Life after fellowship.

Teach for Nepal Learning Institute 2013.

It's been about six months that I finished my three years fellowship. My life changed in many aspects after fellowship but still there are abundance elements left, especially the core values. Sense of possibility, sense of urgency, commitment to excellence, integrity, mutual respect and responsibility, continuous learning and the seventh one of the first cohort Melody.

I did expect that Teach for Nepal fellowship will impact my personality in some ways but I never thought that it is going to be the way of my life.

I felt after three years of relentless work and effort to end education equity, I need a break from this holistic vision. I need to think about myself and contribute to nurture myself in professional and other realms of life.

Without any doubt I did that as well but it didn't serve me well. My experiences during fellowship, situations which  I underwent made me conscious and mindful of every aspect that I might have ignored otherwise. As simple as a picture book that I come across in library makes me think about the sense of urgency towards educational and resource inequity. 

Library in a government school at Simle, Lalitpur,.

Even while throwing the garbage bin reminds me of commitment to excellence. While I am seeking alternatives to extend my last day of visa, sense of possibility relieves me to think clear. Travelling for hours speechlessly, I am learning continuously about things I come across from traffic rules to people's behaviour. Moreover, working and meeting people from exceptionally different backgrounds and thoughts, I am positively able to accept them and practice respect and responsibility. Finally living up to all those values, realizing them and accepting them, I feel I am being honest with myself. Even though I discovered Melody much more later after the six core value were introduced, it has been integral part of me which I try to accomplish every moment. Those values has given a new perspective to me and meaning to things that happens in my life.

We build the road and the road builds us.

At the moment when I am reflecting back, I remember my discussion with Prabin Dai. He was referring about archery to justify the ups and downs we go through life. The more you stretch the string of a bow, the far arrow will go. Likewise, it doesn't matter how inactive you have been towards achieving your goal, sometimes it occurs so that you reach far out with more enthusiasm, energy  and focus towards your aspiration. As I am connecting the dot of my life, I can distinctly see where I am right now and at bird’s eye view I can see where the path of my life will lead with guidance of authentic self and the values that are incorporated.