“There is no rest when a child is brought into this world, until he departs it.” — Anonymous
The words above are simple, yet they carry a truth that every parent and every child will one day understand. From the moment a baby takes its first breath, each step becomes an event, each smile a memory, each word a milestone.
Parents anticipate, children grow, and those moments—so fleeting yet so profound—become the stories we carry with us forever.
As children, we pass from one anticipation to another. Primary school brings its own excitement, secondary school ushers in curiosity, and by the time we near adulthood, university becomes the dream we all long to touch.
In this part of the world, the idea of university carries more than academics—it comes wrapped in stories told, in movies watched, in whispered hopes of freedom, adventure, and the unknown.
When I finally stepped into my own university journey, it was a mixture of excitement and shock. My first day was overwhelming. The things I had heard and the things I had watched were suddenly in sharp contrast to reality, and it made me cry more than I care to admit.
Yet with time, I found my balance. The tears dried, the fears softened, and in their place, I began to enjoy my campus life in ways I had not expected.
Those four years remain some of the best of my life. Not because they were perfect, but because they were full—of laughter, of struggle, of surprises that tested me, and of lessons that shaped me.
I learned that time is never about its length but about its use. A single moment embraced with meaning can outweigh an entire year spent carelessly.
Life has a way of teaching through transition. As I moved from one phase to another, I came to realize a truth that at once comforts and unsettles me: nothing lasts forever. Our passions shift, our loves fade or deepen, our lives bend in directions we do not always choose.
Yet in the fleeting nature of things lies their beauty. To embrace what is before us, even when temporary, is to truly live.
Now, as I stand beyond the gates of university, I find myself staring into the uncertainty of the future. I ask myself what path to take, what choices to make, and what lies ahead. Sometimes I wish I had more time to pause, to plan, to prepare.
Yet I remind myself of the words I have always believed—Allah is the best of all planners.
The thought of tomorrow both frightens me and fuels me. I know I am not alone in this. Countless graduates wake each morning to the same questions, the same worries, the same fragile hope that life will somehow unfold as it should.
Anticipation, I have learned, never ends. It only changes. We wait for milestones as children, and as adults we wait for the unknown. It is a whirl of emotions—fear, hope, longing, determination—all woven together in a way that cannot be fully explained but must simply be lived.
If you, like me, find yourself in this in-between space, I say: pause, breathe, and trust. The pieces will come together in their time. Put in the effort, hold onto faith, and try not to let worry consume you. For as our faith teaches, our stories were written long before we were born, and sometimes the best chapters are the ones we never expected.
Life remains uncertain, but it is also filled with possibility. As I close this reflection, I choose to hold on to that hope—that the future, however unpredictable, is not to be feared but to be embraced. With faith, with courage, and with determination, I believe each of us will find the paths we were meant to walk, one step at a time.