“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
My home-village, Akri, the place my father was born... is where I slept under mosquito net-covered handwoven beds and rode on ox-carts to nearby barren fields. Most in my village in Sindh, Pakistan are not literate. None know a place called Harvard.
My life in exile in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia... is where I first felt alone. And thus appreciated the need to form, rather than absorb, beliefs. It's where I first dreamt of leaving a mark on this world. And living a life that tens of millions know of... that feels relevant, anchored and found.
Crossing some deserts, weathering some storms, I led my way to Harvard to be amongst you. You who helped me build a school in my home-village... a place for children to craft and realize purposeful dreams. Where they can learn to reason and judge for themselves. And do not what everyone does but what anyone should. A place that not only brought Harvard and Akri but also our respective countries together. A place where I found a future in my past.
I want to live a life that compels people who do not seem to share a common thread to see if, at a raw human level, we really are that different. A life that gives people reason to reason for themselves... to pause and question the comfortable assumptions. To form and inform beliefs. And never give up common sense for common opinion.
My life in exile in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia... is where I first felt alone. And thus appreciated the need to form, rather than absorb, beliefs. It's where I first dreamt of leaving a mark on this world. And living a life that tens of millions know of... that feels relevant, anchored and found.
Crossing some deserts, weathering some storms, I led my way to Harvard to be amongst you. You who helped me build a school in my home-village... a place for children to craft and realize purposeful dreams. Where they can learn to reason and judge for themselves. And do not what everyone does but what anyone should. A place that not only brought Harvard and Akri but also our respective countries together. A place where I found a future in my past.
I want to live a life that compels people who do not seem to share a common thread to see if, at a raw human level, we really are that different. A life that gives people reason to reason for themselves... to pause and question the comfortable assumptions. To form and inform beliefs. And never give up common sense for common opinion.
— Umaimah Mendhro