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My Life Span So Far
This is the entirety of my existence on this rock, from going to a fat blob of a baby (exageration, I was 6 lbs) to a person. -
Learn to Compromise
My siblings and I would get into fights a lot, and in order to surpass petty fights, I needed to learn to compromise, otherwise I wouldn't be able to have happy moments like the one depicted in the photo. In the photo we are all having fun over the joy my sister has with the star on her forehead, a sticker we got from elementary school. -
Life is full of Surprises
My mother told me the story of how my dad was stabbed working at 7-Eleven, as a result of a fight that broke out in front of the store. If him being stabbed wasn't a surpirse enough, he was stabbed through the lung on the left side, where was heart would be. Luckily, my dad has a heart on the right side (dextrocardia), so that the blade avoided any major arteries. Life isn't as straight forward as I thought. -
Life Isn't Fair
This was when my family visited Peshawar, Pakistan. I noticed that there was no air conditioning when it was 110 degrees, no actual shower other than a bucket, no actual toliet other than a hole in the ground, and 20 people living in a solid concrete house. Its hard shoving 180 million people in an area slightly bigger than Texas, but Pakistan is bettter than the United States regarding naan bread. Its amazing. -
Wealth Isn't Everything
Still in Pakistan, this time I was at my uncle's wedding. Despite where they lived and what they had, I saw my relatives happier than ever, teaching me that family is more constructive of happiness than wealth is. In the picture, I am wearing what I wore at the wedding. It was fun to see how people made the most of what they had. -
Change isn't always Terrible
That day my family moved from Wading River, Long Island to Fort Myers, Florida. As a young kid I thought this would be terrible since I thought I would not have many friends and be lost in a new area. I thought it would take forever to adjust. It wasn't that bad, since I figured out the crazy idea that people in Fort Myers were basically the same, and that I made more friends here than in Long Island in the long run. -
Look at the Positives
In the 6th grade, my class and I took a field trip to Dayspring, a nature camp for the weekend. My legs were filled to the brim with mosquito bites as a result of not wearing pants, and I could barely sleep for the 3 days. However, focusing on the negatives didn't help the experience, and it was more important to focus on the positives such as learning to canoe, tie knots, and enjoy nature, as it made the time at Dayspring enjoyable. -
Learn from Mistakes
This date is when I started doing STEM. As a senior, I learned a lot from the mistakes I did in STEM originally as a freshman, for example: not planning anything out, asking Mr. Prey how to do absolutely everything, and avoiding trying to be creative.I'm happy I stayed in STEM for all 4 years, that I've learned from mistakes doing previous projects and competitions. -
Cherish Life While You Have It
My cousin Ghani, with brothers Ali and Wali,died of an cancerous tumor in his leg. He told his parents that he had slight pain in his leg, but it escalated to much more than that. By the time he brought it up to his doctors, it was too late. It shocked me that he died so qucikly and young, given that the last time I saw him he was as healthy as ever. This experience taught me that I should respect and love life since it could be taken away at any moment. Note that isn't his x-ray -
People Have Limits
The year before than this event, my cousin Aswad had no problem going ziplining with us in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. However, this year he refused to go with my cousin, brother, and I. We tried to encourage him repeatedly, and it made him feel bad enough to go with us. However, after one long zipline, his face was pallid and was cursing at us. I don't know how, but he developed an insurpassible phobia, and we felt bad for urging him so. -
Spending Time with Family
I suck at most physical activities, and wrestling is no exception. The time spent hanging out with my cousin Hasan, who took four years of highschool wrestling, was worth more than the utter humiliation visible in my face, carpet burns, and the futile 5 minute struggle against a "worthy" adversary.
