The first thing that came to my mind when I woke up this morning was “Its Blog Post Day yayyy!” Well okay, maybe that wasn't the first thing…but it was the second! The first thing that came to my mind was more along the lines of “I have GOT to stop falling asleep reading”. Lol. Nevertheless, I was pretty thoughtful of what I ought to write on-and that was when it hit me. Why not do a post that isn't extremely random but rather, is more concerned with something that actually happened at school. Hey, this is the Agal Blog after all. J Well, here we go!
The Agal Guest Speaker Program
Just yesterday Asad Umar came to Agal for a
motivational talk. You can only imagine how excited everyone was. Especially all
the PTI fans. A Council Meeting was held 2 hours before the actual event and for
once, no one was tripping over chairs or yawning-everyone was ACTUALLY pretty wide
awake. All the Council Members were given their assignments for the duration of
the event (including being an usher, giving out refreshments and checking on
the guests from time to time). AK was given the responsibility of being an usher. Ha! The
halls were filled with teachers and students alike as they scurried from one
room to the other, making sure that everything was in place. I once happened to
walk into a group of girls testing over a hundred pens to make sure that they
worked and another girl re-washing a tray! Talk about strange…
The talk itself was to be held in a huge
tent that had been set up earlier in the front garden of the school. It looked
lovely with the stage, chairs and decorations. A red carpet had been rolled out
from the entrance, leading up to the stage. By 12:10, the head girl had “The
Welcoming Committee” standing on either side of the red carpet outside the tent.
The moment Asad Umar stepped into the school, all the talk of getting
autographs and pictures died down. A bouquet of flowers was given to him and he
was welcomed to the school. He was led to one of the two sofas at the front of
the tent just as the headmistress and students of another Beaconhouse Branch
also turned up. Everyone took their seats and the event began.
The Head Girl began by giving all the
guests a warm welcome and expressing how pleased she was that everyone had
taken out the time from their busy schedules to be there. Another Student was
called upon for a brief intro on Asad Umar. The Student explained that Mr Umar
was a graduate of one of Pakistan’s leading Universities and had won many
awards. Not only had he been the CEO of Engro corporation, but once he realised
that everything led back to the political stature of the country, he gave up
his job (which he was being paid around 7 billion for) and instead stepped down
into the busy battlefield of Politics. Whoa.
Mr Umar then began his talk. This being his
first talk at a school since 1977 led him to admitting that he had been
somewhat hesitant on how to keep teenagers interested. He had finally decided
upon a talk on the topic of success as that is pretty much what everyone at
high school is concerned with. He explained that his life had not always been
perfect. In his childhood he had to face many tragedies including his mother
being diagnosed with cancer and the death of his grandmother (who he happened
to be very fond of). Furthermore, he
emphasised on the education he received as a young boy. Having attended an
average school as a child, he had been blessed with teachers who believed in
all their students and encouraged them to pursue their passions. All these
reasons led up to his being who he is today.
Strangely enough, Mr Umar informed the
audience that in Pakistan approximately only 1% of the total population
receives a proper education. Being part of that 1%, he said that everyone ought
to try their best our believe that they could do anything that they set their mind
to. His advice was priceless; Make your own decisions and do what you are
passionate of. Don’t do anything just because someone told you to. You grow
from making decisions and learn from your mistakes.
The air seemed to change once the talk came
to an end; as though everyone were still deep in thought. Having been fully
prepared for an hour long bore of a speech, everyone was fascinated by his
humorous talk that carried so much meaning. A short question and answer session
followed, accompanied by the presentation of a shield to Mr Umar. Finally, The
Headmistress of Agal thanked everyone for being there and had the refreshments
served. Mr Umar then went to the Principal’s office for tea.
In the meantime, a group of us girls
(including yours truly) waited outside the office to somehow get some
autographs from him. Having been given the duty of doing the write up for the
event, I had a pen and Diary on me. Sad as it was, everyone had me take out
pieces of paper for them for their autographs (Luckily enough everyone had
their own pens). Which is when it hit me; Mr Umar had said that he was in a
hurry…wouldn’t a group picture be a better idea? Everyone agreed on the “Group
Picture” Idea and in the end we even got it!
Overall, it was lots of fun and almost everyone
was extremely pleased after the talk. (I say almost because there were many
girls who didn’t get to be in the picture-technically it was their own fault
though. They didn't have to rush up to the Cafeteria Area to finish their
Lunch).
Well that’s all for today! The Midterm
exams are starting on Tuesday so I need to get cracking…eek! Keep following us
and leave us your feedback. See you around! ;)
-Sam
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