When life presses down with challenges, failures, or fear, it’s easy to forget our own worth. In this talk, Bhooma Veeravalli shares a lesson from her resilient teacher and a story about a 500 Rs. note and the value it holds, no matter how crumpled. Through moments of feeling rundown and learning to rise again, she reminds us that life may bend us, hide us, or throw us aside, but our intrinsic value can never be taken away. This talk is a tribute to resilience - the teacher who embodied it, and to the unyielding spirit within each of us that refuses to tear. Bhooma G. Veeravalli is a senior officer of the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), 1987 batch, and currently serves as Board Member (HR) at the Railway Board. With over 36 years of experience across multiple zones of Indian Railways, she has held key positions including Senior Deputy General Manager, Chief Vigilance Officer, and Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Guntur Division, where she led full electrification, digitization, and sustainability initiatives. She has also served on deputation at ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre and as Registrar at IIT Madras. Academically accomplished with a Ph.D. from IIT Madras, a Master’s in Industrial Psychology, and a Bachelor’s in Law, Bhooma is renowned for her focus on innovation, modernization, and transformational leadership in public administration. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx