My Life’s Biggest Aspiration!
Childhood, the blissful years of life, when the constant weight of everyone’s expectations is not weighing you down and people seem to be fond of you simply because you exist. As you find yourself coming out of that delightful period, the confusing and challenging teen age years are thrown at you like a ton of bricks. At this phase of life comes the question that society expects us young adolescents to ponder about constantly, what do you want to become? Dumbstruck by such queries and with numerous options to choose from, we usually tend to select what the society wishes or what others deem most suitable for us. Not knowing the consequences, we follow the path previous generations have trodden without overcoming any difficult challenges and have gained acceptance by, overlooking our true potential.
Like any other teenager in existence, I’ve also experienced these stages and ended up with a clear picture of what I dream and aspire to be. It hasn’t been an easy journey neither will it be for anyone else. Making this decision is a part of life and there is no other alternative. Like many people I had been aroused by the idea of turning my hobbies into a career, and so I decided to do the same. Apparently there were many ups and downs as I had many options to choose from but could only pick one. From wanting to be a writer, athlete, psychologist to a food critic I kept changing paths. I simply couldn’t make up my mind. I even took initiatives for pursuing these as professions but gave up. All of a sudden a notion came to my mind; why should I settle for a simple job or profession just for the sake of making a living? When I could explore the world, do greater things and most importantly strive to make the world a better place!
As humans we tend to follow the footsteps of people who we admire for their accomplishments, our so called, role models. That is what I chose to do. I have always admired female leaders and influencers such as Benazir Bhutto or Fatima Jinnah. People like them have given us a chance to hold our heads up high. They have brought change and shown the world the true power and potential of women.
There are numerous examples of such successful ladies e.g. Mahira khan (actress), Muniba Mazari (artist / activist), Noorena shams (athlete), Ayesha Farooq (first female fighter pilot), Arifa Karim (computer scientist). These personalities may not have conquered the world but they have been prosperous in their own respective fields and proven that dreams can become reality. They have also shown our society the diversity in fields and areas of education, that education is not limited and there are many things to explore.
The existence of such influential people gives young girls like me hope, hope that we can all bring change and do great things. Deep down inside every human is a dreamer. It takes courage and determination to bring out that talent and change the dream into reality. I aspire to follow the footsteps of my role models, to do great things, empower and influence women just as they have influenced me. I had always fantasized about being an entrepreneur and someday becoming a business leader. Any term related to business / economics such as trade, enterprise or stock markets constantly stir up a sense of euphoria in me. As for the curiosity I had built up, I decided on the studying the business world in depth. I chose to study the subjects related to business in high school and strive to continue exploring, and working for corporations and someday starting up an organization of my own.
As Oprah Winfrey once said
“On my own I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think or what I could be.”
These words come from a girl born from a single teenage mother who at the time had no shoes to wear, she now runs her own TV program which is the highest-rated program of its kind in history! This clarifies that no matter what, passions can be pursued and success can be more than a mere dream. Certain stereotypical views such as “What will people think?”, “You’re just a girl!” or “You’re meant to hold a ladle not a pen!” hold us back from pursuing greatness. These sayings may seem familiar to the women who have lived in male dominant societies. However, these words are insignificant, there’s a long journey ahead, and remember, wounds can certainly be changed into wisdom.
Conclusively, my biggest aspiration is to not only become a successful entrepreneur and have a constructive impact on the business world, but also to change the mindset of my community most of whom seem to be living in the 19th century. On an ending note, I may have come off as a feminist, but isn’t that what the world desperately needs?
G – III
Roots Millennium Schools
Khyber Campus
Peshawar