The following was written by Aya Al-Shalchi
Mark Twain famously said that ‘the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why’. I knew my purpose from the age of twelve. My experiences in Iraq and Libya instilled in me a passion to change this world and make it a better place. My passion dictated my life decisions including career and academic ones. I followed the path that would lead me to making this world better, a seemingly aspirational and far-fetched goal. At times it seems like the world is too far gone in its complexities, diseases and manipulative politics. At times, it seems like even the greats have lived and worked tirelessly only to earn the title of ‘attempt’ rather than ‘accomplishment’. At times, I found there to be conflict between my passion to make the world better and feeling helpless at anyone’s ability to do so. However, I argue there is still hope.
Alan Whiteside 