AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL THE STUDENTS WHO THINK ABOUT LIFE AFTER GRADUATION

Studying in one of the most competitive institutions and among individuals aspiring for more than the usual goals that an average human being has, my definition of success and my goals in life have altered immensely over the two years that I have spent here in LUMS. From the very beginning, when I first got my toy stethoscope set in grade three, I wished to become a doctor. The wish slightly altered to become a dentist by the time my school came to an end, and now when I am about to step into the third year of my university, I happen to seek a future in business analytics.

The point I am trying to make here is that my dreams also point towards the ultimate goal of becoming a self-sustaining money machine and at times when I take a step back from this thought process, I realize that I have immensely narrowed my way of thinking. It is completely fine, in fact brilliant, to be focused on what one wants to achieve but there needs to be an addition of a few important things whilst this achievement takes place.

This incident might make what I am trying to say, a little more clear. A couple of people in my family went abroad in the past few years to complete their education saying that they would return after a certain period of time but we saw that there was no coming back. They settled there leaving their parents, who are living on medication back at home. There is no harm, in fact, it is important to equip oneself with good education and exposure but that education is (in my opinion) utterly useless when it doesn’t teach a person how to become a human being.

If in the twenty eight years of a person’s life where he/she learns the most and enlightens him/herself with a vast amount of knowledge; he/she is unable to discern how to balance his/her routine, how to respect relationships, how to divide time between each and every individual of one`s family and work, and make time for one`s own self-development, then life has been wasted and lost its purpose.

Realizing all these things makes me want to become an influencer. I want to leave an impact on the lives of people through the example of my life. I want to make people understand that they need to shut their laptop and phone screens, and sit with their families and children in a room and talk to them, ask them about not just their day but their life, how it has been in the past when they weren’t there for them to discuss their life goals, their new friends, their new crushes, their favourite songs, their recently watched television series and most importantly about their time with God.

I want to tell people to educate their families about the correct ways to connect to their Lord, to know that in the midst of their school, their friends, their phones, their Facebooks, their Instagrams and their summer goals, there is a Higher Power that needs to be connected with, before they return to Him without knowing Him and not knowing that they have responsibilities to fulfil towards Him and the people around them because otherwise the journey back to Him would not be a pleasant one and they’d certainly be left with their work laptop eulogizing them beside their coffins.