M O S A I C 2 0 1 3
MOSAIC
Dedicated to
inspiration
Inspiration-the spark that ignites the soul
MOSAIC 2 01 3 PATRON
Mrs Humaira Mahmood
STAFF ADVISOR
Rehana Rasul
STAFF ASSISTANTS
Amna Pervaiz Masooma Khan
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Khalid Soomro Sharmeen Shahid
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR O' LEVEL REPRESENTATIVE
Saffa Faisal Ulveena Aitzaz Aisha Shabbir Zeelaf Butt
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CONTENTS Topics
Writer
Editorial Board's Picture Message from the Principal From the Chief Editor's Desk Editorial Note (English Editor) Editorial Note (English Sub-Editor) Message from Mrs Rehana Rasul Faculty and Staff Pictures Student Council Picture A level Class of 2013 A 1 Batch Picture Outgoing Classes of 2013
Bleeding Writers Down Memory Lane Tamasha Mere Agay Living at Liberty ! My Experience at BLL Remember When ? The Art of Survival My Liberty Campus ! Dreams and Hardships Are Where.... A True Beaconite at Heart The Wonders of Liberty
The Promise It is a Wonderful Lie The Ray of Hope One in a Million All She Wanted A Dreadful Memory A Message A Surprise at the Airport A Sunrise at Point Udall Change is Good Detective Liz
Action Now or Silence Forever? Illusions Don’t Let it Go Who Am I? The Land of Sighs Little Raindrops Do I Still Move On? Lovely Winters Our Nation The Sun is Setting The True Wholeness of Life Rather Be Blind Love for None They Say It’s Destiny The World From a Child’s Eye Seasons and Life 2
Pg. # 4 5 6-7 8 9 9 10-13 14 15-19 20 21-22
ALUMNI Amna Aslam Nimra Arshad Hadia Hameed Zahra Abbas Hareem Fatima Sarah Fatima Khan Ayesha Bibi Naziha Binte Asad Tehreem Fayyaz Momina Saeed-ud-Din Amal Mansur Javaid SHORT STORIES Hafsa Hussain AII-A Zaineb Zahid AI-C Noor Fatima XIC-A Faiqa Iqbal XIC-D Ushna Sajjad XC-B Anamta XC-D Aisha Shabbir AI-D Amina Ahmad VIII-C Ms. Amna Shafqat Taima Rao AI-C Khadija Khan VI-D POETRY Asisha Nisha Sikander Shah AII-A Ghania Shuaib AII-C Ulveena Aitzaz AI-C Fatima Muzaffar Ahmed XIC-C Mishaal Tariq AI-B Esha Imran VI-E Saffa Faisal AI-A Adina Amir VI-D Noor Fatima IXC-F Hareem Fatima XIC-B Khola Jamshad IXC-B Hafsa Qasim XC-C Hubashia Khan AII-C Saman Binte Adnan AII-D Ramsha Ijaz XIC-B Khola Jamshad IXC-B
23-24 25-26 27-28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
37 38 39 40 41-42 43-44 45-46 47 48-49 50-51 52
53 53 54 54 55 55 56 56 57 58 58 59 59 60 61 61
CONTENTS Topics
Writer
Bare Feet When Death Struck Her Son The Untold Only Time Will Tell Open Your Eyes My Inspiration, a Muse
Aisha Shabbir AI-D Sana Zaman IXC-B Hareem Fatima AII-C Zeelaf Butt XIC-B Raazia Kamal Butt AI-C Maira Farooq VIII-B
A Confession: I Am A Daydreamer! Are We Really That Different? DRAP: A Positive Step for the ... The Worst and Best Aspects of ... Consumerism Leads to Climate Change I Bet You Did Not Know About Them Youth and the Hurdles it Faces... The Anne Frank of Pakistan... Our Versatile Dreams
ARTICLES Saffa Faisal AI-A Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah AII-A Noor-e-Huma AI-B Mehreen Zaman XIC-D Zaineb Zahid AI-C Isra Imtiaz AI-B Zeelaf Butt XIC-B Sarah Sabir XIC-C Taima Rao AI-C
67 68 69 70-71 72 73 74 75 76
INSPIRATION Interview: Compiled by the Editors Interview: Compiled by the Editors Interview: Compiled by the Editors Interview: Compiled by the Editors Hirra Faisal Compiled by the Editors Minahil Tariq XIC-B Khadija Muzaffar AI-C Ushna Sajjad XC-B Noor Fatima IXC-F
77-79 80-81 82-83 84-85 86-87 88 89 90 91 92
Mrs. Nasreen Kasuri Hamid Mir Omair Rana Zoe Viccaji The Teachers at BLL: An Inspiration ! Inspiring Quotes I Have a Dream Window to My Soul Inspiration Inspiration I Sought
To Debate or To Orate? - BLKC 2013 2nd Annual ISSI Fashion Anthem ‘13 - My Spotlight ... Society Round Ups (A’ Levels) Sports Society The Science Society The Model United Nations Society The Movie Society The Debating Society The Dramatics Society The Law Society The Business Society The Social Welfare Society The Nature Club The Media Society Society Round Ups (O’ Levels) Science Society The Media Society The English Debating Society The Math Society Round the Block BLL is a place where... Art Gallery
LIFE @ LIBERTY Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah AII-A Myra Sohail AI-C Maryam Waqar AII-B
Compiled by the Editors
Pg. # 62 63 64 64 65 66
93-94 95 96 97 97-98 98 99 99 100 100 101 101 102 103 103 104 104 105 105 106-112 113-118 119-124
LIBERTY TIMES!!! 3
The Editorial Board
Sitting Left to Right: Mrs Nasreen Shaukat (Staff Coordinator Urdu Section) Saffa Faisal (Editor in Chief) Mrs Humaira Mahmood (Principal - Patron) Mrs Rehana Rasul (Staff Coordinator English Section) Standing Left to Right: Aruba Zubair (Urdu Sub Editor) Ifrah Idrees (Urdu Editor) Ulveena Aitzaz (English Editor) Aisha Shabbir (English Sub Editor)
