Taking a glance over to this shot nevertheless its beauty and the shade of green that’s dripping through the whole picture reminded me of the time, when I was on a pleasing trip to Kashmir with my family. The trip was considered as an unexpected decision outcome. By the time my Amal journey had already started, so before making any rash decisions, I firstly informed the Amal program manager and Associate about the inconvenience and delay because of the trip, I shortly started to initiate the process of departure, finding myself on the isles of the next step towards this unexpected journey.
My First Week Experience
The first few days of Amal sessions went as flat as a pancake, right after the few days in Kashmir another session class was introduced to be taken in a few days, the internet being a huge drawback for me. I started missing a few classes due to the connection issues as there was no source of signals in the middle of the reserved mountains. Another disadvantage was the overwhelming feeling of missing out a lot and not being able to catch up on the assignments, considering that all the activities were already new for me and I didn’t know anything other than what I had already self taught myself.
After giving it a thorough look, I decided to quit Amal fellowship because of the frustration that started to build inside. Looking over it now, my facilitator; concerned, decided to contact me asking why I haven’t been taking the Amal sessions, after discussing the unfortunate circumstances. He encouraged me and gave me enormous hope to carry on with this newly found journey of mine.
This notebook reminds me of my second week as an Amal fellow. From each and every course that Amal had provided me with, I had made all the notes in this notebook. I kept it along with me during different activities in the Amal sessions.
My Second Week Experience
I remember having our first online course that was about “know yourself”. Learning and exploring new things about myself, that once were unknown. I came across new hobbies that I didn’t know I enjoyed doing. I discovered many flaws in myself that I needed to work on and so, I noticed many things I was good at. I remember the quote from the course: 01 (section: 03)
“You can’t connect the dots looking forwards, you can only connect them looking backwards” -Steve Jobs.
In the second online course, I have realized my goals since the next activity was making my goals into smart goals.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” –Lawrence J. Peter
I have learned that our goals should be clear and reachable. As in:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
- Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
And the last online course in my first two weeks was about “teamwork”. Teamwork helps solve problems. Collaboration within a group can help solve difficult problems. Brainstorming is a good opportunity for the team to exchange ideas and come up with creative ways of doing things. I have learned the tip which was based on MVTP, ( Most Valuable Team Player).
“To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” — Mike Krzyzewski
I’m very grateful for Amal Academy because it enhanced my way of thinking and changed my life goals and made them clear. Being an Amal fellow helped me in my daily life difficulties and also helped me to manage my time, with different activities I overcame the fear of speaking out and the sessions throughout boosted my confidence as well. Thanks to my facilitators; Ma’am Huda and Sir Hamza. They are my huge support system.
