Alumni F12

I’m sitting in my 8th-hour history class when my phone buzzes, then buzzes again and again repeatedly. I quickly pick up my phone as I wonder what’s going on. It’s my dad’s side of the family’s WhatsApp group chat. What are they talking about now? I think to myself. I open up the group chat and get a sick feeling as I recognize my uncle’s name written in Arabic. I try my hardest to read everything, and when I can’t properly understand what’s being said, I quickly open up google translate and paste my dad’s message into the translator. The message says that my uncle has passed away and that everyone reading should send their regards to my mom and her side of the family. My mind goes fuzzy. I stand up, still clutching my phone in my shaking hand, and ask to go out into the hallway. I cry until the bell rings. 

I fell into a depression in the months following my uncle’s death. He was such a prominent figure in my life, and the fact that I hadn’t even spoken to him in the couple of months prior to his death got to me. I stopped doing my schoolwork and never paid attention in class anymore. It got to the point where I only had two A’s on my report card, and I realized that I needed to start trying again if I didn’t want my GPA to fall. When I got home from school that day, my parents were waiting for me at the table. They talked to me about my grades and how they could see that I was struggling but that giving up wasn’t something they would let me do. I agreed with them and let them know I had reached the same conclusion only moments earlier. That night we all sat in the living room together (which rarely ever happens) and talked. We talked about the life my uncle had led. We shared stories about some of his dumb decisions and funny habits. We even made an extravagant fruit platter just like the ones he always made on special occasions. That night made me finally realize that no one could ever be genuinely gone if they could live on in the stories and lives of those they’ve impacted. 

Through 20/20 Leadership, I have been allowed the opportunity to think about what it truly means to be a leader. Not only that, but I have also had the chance to plan for my future in the context of leadership. I’ve learned about networking and planning, and I hope to take the tools I’ve been supplied with by 20/20 Leadership and build a future that allows me to touch the lives of others the way my uncle always did. To me, leaving a legacy means changing the world, whether it be advancing science or impacting the lives of others in a way that they won’t ever forget. I hope to leave behind a legacy that shows in the lives of those around me.