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Message from the Principal Inspiration is the linchpin of Creativity. Dreams transcend from the ephemeral into the world of reality on the wings of inspiration. It is not confined to anything in particular – a word, an act, a gesture, or a thought can motivate a person to reach for the moon. What was fiction yesterday is reality today thanks to inspiration. H.G. Wells wrote of spaceships and moon crafts and we called it science fiction – today we have Apollos landing on the moon and probe missions blasting off to Mars – courtesy Inspiration! For some of us inspiration comes from parents who have always been our ideals. To emulate them in every sphere of life and to try and earn their praise has always pushed us to go the extra mile. Teachers have been second to none as inspirational muses and history is replete with examples where students have surpassed their mentors. It is really heartening to note that the students of this campus are fired with enthusiasm to be 'up and doing'. Their verve, élan and spirit of gung-ho keep this campus alive and buzzing with activities all the year around. Young ladies, you are our future and my advice to you is to learn tolerance, spread good will and do good unto others. Our country needs genuine, patriotic and humane leaders – be like Helen Keller who couldn't see yet was in the vanguard; like Joan of Arc who was not a warrior yet fought with fervor and courage and like Mother Teresa who could have lived a life of luxury yet chose to work with the "poorest of the poor." I would like to end with this inspirational verse: “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing leave behind us Footprints on the sand of time” God Bless! Humaira Mahmood
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From the Chief Editor’s Desk "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France As you make your way through a crowd, you will probably not take the time to observe the inhabitants around you, to gaze at their expressions, to see whether they have a frown or bear a delicate smile. You will not make the effort to ponder on how they had that attention-seeking, horrifying scar, those deep, dark circles under their eyes or that shabby leather briefcase that is tightly clenched in one hand. You see, every single soul has a story to tell; a mission for which they are ready to pay any cost and similarly, a destination which they are desperate to reach. When I talk about the word mission the average mind will only perceive two periods: the struggling period and the period when that warrior is crowned victorious. However, one will ignore the first period; the most vital step, the stage that acts as the fundamental brick of their unbreakable building. And that my friends, is the point of time when that person is inspired. To achieve anything, be it good grades or to lose weight, you need to be inspired. Inspiration ignites the fire within you and is also the motivating factor that keeps you going through the harsh, challenging period of converting your dreams into reality. Hence, my (Yes MY! The perks of being the editor in chief :P) editorial board and I decided to dedicate this year's Mosaic to Inspiration. As Ms. Rehana warned me of the 'back-breaking' journey that lay ahead of me, this experience has definitely been a tough nut to crack. Yes, you heard me right! Meeting deadlines, begging the students to contribute to the Mosaic and then going through the most horrendous handwritings I have ever seen (not to forget reading compositions based on one's boyfriends) accompanied by Ms. Rehana's constant scoldings, this journey though tough, is one that I will always cherish. This experience not only groomed me as a writer but it also left me in awe after reading the contributions of some students. It is amazing to see what this branch has to offer! Moreover, it also provided me with an opportunity to explore different mindsets and trust me there is more to just boyfriends ;) Heaps of effort, sweats of blood and many sleepless nights have been put together to make this dream a reality. This year we have introduced changes in the Mosaic. We have dedicated an entire section to our theme, Inspiration. This section, apart from other material, includes interviews of successful people from different fields of life who share their life story and much more. I am hopeful that this section will leave you deeply inspired. And there is MUCH more! You have to read to believe it. I would also like to thank Ms. Rehana for always pushing me till I delivered my best. Without you ma'am this would never have been possible! I would also like to express my gratitude to my editorial
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board, Aaisha Nisha and Hira Faisal for answering my many idiotic questions, my friends, for believing in me and bearing with me when I had those countless panic attacks and to all those who contributed to the Mosaic, whether selected or not. It is your contributions that make Mosaic what it is. I want to conclude with the hope that this year's Mosaic is a true representative of all the girls in BLL. And so my friends I present to you (Drum roll please :p ) MOSAIC 2013. Be inspired!
