Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Career as an Identity
So, the first three dayz of university have passed and the excitement has started to come to an end. Soon, I'll be lost in the sea of assignemnts, labs, and seminars that form the life of students. A life that I decided not to overwhelm me or for better choice of words, become my identity. I still stand by my opinion of not letting school get to me. I refuse to become one of those people who eat and breathe their career ambitions (be it engineering, med school, lawyer, journalist etc.).
I had an interesting conversation with a friend today. Though, it was short in length, I believe it highlighted to a great extent the general mentality of Muslims. He asked me about the fate of some of my fellow co-op students who had been unable to find jobs. I replied that most of them had become dejected and dropped out of the co-op program. I explained to him that its best to go in the program with the mentality that if Allah has meant for your to find a job, all the power to you, but if you don't it is not the end of world by any means. And that is where it hit me. These Muslims had started to believe that their high marks or research experience will help them attain jobs. They thought they were self-sufficient enough not to need anybody's help, not even Allah's. The marks and experience are not the sole basis but rather a mean through which Allah provides for a person. It just does not make sense to me that if a person believes in an all-knowing God (a concept common to muslims and non-muslims) who has the power over all, then why this person not want to enlist His help?
"And if they turn back, then know that Allah is your Patron; most excellent is the Patron and most excellent the Helper." (al-anfal verse 42)
Now to work on my first assignment that is interestingly enough a short essay and not a mathematical problem.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend today. Though, it was short in length, I believe it highlighted to a great extent the general mentality of Muslims. He asked me about the fate of some of my fellow co-op students who had been unable to find jobs. I replied that most of them had become dejected and dropped out of the co-op program. I explained to him that its best to go in the program with the mentality that if Allah has meant for your to find a job, all the power to you, but if you don't it is not the end of world by any means. And that is where it hit me. These Muslims had started to believe that their high marks or research experience will help them attain jobs. They thought they were self-sufficient enough not to need anybody's help, not even Allah's. The marks and experience are not the sole basis but rather a mean through which Allah provides for a person. It just does not make sense to me that if a person believes in an all-knowing God (a concept common to muslims and non-muslims) who has the power over all, then why this person not want to enlist His help?
"And if they turn back, then know that Allah is your Patron; most excellent is the Patron and most excellent the Helper." (al-anfal verse 42)
Now to work on my first assignment that is interestingly enough a short essay and not a mathematical problem.
Faraz Ahmed 8:49 p.m.