Endless Run ...

It's amazing how things can change suddenly from being bad to good. It's really amazing how life can change from a dark gloomy night to a bright cheerful day. Life goes on and on moving us between the past we already knew, the present we're experiencing, and the endless unknown future. We sure had some good and bad moments that would last in our minds for years to come. In my life, some moments were nothing but fantasies that came into my life to brighten it up. Other moments were like hurricanes that rushed into my life, wrecked it, and left me alone to collect the pieces. Both of those moments created a special feeling within my soul. Such a feeling that I've been carrying ever since I was a little child. Leaving, yes, leaving the past, present, and approaching a new future. Leaving all the good and bad, and truth and lies. Breaking all the laws of life and setting myself free to the nowhere. There's no special place to go for or special people to be with. It's just me, the road, and my backpack. Traveling all along this life, experiencing the different possibilities, and who knows? Maybe meeting the right people to continue my life journey with. I do believe it’s a great end to everything I went through in life and I get convinced about that each and everyday. I know I must leave but I'm waiting for the right moment … it took years until now .. But how much longer? My words stop as I try to answer … so I give up and wait.

Mentoring Next Generation

Among all the sessions I attended at the WAGL conference, one of them is going to stay in my mind forever. It was the panel that talked about “Mentoring Next Generation: A Personal Perspective”. They mentioned in it all the opportunities available to us, Emarati women, and that we are privileged to be living on the Emarati soil at this period of time. Such a time were our country have developed so quickly with comparison to other countries who will need hundreds of years to reach the same stage of change. Thereby, we should be proud that we have already gotten things others are dreaming of. Due to that, we mustn’t prove ourselves to others because we are confident and proud of who we are. Here, in the U.A.E., women can fill any place. We’re not in a war with men, but societies need a balance of men and women working together. A thing that really caught my attention was one of the speakers mentioning that the most important role for a woman to play is within her family. Fulfilling her most important duty, as a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a sister, is the way to success. I thought what she said was interesting because in order to make changes and build leaders we need a women fulfilling their duties within their families level and then to other levels. It’s true that our country’s policy is encouraging the roles of women, but women are more challenged in the public than men. Another barrier is that women defend men instead of defending other women. Thereby, we need to have a supporting environment and women must support one another as they are equal in their performance, capabilities, and abilities to men job-wise. Finally, they concluded the panel by one of the speakers saying that we should speak out our minds and go for the change we want to achieve. We shouldn’t care about what others think of us, because what’s more important is what we think about ourselves. Indeed, that final fact was true, because if we listen to what other people are saying we will never develop or reach the goals we plan to achieve.

Women As Global Leaders Conference (WAGL)

It was the very first conference I actually join in as an International Student Committee (ISC) representative. Therefore, I've written a personal reflection of the experience:

WAGL 2008 was a great experience that I will never forget. It was a great memory to be added to my best memories in life. Indeed, I never thought I would benefit from the WAGL the way I did. I never thought that attending the WAGL would change my life the way it did. First of all, meeting other ISC members and the delegates was a great opportunity to make new friends and learn about each others experiences. I met so many people I have never imagined to ever meet, like: Jane Fonda, Sarah Ferguson, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, Carol Bellamy, Helen Thomas, and other Emarati and Arab women leaders. I also made a lot of friends who I’m proud of. The WAGL also allowed me to express our Emarati identity and show other people how proud we are of our culture and religion. The WAGL has also changed my life. It has made me a stronger woman who can handle obstacles to reach her goal of making a change in this world. The most inspiring speech that really touched me was the one by Jane Fonda. Her complimenting us, Emarati women, as being smart and confident but that we may have society obstacles made me think deeply. Indeed, she was right in what she had said. Thereby, I decided to try to make a change and never let those obstacles stop me. In addition, I decided to continue my studies on leadership to a higher level to expand my knowledge and distribute it among others in our society.