Enjoy! Saffa Faisal Editor in Chief
They take pictures of the mountain climbers at the top of the mountain. They are smiling, ecstatic, triumphant. They don’t take pictures along the way cause who wants to remember the rest of it? We push ourselves because we have to not because we like it. The relentless climb, the pain and anguish of taking it to the next level – nobody takes pictures of that, nobody wants to remember. We just want to remember the view from the top, the breathtaking moment at the edge of the world. That’s what keeps us climbing and it’s worth the pain, that’s the crazy part. It’s worth anything.
GREY'S ANATOMY
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Editorial Note As I begin to write this editorial note, I realize I have no idea where to begin. I have so much to tell, so much to share. However, it is only fair and wise that I start with how this chapter made its way into my book of life. It all began when I was in fifth grade and the very prestigious Editor-inChief and the English Editor walked into our class, introduced themselves and asked us to contribute to the Mosaic. I can recall how I stared at them in awe. The majestic creatures who had complete control over the Mosaic, the most looked forward to item of each year! That was when, friends, I decided that I had to be on the editorial board at any cost! Preparations began. Every single year, I would write for the Mosaic. Every single year, the contributions would get accepted. My faith grew, becoming stronger and stronger each year while I looked up to the Editors. To me, they were legends! Unforgettable legends of Liberty and everything Liberty stood for. Years passed and finally it was the time that I had eagerly awaited; the selection of the Editorial Board 2013. We were made to write essays and give interviews. My confidence was at the highest peak possible, but as Bill Gates says "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." And as is obvious, I lost the race for the post of Editor-in-Chief. I promised myself that this was not going to get me down. After all "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." Thus, began another journey. The journey that had started by haunting me was now going to inspire me. And we decided to call our journey inspiration. It seemed like trying to accomplish the impossible task of going to the moon and back. Running after all of you, begging you to contribute, I was heard saying, perhaps too often, "Pretty PLEASE?" and then quickly adding "With a cherry on top?" The worst were probably the alumni articles where I pleaded with my seniors and got the same response from those who chose to reply, "I have my mids coming up." The short stories were simple, in comparison of course! The poems gave us a tough time too. Like we weren't troubled enough, we decided to introduce a new section dedicated to our theme; Inspiration. So, here is hoping that my sleepless nights, endless exhaustion and mind racking have been worth it all. Happy reading! Ulveena Aitzaz English Editor
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Editorial Note As I sit and write down this editorial note, I realize that the last five months have been the most hectic months of my school life. Not only did I not have the slightest clue of how the editorial board works but had to go through a nerve wrecking selection process which included being interviewed by Ms. Rehana. But little did I know that the most nerve wrecking part was yet to come. Lou Holtz once said: "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."This perfectly states how this journey has been, like numerous tides drifting us away from the shore and leaving us stranded in the middle of the ocean. The Mosaic itself is a charisma but to have the charisma last and shine like a shooting star is more than it seems. Often we think and wonder why our seniors and elders always teach us that it is easy and evil to do what we want and that we need discipline to restrain ourselves? It's the hardest thing in the world – to do what we want. And it takes the greatest kind of courage, I mean, to do what we really want. And if it's your truest desire, you will go head over heels to achieve it and you will at the end. Saying this, I would like to welcome this year's Mosaic’s theme "INSPIRATION." Inspiration is all around us, we breathe it, feel it, think it, and live it. Whatever you do is an inspiration, even writing an article is an inspiration. Who knows how many of us will start writing after reading this. With that said, always keep in mind to say yes, when it comes to contributing your pieces of inspiration as we all need a bit of inspiration in our lives. On that note, I would truly like to thank my group of friends who have taken notes and helped me in covering up my missed classes due to Mosaic meetings. Happy reading. Hope you enjoy Mosaic 2013!!!! Cheers. Aisha Shabbir Assistant Editor
Message from Mrs. Rehana Rasul Staff Coordinator
Working with a new Editorial Board each year is challenging as well as refreshing. Each team brings in new ideas and innovative techniques. New sections are introduced and for each, ideas flow in – it is indeed a wonderful learning experience. Each Editorial Board helps me reiterate my belief. Zara num ho to ye mitti Bohat zarkhes hai Saqi’ Well done girls!
