Each One, Teach One

Learning from one another

“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is not" -Malala Yousefzai

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, had a plaque which sat on his desk in the Oval Office that was often caught in the background of pictures. The plaque read, “Hard things are hard”. There are many opportunities in life that are just hard. Accepting this reality allows us to move past the initial discomfort to realizing the potential in what is at stake to gain. Living in community is one of these opportunities.


The EYA Summer Internship has officially come to a close now, but the lessons I have learned from the living examples of my cohort and our mentors have only just started to show themselves as I reflect on our time together. Living in community with seeming strangers was an intentional component of our time together and was always emphasized as a spiritual discipline. Each person comes with their own stories of past that have lead up to our present and there are practices that were encouraged to create moments where those stories were shared organically and naturally. The process of opening up to people whom you are just becoming acquainted with is accelerated when you live with others which can be intimidating and perhaps more attention than is welcomed at first. However, having trust in the process of such a promising program had given me the trust to opt-in and be present to moments even when it wasn’t how I felt. It was hard, but the promise of it being worth it was enough to sustain me until it felt right.

One of the most beautiful byproducts of choosing to share of yourself to a group you can

trust is that you learn you are not alone. Human rights activist (and fellow Pakistani!) Malala Yousefzai is quoted as saying the following, "I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is not". When we are brave in showing our true selves and living a life that is authentic to our core values, even and especially when it is hard, we are like Malala whose story reached far beyond her village in Mingora, Swat and touched the lives of millions to embolden and empower them to do the same. It is in these moments that we transcend the traditional boundaries of race, region, language, customs, and creeds to get to the core of ourselves that often resembles that of others more than we know.

Two months later, I have so many feelings. Feelings of joy when I look at all of the pictures we captured as we did life together. Feelings of growth in thinking back to the first moments when we had no idea what would come of our time together. Feelings of hope, excitement, and anticipation knowing that I have gained 9+ new friends to keep-in-touch with, offer support to, and lean on as we continue to grow in our own unique ways, in different parts of the world. I cannot help but feel grateful and thankful to God for such an opportunity and have trust that in my next steps in life, I can be assured that while hard things may be hard, they are oh so worth it.  

With a full heart,

Nura Esther Zaki

Blog Post #8

------

As a 2017 EYA Intern, Nura worked with The Democracy Initiative this Summer in the fields of Grassroots Mobilizing and Communications.