perspective and values and broadly the person whom I eventually formed into today. I continually work every day to live the aspiration of kindness and empathy, in all that I do.”
Not to be intimidated by the irrelevant expectations and viewpoints of others she lives her truth. “Being a woman in today’s world is to be yourself. My closest friends are no-nonsense people who say it like it is within all circumstances. I never learned the art of being sophisticated or cautious. My mother had no time to teach me that dexterity, and I am grateful that I do not have this skill set!” She loves and values authenticity, kindness, empathy, gratitude, integrity, humility, consistency and honesty. “Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles.”- Thomas Browne.
Fashion for her means, to be as true to what makes one feel most authentic to themselves, and that might vary from one moment to the next, as one is always evolving. “My personal preference of expressed fashion does encompass a pair of sneakers, a comfortable pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and no makeup!” Her Family is her weekend! “I want to spend every waking moment with my son, daughter, and husband. I always envisaged being a mother and wanted to give my children the childhood which I did not have, and thus…that is my mission in life.”
Embrace the gift of being yourself is the advice she gives her daughter. “There is not a single pathway in how to be a woman, and whatever feels right to you is the trajectory which you must pursue to walk. Always remember your past and where you come from, especially the struggles of those who came before you. Have Courage, Be Kind, Be Respectful my darling Warrior Princess.”
After all – “I Am My Ancestors Wildest Dreams.”
Shefali is wearing our KLAUDINE dress in water confetti.
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