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A Level Faculty
Senior School Faculty
Middle School Faculty
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Library Senior School
A Levels Library
Food and Nutrition Lab
Science Lab
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Staff Administrative Staff
Science Lab Staff
Custodian Staff
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Staff Cafetaria Staff
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Student Council
A Level Class of 2013
Shizza Shahid
Amna Omer
Umber Nadeem
Laraib Kamal
Nayab Naveed
NBA's Next!
Annoying Factor
Mrs. Mirza Ghalib
Gol Gappa
Achi Bachi
Azka Aqeel
Sakina Khan
Beenish Waqar
Maheen Asim
Maha Haider
Decent Wife
Picasso
Happy-go-lucky
Mehfil ki Jaan
Cute as a button
Meher Mehtab
Hiba Ali
Nimra Iqbal
Hafsa Hussain
Mahnoor Ahmed
“Nice Life, Beautiful Life”
Chickabomb
Concisely Sweet
Khamba
Waderi
Areeba Malik
Areej Ahmad
Hafsa Fayyaz
Hareem Fatima
Hiba Zafar
Japani Phal
Urdu #Respect!
Angrez
Electricity and peace
Street wise fella
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A Level Class of 2013
Mariya Sami
Maham Qaisar
Maliha Jaleel
Maria Ayub
Mishaal Sulehri
Meray phone ko kaan say chipka lay fevicol say ;)
Sleek and Savy
Magic Hands
Brilliance undefined!
Power-puff Girl
Saman Adnan
Sania Arshad
Sarah Mir
Sofia Nasim
Mahnoor Amjad
Sugar, spice and everything nice
Smile Pliss!
Sweet tooth
Passion for Fashion
Happy feet
Nida Nadeem
Bashair Asad
Ghania Shoaib
Hubashia Khan
Ifra Sultan
Chipmunk
Iphone
Patakha
Strawberry pie
Silent gal
Khadija Masood
Maryam Tariq
Maria Nasir
Noreen Ali
Rabail Idrees
Baji please!
Innocent lady
Mein theek lag rai hun na? ;)
Made in China
Simplicity is my orhna bichona
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A Level Class of 2013
Rida Zainab
Safa Khalil
Sajjal Malik
Shazmeera Adnan
Nageen Ather
Daid eenth ki masjid
Chalti phirti encyclopedia
Let's talk!
Jinni choti unni tekhi
Teri mehrbani
Noor-us-Saba Butt
Ayesha Mir
Saba Imran
Sidra Sabir
Shizza Malik
Bollywood unlimited
Mystery
Rapunzel
Poker master
Arooj Asif's better half
Mahrukh Jaffar
Iqra Saleem
Ghina Naveed
Laraib Khattak
Amna Tahir
Overrated fashion
Show stopper
Angelic soul
Catch me if you can?
Pocahontas
Amna Ashraf
Aroof Asif
Asima Fasahat
Ayesha Rashid
Sharmeen Sattar
Dexter
Shizza Malik's better half
Soft speaker
Unknown
Current
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A Level Class of 2013
Uniza Naveed
Zulekha Zameer
Aimma Warood
Aleezah Shahid
Amal Fatima
Daddy's little girl.
Sshhhh!
High heels ki factory
Radio mirchi
Chammak chalo
Aminah Amjad
Anum Ehsan
Anum Imtiaz
Areeba Irfan
Nazli Humayun
Ms. Congeniality
Social network
Happy soul
Parda Nasheen
Too lovable ^_^
Hawa Butt
Mahnoor Qadeer
Meher-un-Nisa Khan
Asthma Ghias
Chef Gulzar
*Salute*
Wild lady from LSE (London)
Nerd Alert!
Aaisha Nisha Sikandar Shah
Mahnoor Siddique
Zarina Khan
Eisha Nasir
Paneer ka laddu
Pinocchio
Friendly
Ifra Farz Ms. Unknown part 2
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Maryam Waqar Skeleton
Einstein ka baap!
