Flying high in life

Gulsha Rauf
3 min readOct 24, 2020

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This summer shall always be remembered, for it was one of the longest breaks I’ve had in my entire academic life and it was a testing period full of ordeals. This summer also gave me memories and moments to cherish for ever. I jumped out of my comfort zone, got selected for a fellowship and met few amazing people who gave me so many opportunities to shape myself into a better person. Last week, the fellowship ended. With a heavy heart we all said goodbye but also realized this end is the beginning of another chapter in life.

The 3-month long journey at Amal ended, we had our last session called “Taking flight”. This session was one of its kind and very different from the previous sessions.

Source: Google images, Victor Hugo quotes

While we always discussed the project works and other course material, this session gave us the opportunity to discuss about our experiences, shortcomings, what we learnt and how we would proceed in life. It also had a very interactive and fun activity planned where we had an in-session treasure hunt. While this was a little competition since the batch was divided into two teams, I felt this was an activity planned for us to have fun. To allow all those who were shy to speak in the sessions but could speak through their pictures and show their presence too. Since online interactions are already hard, Amal strategically planned this last session to make it memorable for us forever!

This session made me realise how important it is to celebrate once you’ve achieved a specific milestone. Completing the fellowship was no less than one, but now it was a stepping stone for many other success life has to offer! Talking to the fellows felt like we all had so much to share. These three months we have supported each other like a family and the bond that we share was there in the final session.

We all hope to meet yet again at any crossovers life has to offer. With prayers full of hope, wisdom and successes' for the future, we all bid goodbye to each other. Each one ready to spread their wings, take flight and ready to make an impact in life. I hope we all can make each other proud by all the shared hopes and goals, and I also know I can always count on my Amal family if I ever need a helping hand in life, thanks to the digital life, we’re more connected than ever now.

This fellowship is one such experience I think I can never forget. I’ve managed time when I felt 24 hours weren’t enough, I’ve managed to submit my work just on time, I’ve learned to guard my views and respect other people’s opinions wherever needed. I know hard work, commitment, patience aren't traits that come overnight, Amal has allowed me to become a better version of who I was, by letting me develop these traits slowly over the span of three months. I hope to be the better version throughout my life, and if I ever forget, I’ll revisit what Amal has taught me.

Signing off with a heart heavy to leave but also swelling with pride to be a part of this amazing journey and to have known such wonderful people. Hoping to be a better person everyday.

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