There may be days when we get up in the morning and things aren't the way we hoped they would be; this is when, using our confidence and believing in ourselves, we have to tell ourselves that things will get better.
Life is a journey through time. There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life for the better. One can't run away from what is panned for him or her. There is no other way than to accept it. Work hard with faith to change your fortune in a positive direction. Here is a story of courage and determination that may help us face a so-called "not good day" in hopes of seeing a better tomorrow.
Seventeen-year-old Philadelphian, Neveen Mahmoud, as her friends call her "Veenie," is awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation a full four-year scholarship to any college in the world. She is an A student. However, the scholarship is not just merit-based. The scholarship is awarded to students who have overcome great obstacles to excel.
Abandoned by her father at infancy, Neveen was raised by her mother. Her mother, 47-year-old Dorita, worked as a travel agent for many years. She supported her daughter and herself until she started suffering from a series of debilitating health problems, including heart and kidney failure, and serious sleep apnea that required a tracheotomy. Dorita was also diagnosed with a rare spinal disease that grips her entire body in constant pain.
Neveen has grown up with the reality that her mother could die at any moment. At one point her mother was in the intensive care unit for three months, and Neveen slept in her room without anyone's knowledge. They became homeless when her mother was in the hospital. And still Neveen relied on herself and didn't reach out for help. Their only income was her mother's Social Security checks.
"We never [knew] about Veenie's challenges. She never talks about them," said Kathlyn Gray, director of Veenie's high school. "There would be days Veenie would come to school and she would have been in the hospital all night, and she wouldn't tell anyone."
Neveen responded by saying, "It wasn't that I was ashamed. It's just that I never felt the need to broadcast it." She added, "The hardest pain is that it's not fair. It hurts me when she is pushing herself to show up at my games when she's in pain. And there's nothing I can do to physically make it go away ... I would give anything in my life right now to have her be pain-free." Respecting her mother, lovingly, she says, "If I was an eighth of the person that she is today, I'd be so satisfied with who I [have] become."
Mother and daughter have learned to find strength in each other when life gets too hard. Their spiritual riches outweigh their material wealth. Goodness and determination have propelled Neveen to incredible heights.
Though silent about her own trouble, Neveen has organized students to help the people of Darfur in the Sudan. She is president of her student body and a star on the soccer and lacrosse fields. In reference to Darfur, Neveen says, "It disgusts me on a daily basis. It absolutely horrifies me [that] people can watch this and turn a blind eye. This is something that is very real, very prominent and affects all of us whether we like it or not."
Smitten by her inspiring story of courage and determination, ABC's "Good Morning America" took Neveen and her mom to Hollywood for a week of star treatment. Like every Hollywood princess, she was pampered to a weekend of beauty. The academy offered front row seats to see the stars arrive on the red carpet. According to ABC's Good Morning America, Oscar night wasn't just a chance to Neveen see the stars. It was the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be one, "Night of glamour for an Oscar princess."
We must learn to appreciate the hard efforts of those who have succeeded, beating all odds. When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
The poet Walt Whitman captured the clear message herein when he stated: Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.
This fall semester, Neveen Mahmoud has joined four-year undergraduate program at Harvard University.
Feeling sorry for yourself or believing the world owes you a free ride won't get you where you would like to go. Only knowledge, desire and hard work can get you to your ambitious destinations.
Mandakini Hiremath is a Claflin instructor and coordinator of the university's writing center.