David

Walking into the restaurant, the first thing you notice are the empty spaghetti glass jars hanging from the ceiling. With light bulbs attached, they’re a creative way of recycling that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing; a rarity in a world that’s so fixated with being environmentally friendly, either one or both are usually ignored.

“Why are there still slips of paper in some of them?” I wondered aloud. “Those are the unfulfilled wishes of the kids at the orphanages we made spaghetti for last year,” David replied.

David is the proud owner of this remarkable restaurant and his story has been an inspiration to me. It was evident that he had a clear vision of what he wanted right from the start. When renovating the place, he built into the kitchen, a counter which allowed him to oversee how the food was being made while giving him the freedom to interact with his customers. He was tired of restaurants that were impersonal he says, and it was that vision, to create a place that was both welcoming and familiar, that made this restaurant so unique. That made me realise just how important it was to start anything with a vision and that it was only when you know where you wanted to go can you take the right steps to get there.

But having a vision was not enough. He taught me that to be unique was to be unafraid of being different and that some dreams are worth fighting for. He gave up a university education to start a restaurant, and in a society where paper qualifications are “everything”, it really spoke of his courage and passion. More importantly, his success and happiness made me realise that no piece of paper could define who you were and what you were capable of, and that knowledge gave me confidence.

Lastly, through him, I learnt that I should and, more significantly, can contribute to society in my own capacity. He was good at cooking, so he made spaghetti for orphans, and along the way granted them wishes. He taught me that one shouldn’t wait to be rich or powerful to give back, and that small steps along the way was enough.

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