UDAAN 1 - Session 2

 

July 4, 2021

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” - Thomas Edison

“UDAAN'' is the a gender-inclusive programme facilitated by Lokopakar. Lokopakar is a youth organization that facilitates young minds to a new demanding world of challenges and obstacles. “UDAAN '' Chapter 1 is conducted in collaboration with the Leo Club of Kathmandu Chabahil which also inspires youth to use their creative mind for something fruitful for society. 

After the first session on 20th June, the second session of UDAAN: Chapter 1 was held on 4th July via Zoom from 5 PM onwards with an active participation of 0+ enthusiastic young minds.

The term “Never give up” is a phrase that is said by almost anyone to those who are about to quit and it's quite powerful as well with all the examples we can take from different personalities around us. I was eagerly waiting for this session to know about people around us who have conquered the mindset of not giving up and how they push themselves. I didn’t have any idea about what kind of stories would be shared in the session and how they would affect me and my thoughts and wasn’t certain if there would be anything like that! We had a total of five speakers in the session this time and it was overwhelming to hear each story.

• The session started with the first speaker expressing a story about her friend who was having problems with her weight and with proper diet and exercise she was able to lose about 10 kg in 3 months. The story was quite astonishing given that the friend she was talking about had tried to lose weight before but could not be consistent with the plans but she decided to make the change herself at last and won over her body!

• The second speaker shared his past experiences where he always had to play as a goalkeeper and how he was picked at last when it was time for team formation. He shared how he bought a football in this hostel and played alone, just kicking it around to improve his skills and after a couple of months went by and he had become really good with shooting and how he was the first one to be picked by a team when they were about to play.

• Our third speaker also shared a story of her friend who was struggling a lot with her body and had even taken extreme measures to lose weight but even with that, when she wasn’t able to make progress she even considered taking her life but again looked at the bright side of life and there’s so much else she can do to make her life good. Loving her body was the key and she slowly but steadily made progress and is living her life to the fullest now.

• Our fourth speaker conveyed her message on how she was not getting good grades and didn’t have much interest as well but looking at how lucky she was to get such opportunities to study made her realize how she wasn’t utilizing it and how much the support of her parents and her friends helped her out and she was able to get good grades in the following exams.

• The fifth speaker shared about an accident in which he was involved when he was in grade 12 and how it has completely changed his life. He expressed his thoughts on how the smallest of things and family and friends play a huge role when you're alone and don’t know what to do. He emphasized the fact that anyone, you, me, them just anyone can have a simple yet unforgettable experience in life.

After hearing all those stories, all the participants were shaken at all the accomplishments that people can make that literally change their life. Our moderator had a few points that she shared after hearing all the stories and experiences of the speakers:

• It takes small steps with consistency to take a big leap.

• Speaking about your problems to your loved ones and friends who you trust wholeheartedly helps a lot.

• There’s so much we can do with this precious life we have and we should do everything to make the most out of it.

After the 90 minute session, I felt surreal with all the stories of the experiences. The comments from the moderator made me feel that there’s really more to life than just struggles and as Walt Disney said “After the rain, the sun will reappear.” I look forward to the next session!

Written By : Kripa Bhandari