Last year, I asked Dr.Asad Naqvi whether I should miss two weeks of classes for something like a Model UN which has almost nothing to do with Electrical Engineering (for all those wishing to correct me and remind that I was previously a Chemistry/Biology major, I merely decided to eliminate unimportant details!). His reply couldn’t have made me happier. He said that the things you learn from extra-curriculars such as MUN's are equally important as classroom learning. I couldn’t agree more.
This year when I went to Taipei for WorldMUN, the different types of people I met, sharing with them our perspective on the world affairs and the situation in Pakistan was empowering as it showed that our perspective and our take on the humanitarian, disarmament and health issues here and around the world, actually mattered. Although, it was funny to see their dropped-jaws after we told them that agriculture is not the only thing we do. Students from various parts of US to UK ,from France to Lebanon, from China to Korea, from South Africa to India, all gathered to adopt a stance which was maybe against their own .Some of you might even be surprised but one of my biggest allies during the conference were actually from Canada, France and India.
I don’t blame some of you for having an impression that what we do is mere fun and games, yeah, well, its not! I distinctly remember the guilt I along with most of my team members felt, because of having very less research after leaving Lahore for Taipei. However we knew what we were going for. No second thoughts, no questions asked. Two words kept us going.LUMS and Pakistan. We were in a new land, with so much to explore, but all we did was lock ourselves in our rooms and research. I know, it might sound over-the top, but true. Fortunately it paid off and we won.(Thank God for the clichéd ending for once in actual life).Holding the white and green flag in front of 2000 students and faculty members from universities all around the globe and people wanting to take pictures with our flag and us; the feeling was worth everything and more. Yes, the same flag which is often on the cover of New York Times or Economist for not-so-good reasons. In spite of the political upheavals and the financial instability in Pakistan, things like these make me think may be I can make a difference. No matter how small, no matter in what way, no matter how, no matter in what capacity, no matter after facing how much opposition, I think I can!
As always, I will leave you something to think about by quoting Gandhi:
“Be the change you want to see in the world”