I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up but there was one thing that I knew I didn't want to be: a teacher.
I recall one particular phone conversation I had with my mom as I sat in the car speeding along the canal the runs through the middle of Lahore. The driver had just picked me up from school and we were on our way to pick up my brother from his school now. I was in ninth grade, trying to discover what subjects to choose for my A-levels. I had called my mom and we were just chatting about life when she said that the best option I have for a career, really, is in education. Education Administration, teaching, something related to the field. I responded not in a thousand years. She said to me, 'Mark my words, you are going to be some sort of a teacher. Your parents were both teachers at some point in their lives, your aunts were all teachers. Your grandmother (naani) was a teacher. Your grandfather (nana) ran three schools. Your uncle (mamu) ran them and before him your mom did. Some of your cousins are teachers. Its in your blood.' I was very upset with her when she used the Urdu proverb, meaning that a cobbler's son becomes a cobbler too. That's for people who lack the willingness and resources to break the cycle. I am not going into education! She responded calmly that it wasn't just that. Its also that some traits are inherited and our environment shapes us in major ways so we automatically become good at what our environment is good for, most of the time. I told her that I will be the one to break the cycle.
True to my word, I went to law school, notwithstanding the fact that my father had been a lawyer for most of my life. I was going to be a human rights lawyer. He was a corporate lawyer. The two kinds are so different from each other that they might as well be different species! These are definitely two different professions! I reasoned.
I had a plan and I stuck to it despite the challenges I faced. Through the hills and the valleys, I fine-tuned the plan but never wavered from the trajectory. I was going to complete my LLB Honours, a six-year program, and graduate with three degrees, a Bachelor's in Sharia, a professional degree in Law, and a Masters in Islamic Studies. However, since it was all felt so easy to me, I also wanted to complete a Ph.D. on the side. Or at least start one. I enrolled in another Bachelors's program via distance learning at a different university. I was going to complete that, then earn a Masters while I finished five years of my LLB Hons., then by the time I would graduate and start practicing Law, I would have also started a Ph.D. Awesome plan, wheels in motion. By the time I finished the third year of my LLB Hons, I was also set to finish my other B.A.
Then life happened.
I sat in exams for both my final semester of the third year and B.A. that Spring. I completed my B.A. in Islamic Studies and Arabic with a minor in Persian. I left my Law program. Since I had already completed the requirements for one out of the three degrees completing that program would have awarded me: the B.A. in Shariah, I received that degree as well. With two Bachelors in hand, I moved to the U.S.
I landed in Houston on July 4th, reached Oklahoma City on July 5th, was hired to be a teacher on July 7th. I started working that school year. Since then, I have been a teacher. I have taught Arabic, Quran, Islamic Studies, Math, Science, Spanish, English, Urdu, Algebra, Calculus, SAT Prep, African American Literature, Environmental Science, Biology, Civil Engineering, Technology, Drama, Debate, Music, and Special Ed. I have been in classrooms across America, from Washington D.C. to California, from Mosques to Churches to private schools to public schools to community centers to universities. I have been a teacher. In the last seven years, I have fought hard not to be a teacher at times (I got a Masters in Arabic and another in International Affairs for heaven's sake! I have rejected countless teaching job offers too!) yet fought hard to be a teacher at other times (What can I say, I love teaching Arabic 💁). I will admit though that I have been excited to be a teacher sometimes. At times depressed. I have even resigned to my fate being a teacher. However, for the first time in my life, I am happy as I begin a new job as a teacher this time.
Alhumdulillah.
Let the adventure begin...
I recall one particular phone conversation I had with my mom as I sat in the car speeding along the canal the runs through the middle of Lahore. The driver had just picked me up from school and we were on our way to pick up my brother from his school now. I was in ninth grade, trying to discover what subjects to choose for my A-levels. I had called my mom and we were just chatting about life when she said that the best option I have for a career, really, is in education. Education Administration, teaching, something related to the field. I responded not in a thousand years. She said to me, 'Mark my words, you are going to be some sort of a teacher. Your parents were both teachers at some point in their lives, your aunts were all teachers. Your grandmother (naani) was a teacher. Your grandfather (nana) ran three schools. Your uncle (mamu) ran them and before him your mom did. Some of your cousins are teachers. Its in your blood.' I was very upset with her when she used the Urdu proverb, meaning that a cobbler's son becomes a cobbler too. That's for people who lack the willingness and resources to break the cycle. I am not going into education! She responded calmly that it wasn't just that. Its also that some traits are inherited and our environment shapes us in major ways so we automatically become good at what our environment is good for, most of the time. I told her that I will be the one to break the cycle.
True to my word, I went to law school, notwithstanding the fact that my father had been a lawyer for most of my life. I was going to be a human rights lawyer. He was a corporate lawyer. The two kinds are so different from each other that they might as well be different species! These are definitely two different professions! I reasoned.
I had a plan and I stuck to it despite the challenges I faced. Through the hills and the valleys, I fine-tuned the plan but never wavered from the trajectory. I was going to complete my LLB Honours, a six-year program, and graduate with three degrees, a Bachelor's in Sharia, a professional degree in Law, and a Masters in Islamic Studies. However, since it was all felt so easy to me, I also wanted to complete a Ph.D. on the side. Or at least start one. I enrolled in another Bachelors's program via distance learning at a different university. I was going to complete that, then earn a Masters while I finished five years of my LLB Hons., then by the time I would graduate and start practicing Law, I would have also started a Ph.D. Awesome plan, wheels in motion. By the time I finished the third year of my LLB Hons, I was also set to finish my other B.A.
Then life happened.
I sat in exams for both my final semester of the third year and B.A. that Spring. I completed my B.A. in Islamic Studies and Arabic with a minor in Persian. I left my Law program. Since I had already completed the requirements for one out of the three degrees completing that program would have awarded me: the B.A. in Shariah, I received that degree as well. With two Bachelors in hand, I moved to the U.S.
I landed in Houston on July 4th, reached Oklahoma City on July 5th, was hired to be a teacher on July 7th. I started working that school year. Since then, I have been a teacher. I have taught Arabic, Quran, Islamic Studies, Math, Science, Spanish, English, Urdu, Algebra, Calculus, SAT Prep, African American Literature, Environmental Science, Biology, Civil Engineering, Technology, Drama, Debate, Music, and Special Ed. I have been in classrooms across America, from Washington D.C. to California, from Mosques to Churches to private schools to public schools to community centers to universities. I have been a teacher. In the last seven years, I have fought hard not to be a teacher at times (I got a Masters in Arabic and another in International Affairs for heaven's sake! I have rejected countless teaching job offers too!) yet fought hard to be a teacher at other times (What can I say, I love teaching Arabic 💁). I will admit though that I have been excited to be a teacher sometimes. At times depressed. I have even resigned to my fate being a teacher. However, for the first time in my life, I am happy as I begin a new job as a teacher this time.
Alhumdulillah.
Let the adventure begin...
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