This new year

By: Mehak Saleem

It's that time again where we plan out our resolutions for the coming year.
It's that time again where we welcome another 365 days to our existence.
It's that time again where we set out our goals for another year.
Yes, it’s soon to be New Year again!

When I look at myself now and the person I was a year ago it's clear. I see a change! I had long hair, different frames, maybe a bit shorter, maybe a bit more healthy or weak. But that is just the physical change, which is usually easier to notice. The challenge however is to notice and observe the person we once were and what we've become! It's not easy to jot down your mistakes, the habits you adopted this year, your nature which you tried to hide or maybe just tried to be someone else you’re not ! It's hard to accept - it is! Not an easy task to give yourself a reality check but won't you find it pleasing to change your habits that others disapprove without letting them tell you to?

Realizing your mistakes yourself is the biggest victory! 

Everyone tries to fit in at least once in their life; it's a part of human nature! You can't deny any of it - your past, your present but maybe your future can be as pleasant as you want it to be. Throughout my life, I follow up to the belief that if you keep people happy, happiness will follow you. However, in most places I come across a similar quote which states “you keep yourself happy; everything will follow to be happy along with you!" Now I think none of them are true. I think it takes a bit of both for our life to be satisfactory because in the end our life is a combination of everything in and around us.

In this New Year’s resolution why not try to change ourselves for the good and not for the fame, not for FITTING IN. Why not just accept that we are different from everyone else? Why is it always so hard to have faith about how people will accept us for who we really are?! 

Why not dedicate this year to bring about your qualities and portray them to the world? Why not just eject our capabilities without any fear of what people might say? Maybe some people around you want you to be free from your inner captivities - they know exactly how amazing the person you are. Let yourself go for those who care for you, let them enjoy their life with the person you are and not what you are trying to be!

Sometimes we get what we want but not what we need. That gives us the satisfaction but not the fulfillment. We all might have another list set out for all the things we want or want to do in the coming year but maybe that's all what we think might be good for us but not what actually is. Accepting that whatever happens, happens for the good is bound to give you hope and courage automatically. All what is left is positivism! 

You start the year on a high note. I am sure it will end on a good one as they say " All's well that ends well!" So welcome another year, let go of all the loss you faced this year. Bury down all the pain, all the hatred. Forgive and forget. Work with honesty and surely your coming years will be better than before!

Featured PAFian 1.2

Interviewer : Mehak Saleem

ROTMUN'12; one of the winners came to a guy who was probably remorsing over his loss. He was told of his potential and was urged to continue. ZABMUN 2012 came, and this guy improved tremendously and walked out the hall with an honorary mention. This did not stop him and he went on to conquer the biggest MUN of Pakistan, and came back from LUMUN 2012 with an honorary mention. The new academic year kicked in, and he was made responsible for the Public Speaking Society 2013-2014 because everybody knew he would raise the bar even higher. Leading from the front, he returned to ZABMUN in 2013 and won the Best Delegate in the toughest committee beating the very legend who had advised him initially. Perhaps the perfect ending would have been the best delegate award at LUMUN 2013, but he returned to Karachi with an Honorary Mention nonetheless amidst controversy.
He managed to raise the Pafian flag even higher and truly deserves credit for that. Scroll down to read what this awesome person has to say about the journey. For the slow ones, the blogging society has featured the guy who is always smiling, Mr Usman Baig a.k.a "Baigu" or "Baigy. "
Q. Lumun has always been targeted as being biased and unfair. Do you believe your Honorary Mention (HM) was justified or maybe you deserved more? 

Yes, Lumun indeed has been popularly accused of being biased and unfair, but honestly, summing it up in a way as subtle as possible, I'd like to call it an MUN where the criteria of judging delegates and awarding them according to that already set criteria is a bit different from what we see in the Karachi's MUN circuit. Hence, my HM in my opinion was pretty much not justified according to what I had stated earlier, because I believe that with the kind of performance we all had displayed at Lumun this year, it would have won us a best delegate award at any conference in Karachi, for sure.

