As we got started with the final session, there was a milieu of mixed feelings. There was this relief after finally climbing the mountain and the excitement of the last session. Along with it, the melancholy followed, reminding us that there will be no classes from now onwards and the fun of the sessions will no longer be there. Every happy thing felt sad and vice versa. There were smiles on the faces, but sadness in the hearts. We had a clarity of the goals and we were loaded with an arsenal of all the weapons we needed to deploy in our professional life.
We started the session by discussing the movie that the batch had enjoyed together, the previous night. The name of the movie was, “Knives Out.” There were hilarious points, serious discussions on racism, and some quotes that we talked about. We all felt like a big family.
A group activity was designed for us. The whole batch was divided into two breakout rooms and we had to perform as many tasks as possible as a team within the given time. There was loads of excitement and the stress of the impending deadline. We had to devise a strategy and divide roles to keep the track of tasks and reach our objectives as soon as possible. This wasn’t an easy thing to do. However, we had learned the principles of teamwork, leadership without authority (the concept of MVTP), stress management, prioritizing tasks, time management, effective communication, and many other professional skills. We utilized these skills to our advantage. Consequently, our group completed most tasks within given time slot and we won the activity.
Then it was time for a group picture. We tried several poses…it was super fun and we laughed a lot.
We talked about how we could meet physically. Although we all belonged to different cities, we came up with a plan to hold multiple meetings in different cities, one each month. Moreover, we also talked about staying connected through the Amal Alumni support program and other ways. We decided to network via LinkedIn and other social media to further stay connected and increase our bond.
It feels just like yesterday when Sir Noor and Ma’am Arfa welcomed us to the fellowship. Now, three months later, I feel like I am armed with all the professional skills necessary to apply for my dream job and get it. The mountain I climbed was just another mountain in the series of mountains defining my life. I know my place is much higher and I’ll need to much bigger mountains. This is just a beginning.
5 or 10 years from now, having achieved my dreams and goals, I’ll scroll through my medium page and think about all the golden memories I experienced during the Amal fellowship. I know it will be bittersweet and I’ll smile then…perhaps a tear will roll down from my left eye, and I’ll call one of my fellows or program manager to talk about those days…talking and laughing on some memories while I stroll in my office.
