A Refugee’s Insight

It is our senior year. The year where students should make life-changing decisions that will adhere to them for the rest of their life. In order to enhance our college application, the teacher asked us to do volunteer work in the place of our choice. The next day, my friends and I decided to visit a refugee camp. It took us three hours to reach our destination. The place was remote and isolated from the luxurious city-life we came from. I was traumatized by their living conditions. Subsequently, our instructor asked us to distribute the charity boxes to every tent. In one of the tents, I met Nadeen. A Syrian teenager who lost her dad in the wicked war. ”It was a Thursday evening. We were sitting at home having dinner. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that the shootings were immense these couple of days. Therefore, my dad strictly admonished us not to leave the house. Since the war has been going on for almost five years now, the sounds of shot guns weren’t odd or peculiar to me. But this time it was different. The sounds kept getting louder and closer. Eventually, the shooters broke in the house and abducted my father. Days later they sent us his corpse...” Nadeen said. I lost control of my emotions and started crying as she completed her story. A while later, my friend asked her about her future plans. Nadeen told us she wants to major in medicine and her excellent performance in school granted her a full scholarship in a well-known university. What astonished me the most is her positivity, determination and adamancy regardless of what she went through in life. I then instantly remembered the imprudent selfish arguments I had with my parents and felt really guilty. The hour I spent with Nadeen opened my eyes to the world around me. It taught me that there are more problems in the world other than doing the chores assigned by my parents or having three quizzes daily or not finding the perfect outfit to wear. Everything I used to nag about seemed so silly. I was living in my own egotistic oblivious world, unaware of all the blessings surrounding me. I realized that life is too short to complain and worry about unworthy things but instead live and flourish every moment. Thus, I decided to fully appreciate, acknowledge and value all my blessings. To always be optimistic and never give up or lose hope even when I’m at my lowest.

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