Q. You are probably the only Pafian who has won at LUMUN consecutively. What would you like to say about that?
Well, it's definitely an honor to find myself under that predicament. Never knew I'd be having my name mentioned under such an achievement, never accomplished by a Pafian before. But this is definitely what I have always been dreaming of ever since I have joined PAF Chapter, definitely something I'd like to call as a dream come true, since it has helped me in maintaining PAF Chapter's pride. I am really proud to come across this fact. 

Q. It has always been said, victory has many fathers. Who do you think is responsible for you maturing into an outstanding MUNer?

Victory has many fathers? I'd like to disagree with how the phrasing of the question has been done. But anyways, there are a few people who have indeed played a vital role to groom me into what I am today. Those people include firstly my Seniors, who had vested in me the initial confidence, making me realize that I actually am worthy of attending MUN conferences, helping me in taking that leap of faith and carrying on my MUN career ever since. Secondly, but most importantly, it is my trainer Mr.Yelmaz Mujtaba who may have joined us in our senior year, but the amount of knowledge in terms of research, strategy and confidence he has given me is definitely one of the very strong reasons I am what I am today with regards to MUNs and public speaking as a whole.

Q. They say, its not the destination but the journey that matters. Summarize your trip for us. 

Alright, the trip of Lumun X representing PAF Chapter, with PAF Chapter has been undoubtedly one of the most memorable trips of my life. The reason it was so memorable was specially because of the people I was accompanied by on this trip. What made our team so strong was the fact that they were extremely hardworking and dedicated to their aim of winning Lumun yet fun loving and entertaining at the same time. Serving as PAF Chapter's Head Delegate to Lumun this year was indeed an honor in itself, making this amazing journey even more exhilarating and challenging with the amount of responsibility added to it. Meeting people, engaging into healthy debates, cracking jokes at every level, standing united at each and every step taken. All in all, an unforgettable experience.

Q. Pafians generally do not perform well at Lumun. What would be your advice to upcoming batches?
Well, it is a myth that Pafians generally do not perform well at Lumun, although I'd like to disagree. A person's performance is never judged by the number of awards he has, it's always done by the hard work and effort he puts in, and when I talk about this year's performance of PAF Chapter at Lumun, it'd call it nothing but phenomenal. Every committee spoke of us by the end of the conference with awe and respect. Apart of that, a piece of advice for all the upcoming batches regarding Lumun will be that Lumun is definitely the most meanest, most unforgiving yet the most decorated conference of them all, so research and prepare so well that you do not leave any single space for correction. All the enjoyment, everything will go side by side once your research and your game plan is ready, and that is what will guarantee your award. Best of luck to all the upcoming batches for Lumun.


Baigu, we really hope you keep on winning accolades and awards. Aye, Deputy Secretary General PAFMUN 2014, Aye!

Lunch Break at the PAF Chapter

Submitted by: Sakina Abbas A1C4 

As I enter the school premises, many students are quite dull. By dull, I mean that they seem quite lazy, as if having no energy to proceed with any task at all. 

“Oh man, I feel sick! I don’t think I can make it through, today.”

“You must not give up. Things will get better. They shall.” (hushed whisper)

“Somebody call me an ambulance. This sunlight, God! It is piercing through my eyes and my soul! I can not bear this anymore!”

Okay, I might have exaggerated in the third dialogue, but seriously. This is the conversation going on in my mind, as I look at students from the Preps and the Junior section. Point being, at the start of the school, these students seem to have been deprived of energy. But oh boy! When the bell indicating the start of lunch break rings, the scene is quite different...

Kids are running about, as fast as they can, with all their might, towards the school canteens. They are running as if they have not tasted food since weeks. Now, this is a rather funny scenario for me. Imagine them running, slowly, hands widely outstretched, eyes bulging out of their little sockets, and their mouth also wide open, and at times, teeth tightly clenched. They are running in slow motion, and their expressions are crying, “ME WANT FOOD! THIS IS HUNGER!” (Referring to the famous dialogue here; “This is Spartaaa!”)

Okay, so just a few hours ago, they were literally dragging themselves around like zombies. And now? Running as if being chased by a a pack of wolves. This scene very much resembles a rabbit stampede. Cute little kids scampering and hopping about.

