By: Zahra Shaabilo

The high school stage ended with an unforgettable day when the results of what we had planted for twelve years were announced. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the grades announcements. I rushed to my school and searched for the names with a worried heart. When I found my name “Zahra” among the successful names, I was flooded with joy. Memories passed very quickly, mixed with tears, a smile, and an unforgettable feeling, as well as a lot of praise, thankfulness and happiness.

It was time to follow the path of my dreams, it was the start of a new beginning, a new chapter was on the way. It was time to start university. I chose An-Najah National University, luckily, I was able to reserve a seat in Journalism. The first obstacle I encountered at that time was my high school average, unfortunately, it didn’t qualify me to study Journalism. My second option was English Literature, with a lot of hesitation and fear I had to take this step. I had never imagined that I would complete my studies in a specialty that was not my first choice. All I knew about this specialty is its limitation to teaching in schools. I didn’t feel it was the right choice for me or I didn’t connect with it, but I trusted God and began the first stage of the university, like any new student, with lots of fear, hope, and pleasure for what God has given me.

I was alone without any friends, without any help. My sister, who was at the university, helped me at first which made me lose some enthusiasm at first, but I started to build new relationships and meeting new people who were like parents and friends for life to me.

I had been learning English for twelve years at school and yet my English language was not at its best, it was relatively difficult and complicated to understand since all the subjects were in English. I had to translate and memorize new words, and I had to do a lot of presentations which were also in English, and this is something I wasn’t used to while being at school. However, I made a commitment to adjust to this language and face this challenge with a strong will that believes that every problem has a solution and that nothing is impossible.

The years at the university were enough to acquaint me with many students and professors from different places and nationalities, which provided me with the knowledge, awareness, and culture that I did not have before. My personality became stronger and my interest in my specialization became more profound.

English was not just a language I learned, not just an educational component. It was the basic part of breaking the barrier of fear and hesitation in talking or having a conversation with a foreigner, which made me feel confident and comfortable.

The university became a second home to me, a beloved place in all its ways. Every area has its own story and memory. In each class, new information was gained surrounded by a lot of companionship and many great professors who helped us reach where we are today. I began to understand the meaning of “placing the right person in the right place.”

For every beginning, there has to be an end. My university stage ended, with joy, fear, and sorrow. I was glad about what I had achieved, but with fear for ending the most beautiful phase of my life, leaving behind memories, colleagues and years of unforgettable situations and lessons that led me to where I am now. All of that passed quickly. Now, I'm continuing the road with the fear of the unknown because I still have not found a job yet.

I visited the Department of Public Relations at the university to talk about the possibility of publishing my graduation project on the official university page, and here was the beginning of enthusiasm of another kind. I like the special effort they are doing to raise the morale of students and document their extracurricular achievements and focus on publishing students’ graduation projects to benefit others.

In order to gain experience, I volunteered at the Public Relations Department. I was new, I did not fully understand the idea of volunteering, but I was drawn to it since I had a lot of free time and wanted to use it with something feasible and useful.  

I began to gain new experience in the areas of volunteering, communication, working on the means of social communication and creation of the content required for publication on the official university page, it was from conducting interviews with the faculty members and obtaining information about topics with interest to the community, which made me feel that I am still part of the university and its academic life and its non-curricular activities.

Although I have finished my academic life, volunteering has taught me that there is a lot to learn and that there are more doors to be opened. I have learned about the university more as a volunteer rather than as a student. Volunteering has increased my ability to take responsibility and provided me with the ability to plan and to organize activities, making me able to communicate better.

Entering a new life is a challenge. Volunteering is an opportunity to adapt to the stresses of life and to cope with it, to solve its problems and to find more opportunities that need perseverance and effort. We do not die, but we renew, and as our ancestors echoed, “the strike that does not kill us makes us stronger,” this is not the end of the journey. As long as I am still alive, there is much I can do. I still have many academic and practical dreams. The dreams that we do not achieve, are dreams that are postponed, that we should work on achieving.