Resilience

My undergraduate college career has coming to an unexpected end but there are a number of lessons and connections that I have learned and grew from along the way. This global virus has taken us all by surprise that we could have never predicted things to turn out the way they are now. Life tests us at the most inconvenient moments alas we must face and keep moving forward. It is the collective strength and the resilience that helps us as a community to overcome these difficult times. Throughout my personal experience I have had a number of trials that have tested me beyond my perceived level. I have had a lot of peaks and valleys that helped me think outside of the norm and forced in me an adaptation response to grow and mature. Everything truly happens for a reason and staying resilient helps me not panic and control what I can control.  

The interruption of the Corona-virus crushed my vision of walking across the stage to receive my hard earned diploma and a life long plan of seeing the smile on my family’s face. This taught me the lesson to never take anything, especially the simple things, for granted as they can be taken away at any moment. Not to get too sentimental, during that time I started recognizing the true effects that comes from excelling ones physical health and mental wellness. Meanwhile, maintaining a great network of people you to surround you. Maturing and becoming grateful from not only your success but also your shortcomings is a hard pill to swallow. However, without those consequences I would have never been the man I am today. There were a lot unexpected loops that life throws at you but you must face adversity with resilience. Always look on the brighter side of things and remind yourself daily that life could definitely be worse.

This shift of focus is also known as psychological resilience . Psychologist state that all of us face trauma, adversity and other stresses that causes us to be uncomfortable. However, we can only control how we respond, not what happens. The bright spot focus, is a concept that positively impacts ones perspective to always find the good in anything. Working with the current situation or environment around you and utilizing your resources wisely helps alleviate the pain of feeling stuck or empty. I recognize that with every hard time there must come a greater good. Similar to the Chinese philosophy, the yin and the yang, illustrates in its symbol that there is a balance of good and bad in this world. That with there cannot be any good without evil and vice versa.

Community resilience has been a difficult subject to perform as gatherings have very limited due to the worldwide virus. This year’s Ramadan has been quite challenging in the sense that Muslims around the world are unable to fully practice their faith by going to the mosques, visiting families and loved ones and keeping each other company. Ramadan gives us Muslims the sense of community through sharing time, food and spiritual wishes towards each other. The community helps alleviate some of the physical pain from abstaining from food and water all day (dawn to sunset) and keeps us connected with our community. Sadly, with the Covid19 being in the way, we improvised. Going to the mosque became praying at home, going over to family’s house became zooming and sharing cooking recipes and seeing old friends became sharing memes on messenger. This is another aspect of life that emphasized my growth through community resilience and practice of gratitude for what I have.

The tragedy of the corona virus infecting and killing thousands, if not millions of people worldwide.One cannot look at it any other way than sustaining all resources possible and protecting our community through these unprecedented times. The pain and difficulty that society is facing is eye opening in utilizing your expertise, at a personal scale, to your community as much as possible. The lesson I learned is that although we are all different in our own ways, in essence we are all still the same. Indra’s net is a metaphor that illustrates a network of people working together for the purpose of a greater outcome. That sense of emptiness can be eliminated by connecting and helping those around you or in other words, by applying yourself fully, to your community will change the world around for the better.

Learning this clicked and changed my perspective to feeling my importance in a different way. As the world does not change when you want to change, it is as important to have faith and stay patient. Growing aware of these throughout my life has brought me intellectual strengths and interests in line with my ethical beliefs that will contribute to a greater good that I am still on the path of discovering. Through my college career, I grew wiser and stronger with a better outlook towards life. The University of Delaware has brought me tremendous joy, lessons and memories that will last a lifetime. Altering my attitude is ultimately altering my perspective into believing that I represent something bigger than me. With that in mind, equipping myself with essential skills including the ability to be a lifelong learner, creator and innovator to thrive in a rapidly evolving world will be forever a lesson I am grateful to learn.