Following this ‘stampede’, when these students are successful in getting their hands on the food from the canteen, they eat as if this is the last time they will be having food. Some of them eat very hungrily. Their movements are quick, and the speed of chewing their food and swallowing it is also very high. (Yes, I notice all of this. Considering the fact that I usually have to perform my corridor duty during the lunch break, I can clearly see all that I have mentioned above. There. Fact established.) As I was saying, some students have their lunch at a very high speed. While, on the other hand, some students are completely lost in their thoughts while having lunch. One wonders what they might be thinking. Perhaps, they are thinking about the history of their lunch. Or perhaps.... they are just too amazed and fascinated by this ‘food’. “Oh my God. This bread looks so supernatural, so scrumptious! I wonder what nutrients will it provide me with, if I consume it. Whoa. I have never seen such beauty!” These students remind me of that kid from the famous Bollywood movie ‘Taarey Zameen Par’, who was always lost in his own thoughts. Whilst, in general, the way all students are having their lunch gives me a picture of a combat against world hunger.

Apart from ‘the incredible lunch scene’, what makes me smile is the way these students are running about, catching each other, and merrily laughing. Ah! How it reminds me of my school days when I was in the primary section! Too bad we can not play ‘Tip Top’ or ‘Catch catch’ now that we are in A levels. What will our juniors think? Poor souls will be terrified!

Eventually, my corridor duty ends along with the lunch break, and students from the junior section are told to go back to their classes. Now that is a peaceful time, since all the noise has subsided. But nonetheless, the lunch break at PAF Chapter makes my day because it just makes me laugh. The entire school comes to life, and the school ground seems just too much alive. No wonder PAF Chapter always seems too lively, and no wonder it makes me forget my A level worries for some time.

Labels

By: Sakina Abbas A1C4

In their life, every student has a label. Some might be called jocks, while some might be called airheads. Likewise, I am usually referred to as a nerd. I mean, of all the labels, a nerd?! No, there is nothing wrong with this label. I mean, according to the Oxford dictionary, a nerd is defined as a person who gains pleasure from amassing large quantities of knowledge about subjects often too detailed or complicated for most other people to be bothered with.

I am not even close to being a nerd! Doing your homework and preparing for your tests on a regular basis does not make you a nerd. It just makes you a good student and gets you on top of your teachers’ list, so that later you get praised and favoured in front of all the students in your class. To me, this has great significance, mainly because I am a very self-obsessed person and I constantly need others to praise me.

It clearly ticks me off when my friends ask me, “Hey, did you do Math’s homework? I did not, as I was too busy having a life.” What, now I don’t have a life? How am I alive then? My soul did not just get resurrected. And I never died in the first place. So how can I not have a life? They did not just question a spirit now, did they? What a bunch of naive people! Anyways, I reply in the affirmative to which they say, “I knew you would do it. You always do all the work. I am so proud of you. Did I ever tell you how much I appreciate your existence?” and then they make that ‘puppy-dog face’ at me. I eventually give in and give them my work to copy. I am proud of myself too, but no, THEIR mere existence clearly pisses me off.

Furthermore, whenever I return from the library, my friends say, “Where have you been hibernating? No wait, don’t answer that. You were in the library, no? See, you are so predictable now!” Then I mutter under my breath, “Yes, I was in the library, and no, I was not hibernating. Because hibernation is for eight months, and I was there for just fifty minutes.” Seriously, I was simply there helping out some friends in Calculus, and my laughing pack of friends could be next in asking for help. Well, you never know.

My friends say, “You are such a nerd! Why are you always studying? You need to relax. Don’t overburden yourself, or it will have a negative impact on your brain. Your brain cells will die. Then you will fall ill. And who knows? You could end up forgetting everything you studied.” This ignites a feeling of pity in my heart. Yes, I feel sorry for these poor ignorant friends of mine. They are blind to the fact that I am not overburdening myself, rather, simply having fun with my studies. What? Don’t call me a retard now. I thought you spend maximum time with the one you love!

But then in the end, explaining this logic to my friends is just as useless as a back pocket on a t-shirt. So I calmly listen to what my friends are saying, and when they are done, I simply say, “Me, a nerd? Oh no. I’m just making sure that I don’t end up working with you at McDonalds!”