Taking Flight 🕊 (Reflection Blog)

It is 3 am in the morning and I can’t believe my AMAL fellowship is coming to an end. I can’t believe we don’t have a weekend session in the morning and I will not see my fellows anymore. The session which started in December feels like yesterday. I can still see the smile of my facilitators when they introduced themselves and the hope in everyone’s eye that we will make it to the end.\

I was like a new kid in the class who just moved from another school. At first, I felt very strange and out of place. Minding the fact, I have never changed my school, I felt for the first time. But warmth took over this first time feeling soon.

I joined Batch 163 with the hope that I will somehow make it to the end but now when it’s actually ending I feel so sad that I want to start again. When I first asked my facilitators to adjust me in a circle I wasn’t expecting that I will meet some of the best people I know.

In the last session, we had to thank our fellows and write something about them, every time I saw a board with my fellow’s name on it I started to smile. I would write a message while smiling but when I was done I was a little misty-eyed. That made me realize it would be a hard goodbye.

I will not point out specific names because every fellow who I saw in that little zoom window meant the world to me. Just like a flower needs every little nutrient to grow I also need all of these fellows to grow. My life map isn’t complete without 40+ Zoom windows wishing me the best.

Many people don’t believe when I say I met some gems I just 3 months because to them finding gems takes up your whole life. But for me, it took only a 10-minute breakout room and a 2-hour long zoom session. If I say I found people like me, it won’t be an exaggeration at all.

I am very excited to meet all of these fellows on the first weekend of March. In the PW it was how will we keep in touch? When I read it a thousand ways popped up in my head. All those meetup plans we are already making, all those groups we made, all those job opportunities we share, and all those moments we have. It might sound a little exaggerated but I hope we never lose contact to make one in the future. I hope we remain as friendly as we are and our nonstop laughing and talking never stops.

Amal fellowship taught me a lot about myself, what I am now and what I mean to this world. I still remember in one of our PW there was a video of Jacqueline telling us how we can be leaders. That video has stayed with me since then and I have learned to be a leader in myself.

In little moments when we least imagine our leadership pops up and ask us to stand up. One of these moments recently happened when I took a stand for my whole class. It was in a lab when one of our teachers was being unreasonable about our assignments. I respectfully told him that he misunderstood something and then my mind told me to get ready to get scolded. But it did not happen and unlike everyone’s prediction, he actually thanked me. He told me he understands the problem now and he is very happy somebody cleared it up. When I was reflecting upon this incident I realized Amal has made me be a natural leader and speak up. And I will forever be thankful for it,

I have not only learned but also made an unbreakable bond with my principles. I have experienced being a leader, working on projects, helping others, asking for help, expressing myself, showing gratitude, and reflecting upon all of it. All of this has made me a better human and a good team player (This compliment is actually feedback from my friends)

When I look back at my Amal journey I see a roller-coaster ride, which had its ups and downs. I had challenges and a euphoric moment. But in the end, I finished laughing and smiling, I have come to terms with the fact that everything must come to an end. And the harder the road feels the better the destination is. I am now a lifelong learner who will give all of her just for valuable feedback. Let’s move on to the next chapter of life!