My first semester of university, the one that I had so eagerly waited for, came to an end on 12th June, 2012. One of the best times I had in my life, but some of the worst as well. Best part is; it taught me the lessons I'd never forget in my life. I am writing the following blog in order to keep it as a reminder for the rest of my seven semesters, and to be able to learn more and more in the coming days.
Lesson # 1 - Be Tolerant!
Yes, tolerance is the key to making friends, being a good listener, being a good leader and overall being successful. You shall not yell or shout at the people you dislike, instead, you should listen to and understand their position in order to develop an opinion about them.
Lesson # 2: Learn to take a chance.
You won't know what you mustn't do or what you can achieve until or unless you're willing to take a risk. Life is a mystery. And in order to open all the secrets that life has hidden for us, we must learn to take chances. If you like somebody, talk to them. If you dislike somebody, open your mind for them and create a positive approach in your head for them. You never know, they might end up becoming your best friends!
Lesson # 3: Positive approach.
Life doesn't come with a rule book. But it surely comes with lessons that make us what we are today. In order to have our life go our way, we must look at it positively. A pessimist may have success in life but he, most probably, does not have any peace of mind.
Lesson # 4: learn to have peace of mind.
Yes, it's important that your head is free of all the weird stuff that creates anxiety and depressions.
Lesson # 6: Face your fears.
Failure, rejection, falling apart are one of my life's biggest fears. And believe it or not, they are the ones I face the most. But what I have learnt is; I need to face them instead of fearing them. If I am being rejected, I must know the reasons behind them, and learn to accept my faults and weaknesses. If I am failing again and again, there might be a reason behind it which I am not aware of. So on and so forth!
Lesson # 7: Talk!
Yes, talking is important. Whatever is going through your mind or is in your heart; talk it out. Because no matter what signals you are giving to the other person, he'd never know what you're feeling until or unless you talk about it. If something is bugging you, tell it, to anyone, who'd listen and who might help you sort the issue out.
Lesson # 8: Listen!
As much as talking is important, so is listening. Because if you fail to listen, people would most certainly not be eager to listen to you!
Lesson # 9: Open your mind!
Do not judge too quickly. Do not create assumptions that may hurt you later on and leave you alone for the rest of your life. Open your mind; to new things, to new people, to new experiences. As I said before, life does not come with instruction manuals. That is why, you must keep yourself eager to learn new things, meet new people and come up with new and innovative ideas.
Lesson # 10: Learn to love!
Love; a feeling of affection and concern for anything. Learn to love YOURSELF! Learn to love the people around you, who care about you, who love you. Learn to love the work that you do and do not consider it a burden. Learn to face life with an optimistic attitude every day.
Lesson # 11: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!
This is a term I heard in a Steve Jobs' speech.
As long as you're hungry, you'll feel the need to fill yourself up! For me, staying hungry for new experiences in life is my top most priority.
Stay foolish, so that you'll make mistakes and you'll later on realize that you shouldn't have done what you did and this way, you won't repeat the same act again!
Lesson # 12: Have faith!
Because faith is what keeps us going, even when there's no light in the end of the tunnel
So, I will start all over again, with these new lessons in my head to make me a better person! Here's to hoping for a new semester filled with excitement, happiness and InshaALLAH, good grades :)
- Maryam!
