The Magical Amal

While monotonously scrolling like any other day, I came across a linkedin post that had some pictures of beautifully crafted roadmaps with some individuals involved in making them. Being a person who admires expression through colors, pencils and lens, that sight had piqued my interest. Reading more into the post specifically the roadmaps, there was a rise of emotions in me. Each map carried an anecdote, some with life happily blooming in them, some came along with troughs and crests of tragedy while some a blend of failure and growth fighting their way to a smooth lifestyle. With each one so different from the other, they all had one thing in common: the belief of getting heard without the fear of judgement, each enunciated a safe place. Where do we get places where you’re not just heard but listened to without any incentives? This redirected me to their account from the post. Diving deep into the organization’s values I knew that this was something I had to be a part of.

Filling the form I applied for the three month program at Amal, not thinking much about the time I had to commit for it. After my application was shortlisted, I was reminded for the interview and the fact that I would have to commit for 3 hours a day. This instantly was a setback as I already had a tight schedule with my final year in the university, entrepreneurship, student societies and volunteerships. I couldn’t think of having burnout due to over-commitments, however my gut instincts told me to give it a try, ‘Maybe you could just take the interview for an experience?’

After the interview, there was a belief in me that opting for this opportunity would not be a waste of my time, ‘ What’s the big deal with taking the first session and getting to know whether it was worth the time or not’

Thus, I was there in the first session of my Amal Career-Prep Fellowship. Virtual sessions are boring, we all are aware of that and after taking an entire semester virtually, I almost hated online classes. ‘Okay Somia, camera off, mic muted and there you fall asleep’ With this in mind, while I prepared myself for a nap, I was told that camera was supposed to be kept turned on in the entire session. ‘Was that going to make a difference? Well atleast I would now fall asleep looking at some faces instead of slides’.

Forty-minutes into the session and to my surprise I did not look at the time to see how much was left! That was no less than a blessing right? The warm and beautiful smile of my Program Manager was one of the many things I have absolutely admired throughout the fellowship.

Then came in an activity, a group activity. How would you conduct a group activity virtually? So it was going to be a mess, with so many people speaking their mics out at the same time. Yes, I was not familiar with ‘Breakout rooms’. My first breakout room activity is one of my favorite and memorable activities within the Amal journey. We were 4 people in the breakout room and as you could perceive a wave of awkwardness had to spread for first conversations. For letting that not happen, I instantly greeted everyone, and saw their eyes light up while they replied. Maybe that was our conquest to the deadly conversation killer: silence, and I being their valiant warrior with the severed head of opponent.

But I didn’t want to be the annoying team member dominating the entire team, who spoke the entire time while others yawned; I had to listen to the amazing individuals beside me and know how they felt about being here. So without a second thought, I asked them to share their experiences first. Thus, we exchanged some ideas and the breakout rooms were closed in a few minutes. After coming back, there was the time for feedback. Our Program Manager wanted to know how were our experiences. And the moment came which had been my first lollipop moment, as Drew Dudley calls it, at Amal. A fellow started telling her experience of the breakout rooms and the first thing that she pointed out was that she had found a girl very welcoming and warm. She wanted to appreciate the girl for breaking the ice and letting the people settle in. And all at once I heard my name. Compliments are always enchanting but the simplest ones mean the most.

This little compliment had surely made my day. This not only added to my sticking to Amal but also broadened my way of looking at little things. I now try to throw compliments a lot more than I used to because you never know which would be a turning point in somebody’ life.