Dear Reader,

There’s a question that often lingers in my head and truly frustrates me, yet I find it challenging to pinpoint the exact roadblock. What’s holding us back from doing great things? What’s holding us back from achieving greatness? Is it Laziness, financial constraints (maybe), time limitations, or lack of opportunities?

These are valid reasons; however, I am sorry to break your heart by saying that it’s actually us. Yeah, You and Me.

I didn’t randomly come to this conclusion. Recently I met “Irem” my friend from Afghanistan, yeah, the same beautiful country destroyed by the Taliban. I wanted to know her story of living as a woman in Afghanistan and how, amidst all odds, she is participating in programs and internships and has even started her own business.

Irem’s story is one of resilience and determination. It emerged from the chaos brought by the Taliban’s takeover of her city. Before the invasion, Irem had excelled in Afghanistan’s top university and secured a job as a subcontractor for a US program. However, everything changed on that fateful day of August 16, 2021, when the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

The brutal takeover left Irem, along with countless other women, confined within the walls of their homes. Dreams of education and professional growth were crushed as the Taliban imposed strict restrictions, banning post-secondary education for women and dismantling various professions linked to them. The introduction of absurd laws further suppressed freedom of speech, gender equality, and women’s rights.

The US-led evacuation lasted 15 days; each day, hundreds and thousands of people flooded the airport gate with documents to hopefully make their way inside an airplane. One day, when she and her aunt decided to leave Afghanistan, a bomb exploded on the premises of the airport, killing hundreds of people. Chaos unfolded, and they had to return home.

The long evacuation days ended with the last plane taking off from the airport. All hopes for a better life died down. Nobody dared to come out of their houses. Some women who did dare to go and protest were held captive. The sounds of gunshots and bombs became a common occurrence.

On top of that, winter that year was brutal. There was no electricity to keep herself warm or the internet to distract her from the brutality happening in her town. She was traumatized. Despite that, Irem decided she couldn’t let fate decide her future. After six grueling months of depression, she shifted her focus to paintings and books, using them to escape reality, calm her mind, and find motivation.

With her newfound motivation and one last shallow hope to escape the brutality in the form of an SIV (Special Immigrant Visa), she went all in for it. She started gathering experiences from her contribution to the UN program for women, participating in countless events and internships, and even starting her own business – an online gift shop that now brings in good revenue.

Her life has imitated the famous old question, “You have just one year to live; how are you gonna spend it?” It’s like living on the edge, clinging to the hope of one day escaping the cage, spreading wings, and flying for the sky.

Irem’s story serves as an inspiration, challenging those of us in democratic and safe countries to question our own perceived limitations.

I am pretty sure none of us has seen war in real life, bomb explosions, non-stop echo of gunshots, people hanging from airplanes, terrorists, and never faced brutal laws. Yet there are people like Irem who, despite being traumatized by the horror, are giving their all and are more successful than 90% of people of the same age.

If a person from the most oppressed country in the world can turn her life upside down, why can’t individuals like us in a more privileged country do the same?

What’s stopping us?

We need to ask ourselves these questions quite often. Once we find the reasons, no time should be wasted on acting upon them. If we do so, our lives will never be the same again. It will change for the better.

Your actions today will inspire generations to come. Your children will look up to you to become just like you. I want to end this by saying, “Give it a shot. You won’t regret it.”

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Thank you so much for reading through the article. I would love to hear your feedback 😊

– Sumit