I decided to apply again for the fellowship after a year and I am so grateful that I got this chance again. I remember I was jumping with happiness when my application got shortlisted. When I received the email for my final selection I was overwhelmed.
I had some memories from last year, the sessions, activities, and project work. This time I was excited to do all this again with new people. The first two weeks of my journey were very overwhelming and I realized how things and your perception can change in a year.
I remember how we were asked to find out our why in the first week. When you sit back and reflect you find there’s more to life than just following the same routines. For me, one of my goals was to be more self-disciplined. When I was thinking about it, I realized that I have made progress in these past months. Once in our session I also mentioned that for me it’s difficult to maintain a balance between my professional and personal life, I have seen myself improving and growing. Thanks to the activities we had in the first week and to ma’am Iman and ma’am Aliha. I decided to relate this to the beauty of the sky.
The universe follows a pattern and everything has its own time that is what makes things beautiful and keeps them in order. I have spent multiple days watching the sunset and sunrise but my mind never processed this though, this self-discipline that I have learned in these months has made my life as beautiful as this sunset.
In the second week of the fellowship, we were asked to draw out life maps, initially, I was thinking if I should write the reality or distort the information as I was concerned about the questions that might arise on why I left the fellowship earlier but I’m so grateful for this safe and healthy environment where we can be who we are and say what we think.
When I was going through the life maps of other fellows I realized that all of us have a lot in common and all we have is one another. This realization made me humble and kind towards others. As the sky is open from everyone and the sun shines on all of us the same should be for kindness and humility.
What I have truly learned in the first two weeks is that no matter what happens and where we are in life, all of us should be our true selves, trust me there are people out there who want you to win and they are empathetic. The sky changes its colors throughout the day, the rays of the sun reaching the earthshine on everyone. To maintain a balance in your life you need to be responsible for your choices, whether you want discipline or acceptance you decide your thoughts which shape your reality. I consider myself very lucky that through this opportunity I have learned the importance of self-discipline and being yourself.
