“You are girls. You can no longer continue studying here.”
What the Taliban told her English class
The Email That Changed Everything
It was an ordinary day. I was checking my inbox when I saw it — an email from the school saying I had been accepted, and that lessons would begin in a few months. As I read, I couldn't control my emotions. Tears fell onto my phone screen — tears of joy, but also of grief. Just the day before, the Taliban had come to the English course I was attending and told every girl in the room: "You are girls. You can no longer continue studying here." I still haven't forgotten the manager's tears, or the boys who laughed as we girls walked home crying.
Reading that acceptance letter in that moment felt like discovering an entire world of hope after everything we had just been through. I waited impatiently for school to begin. And when it finally did, my ordinary days became my dream life.
Before
Before Living Wisdom, my days had a heaviness to them. I would wake up late, feel tired, and spend hours thinking about what I had lost — the classroom I missed, the future I couldn't yet see. Each day was the same as the one before it.
After
Now, every day I wake up early with hope. I do some exercises. I thank God for every single thing I have. I try to live mindfully, in the present moment, and to enjoy every minute of my life — even on the cloudy days, even when things feel heavy. I still find something to enjoy, something to be grateful for.
Being part of this school means living your dream life — even when you are not in your favorite place, even when you don't have everything you want, even when you are not perfect.
I no longer want to have a great deal. I have learned, instead, how to enjoy small things.