Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end
Time flies now doesn't it? I still remember the time I was preparing for my first session at Amal Academy. And now I write my reflections on the last session I attended. It fills me with joy that I learned so many new things, but at the same time, it fills my heart with a sorrow that I no longer will prepare for the session and get a chance to interact with so many fellows belonging to such diverse background. Not only I learned a lot of new stuff, I much such great friends like Hamid, Daniyal, and Ali. But this was the time to say my wonderful batch-148 goodbye. But I believe every good thing always starts when some other good thing has come to an end.
But now that this chapter of my life has ended, I need to think about what is coming my way moving forward. This session helped me a bit with that. The tone of this session was lighter. I do not remember every single question that was asked in the activity we did, but I do remember one thing as that is how our fellows have dealt with situations in which they faced resistance. I have realized that all of us are humans and all of us have different sacrifice stories, but how they have shown perseverance in the face of that resistance is the main thing. Their reflections on this question have inspired me to always keep going forward and keep believing in myself no matter what.
As I stated before, the tone of this session was light. It was like having a friendly chat with friends. It felt like a family. And in my opinion, it is important to connect with your friends this way. It lets you create a strong bond with your fellows and that enables you to understand each other better. Maybe if a couple of sessions like this happened before, all of us would have a much better connection. It was such a refreshing experience. I thought this last session was going to be a bit emotional (which it was, a couple of us almost cried), but it lifted my spirits really high. The scavenger hunt activity was such a fun thing to do. Even though my team lost, I lost an important lesson that I MUST PLAN before doing things. Not that we didn’t learn it in the fellowship, but now I have understood its significance.
The fellows of batch-148 are the best and I am definitely going to keep connected. Hamid, Daniyal, and I have been best buddies and we will definitely keep in touch with each other. The long conversations with Hamid Bhai are definitely going to be regular as I learn so much from him. He is has been a brother to me that I never had. I am already connected to the majority of my batchmates on LinkedIn, Facebook, and WhatsApp. So yeah, even if we all say goodbye, for now, there are a lot more Hellos in the future for us.
This fellowship has taught me a lot of things. From time management to interview skills, it was a complete package. Of course, there is only so much you can learn in just 3 months. But the life-long learning attitude is what will keep motivating me to improve. Another thing that this fellowship has taught me is a positive attitude with a touch of AMAL. Whatever I do in life, whether it’s learning a new skill or starting my own business, staying positive, and staying true to WHY I am doing it will give me the success that I work hard for INSHALLAH.