So about that graduation thing...
Some post-high school graduation thoughts, reflections, and memories.
The feeling didn’t kick in until now.
One week after graduation.
Why? Because we had three days of school after graduation.
Three tests.
Five restaurants.
One insane field trip.
And the most emotional goodbye ceremony possible.
But… I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back a bit.
July 4th, 2020. I land in US and spot fireworks everywhere as we drive to our Airbnb.
I should be happy, sad, excited, nervous. I’m not even sure what I should be.
I’m starting high school in a new country. I know nobody here. Things already suck, but hold up, I missed something.
There’s a pandemic going on.
Masks, lockdowns, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper shortages—this was the peak of COVID-19.
Vaccines weren’t even available yet.
Oh, and… there were wildfires that year. The largest Californian wildfires in modern history.
Some beautiful orange smoke to welcome us and help us settle in.
I wasn’t too sad to leave Canada. I don’t really remember why, but I was ready for a change.
Arriving in California, I literally did not know anyone. I had no family, friends, or community.
Naturally, I turned to the one hobby I had—content creation.
I posted my first YouTube video, a compilation of pictures and videos from my trip to the Bay Area, which I then turned into a series called “The San Jose Series”.
This was the beginning of my personal content journey and taught me many lessons with each video.
I also got in contact with my local mosque. Thankfully, my dad had gone to university here in the Bay. So he knew a lot of people.
Getting in touch with Br. Ishaq changed my life. Being the lead of the mosque’s A/V team, he introduced me to Al-Kisa Media’s studio.
This is where I grew the most.
I got to use Blackmagic 6K Cinema cameras. Shure SM7B’s. Manfrotto tripods.
I got to run daily shows with thousands of views, produce Islamic music, and even start my own podcast in that studio.
The first nickname I had amongst my school was “paparazzi”. They saw me at mosque. Recording. Literally. Everything.
This was before 9th grade had even started.
I hadn’t even met the majority of my classmates in person yet, but somehow within a month I got to be friends with all of them.
And I’ll forever be grateful for having a small class - I was the 8th boy in my class, meaning there wasn’t even an option of not getting to know everyone.
These were the days of good old Google Hangouts.
Throughout the year, we switched to Skype, then to Discord. But man, did we keep active. We’d hop on calls after almost every single class.
One of our teachers, Br. Talebi, started a collaboration with schools across the world, including ones in Michigan and Iran.
This gave us all, especially me, an opportunity to get to know my classmates better.
I was also obsessed with historical Turkish drama. It was what kept me alive during COVID. But we don’t talk about that.
Over the next year, I got to know my classmates better at individual levels.
I started creating videos with Isa. We collaborated on hundreds of projects, from small nature photography to promotional videos.
We started bi-weekly hikes, allowing us to spend times with friends, get some exercise, and benefit with spiritual discussions from our school Dean of Mission.
10th grade, we were back in person.
I got my first real high school experience, and man, what an experience it was.
I was more active that year than the rest of my high school years, combined.
I ran for and won as student council president, which was… a bit of a mistake. iykyk.
But I’m really grateful for all the lessons it taught me.
I created a 3-part documentary series where all of the upper school boys ran around the school acting like hooligans, searching for Among Us stickers and trying to find the “imposters”.
Good times. Shoutout Ashfaq.
More importantly, I was starting to figure out who I am.
Content creation was starting to become more than a hobby for me.
It was becoming a career.
Fast forward two years, and here we are.
Saturday: our graduation ceremony. Mexican food with the family. After-party at a classmates house with the craziest snacks and a UFC game (s/o Abbas).
Sunday: after-party part 2 with homemade loaded fries. Even better than it sounds (s/o Jari).
Monday: 3rd last day of school. Brisket burritos at a restaurant to start the day, 1 hour drive to Gilroy, and a crazy paint-balling field trip. Burgers to end the day with.
Tuesday: photography for 3 graduation ceremonies. Absolutely exhausting. Burgers again.
RIP my bank account.
Wednesday: pain. 3 tests. One failed.
Thursday: my one day to chill lol. School play in the evening… amazing performance.
They had a scene with better acting and music than Hollywood.
Friday: our last day of school. The school sent us off by having us walk through the school and be greeted by all the students, KG-11.
So… now what? We’re out of this building.
We’re no longer students.
We’re alumni.
And now, finally, that feelings starting to kick in.
That feeling that it’s over.
That there’s opportunities missed out on.
Memories lost.
Friends I won’t see daily.
Mentors who won’t greet me with joy every morning.
It’s truly a bitter-sweet feeling.
When I pause and think about it more, I realize that no matter how grateful I am for the past four years, it’ll never be enough.
There are so many blessings for us to thank God for.
The fact that our schools aren’t being bombed.
That fact that we live in comfort, with families to support us.
The fact that our houses haven’t been destroyed and families killed.
The fact that we have the luxury to celebrate, to eat out, to spend time with friends.
While those on the other side of the world, more innocent than any of us could ever be, live in fear of losing everything any second.
Yet… they’re still happy.
They still smile.
They carry on with life. They make the most out of it.
They know that everything is in the hands of God.
That there will be revenge.
That there is hope.
There is always hope.
And so, while there’s this bitter-sweet feeling…
In reality, it’s nothing more than gratefulness.
Gratefulness for every single moment.
For every single lesson learned, every single memory, every single mistake made.
And yeah, there were many. Way too many to count.
Grateful for the mentors we’ve had throughout, the teachers whose only goal was our success. Both in this world, and the next.
Grateful for my classmates, who I’m proud to call my true friends.
But most importantly, grateful to God. For every single moment.
So to my fellow students, teachers, and admin…
If I ever said or did anything to offend or harm you, please forgive me. I’ll remember each one of you, and I pray for your success.
And to my classmates, the class of 2024…
Congrats on graduating.
This is just the beginning.
We’ve got this 🫡
