Visualizing my experience of Amal Academy
“Good things end so better things can begin”
Just like every other good thing out there, our journey with Amal Academy is nearing its end. In fact, it is the last week of our fellowship and the second-last project work. We were assigned plenty of thought-provoking tasks throughout the fellowship, which forced us to think on a deeper level. Similarly, today’s blog is about yet another reflection. But this time we have to picture it too.
The goal is to find any object/person/animal that resembles the first two weeks of my career prep fellowship. Pfft! Sounds easy. So I grabbed the diary sitting on my table, grabbed a marker, and thought about making a list of things. Apparently, I thought that I would have plenty to choose from. “I know right!” (Monica version)
One hour passed, and I had… nothing. I visualized the experience and could not find a thing to match how I felt at the start of the fellowship. Soon, another thirty minutes passed, and I still had nothing. I stared at the blank piece of paper as if something is going to pop out of it, but it didn’t. I put my diary on the laptop and started to walk around in the room when it finally came to me. The idea!
It turns out that I had the answer right in front of my eyes all along. I was not able to decipher it from just one angle. So when I shifted my point of view, it came to me naturally. Okay, okay, no more mysteries. The object was a blank piece of paper. Yep, you read that right!
The next step was to take a good picture of it. Which I am usually good at. I looked around for angles and backgrounds. But then I eventually decided to go with the screen of my laptop for the. It is the place that gave birth to this idea. So it was more of an obligation to use it.
Finally, after twenty minutes, I came up with this. It might not be that good, but it is pretty close to my heart.
Oh yeah, sorry, the reflection. Right right…
My first two weeks at the fellowship were similar to this blank piece of paper. I was not sure about why and how it would make a difference in my life. Nevertheless, I liked the feeling of being included in a group of motivated individuals. At the start of my fellowship, our facilitator Ma’am Yusra; said something that has stayed in my mind till this date.
“Your growth/improvement is dependent on whether you want to grow/improve or not.”
It was something that motivated me to come out of my comfort zones, and I wanted to make a fresh start. Hence the blank paper. I was not really sure about how it is going to help me. But till then, I had already watched Steve Job’s video of connecting the dots. So, I was hopeful that someday, my dots will connect. Today they do :)
In the first two weeks, we learned about self-discovery and mastered the art of working on the “why” behind our goals, and ultimately made a list of them. Later we learned the concept of S.M.A.R.T goals and applied it to our own goals that we had listed earlier. Then, there was this one project #juststart your goals, which empowered us to take the first step.
Little by little, my blank page started to fill. In every session, I learned something new. Some from my facilitators and some from my fellow fellows. I discovered that I actually had leadership skills and that those “random Facebook/Google surveys” were not lying about it. I tried leading my group by example. I forced myself into session participation even if I was not sure of the answer. I made friends, and most importantly, I learned the art of “fake it till you make it” and now that I connect my dots by looking backward. They connect!
Lastly, I have nothing but heartfelt thanks to the Amal Academy for this opportunity and this growth. I was/am lucky to be a part of this three-month-long journey, and I tried enjoying every bit of it. I want to thank my #SuperFacilitators Ma’am Yusra and Ma’am Aaliya for their constant support and encouragement. Also, thanks to my awesome batch#173. It would not have been possible without your support.
Thank you for reading it till here. Over and out…