A Level Class of 2013
Fatima Khan
Kanwal Zahra
Tayyaba Imtiaz
Umamah Muneeb
Zanaira Ali
Lost island
Cuteness personified
Idam ka darwaza
Principal looks
Hyper- genius
Farewell 2013
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A1 Batch
Outgoing Classes XI CA
XI CB
XI CC
XI CD
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Outgoing Classes XI CE
XI CF
XM A
XM B
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Alumni
Education is the key to freedom
Bleeding Writers Amna Aslam
Amna did her O' Level in 2008 and secured 7 As. She also finished her A' Level at BLL in 2010 and secured 5 As. She is currently studying in LUMS, Amna Aslam is also Chief Editor of an online publication company Ideas Evolved.
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." ~ Ernest Hemingway I feel you, bro. As "good writers", you are expected to be able to write "wow-worthy" things in a matter of mere minutes. But you see, the image of a young writer/poet, travelling in a train, lost in thought about the beauty of the wheat fields and then writing a lovely "ghazal" about how his "mehmoob" resembles one such tall and willowy stem, is so pre-partition. Now what you have is a group of writers, who have been selected on the basis of their superenthusiasm and aptitude of rendering great work in black and white, begging their editors to give them topics to write on. Because if they were to write about anything that caught their fancy, the golden orbs of an "axolotl", for example, they WOULD probably bleed. Type and delete and edit and replace their train of thought, desperate to come upon the perfect word, the perfect line. What they started with – an idea about the golden light illuminating from the luminescent flesh of a slightly cranky-looking fish– is determined to be elusive, almost always, and it is no mean feat to be able to execute it. You see readers, "For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word." And nothing is so hard either. As far as I am concerned, I am one person who thinks a lot, almost too much for her own good. I see things and mentally make notes; I even say these brilliant-sounding sentences in my head over and over again. But I hardly ever get down to write them. Every time I do, I bleed, until I give up thinking. My thoughts, which I efficiently wrote in my mind, are lost in the peripheries of my memory, hard to extract, elusive- again. That is what happens to most of us. But what I can tell you are few secrets that we writers have. Tips, more like, which help us sound intelligent (hopefully) to our readers. 1. Choose a topic from your literature class. Use expressions which you know would bounce off anyone's head who has not taken that particular course in which you came upon this amazing concept. Quote a few ideas discussed in class, by the great intellects around you. This is a great way to come off as a philosopher. 2. Choose a simple idea and bring out itsy bitsy details - things so mundane that people do not talk about them. For example, a year or so ago, I wrote this piece called "5 things children love talking about". Now if you look at the topic, it is so typical, but I touched upon the details, and quoted children that I have come across, and also shared some personal memories. Result? People read it and go "Hey! I do that too" or "Yeah, I remember I used to love talking about that too". But this one is a little tricky, if you can not do justice to a simple topic, because simple is most difficult, do not 23
try it. Like Einstein said: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." 3. Interject a few quotes here or there. This is something I have seen debaters and writers do all my life, they write something simple, and add a dose of great quotes to come off as people who are learned. How so? Because it shows that instead of spending hours laughing over images on 9gag they also spend some time reading useful philosophy. It can take you a long way too, so much to learn from these quotes. 4. Use a fancy word every 5-7 lines. Never be wordy, no. You do not want your expression to be obscure to readers- remember the best kind of writers are those who are understood. However, occasionally inserting technical jargon or a heavy word here and there, will lend credibility to your work. Why? Because then the reader would feel you know more than him- whether that is information or merely vocabulary. And you know about creative moments, artistic temperament and writer's block? Let me clarify those expressions for you. A creative moment is that when you think of a topic to write on- you picture the perfect concoction of creativity, uniqueness and eloquence in your mind but if you do not get down to writing it that very moment, all it will remain is an epiphany. Artistic temperament? That is what we writers like to pretend in front of our non-writer friends to create an air of mystery and 'awesomeness'. A writer's block is our perpetual friend in writing. As soon as we grab a PC to pen our thoughts, this shadow of doubt, pessimism and lethargy creeps upon us to make sure what we end up writing has to be edited quite a few times to make it easy on the eyes. I fool you not. So yes, in short, writing is not a bed of roses. It takes a lot of time- writing, scratching, re-writing, researching, reorganization, rethinking, giving up, getting back on track and what not. But the best thing about writing is that it is liberating. From the tip of your fingers, you can feel the tension and pent up emotions and opinions gently oozing out so that once you get done, not only do you feel lighter but you feel a whole lot happier.
"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." Sylvia Plath
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Down Memory Lane Nimra Arshad
Nimra completed her O' Level in 2010 securing 10 A's and completed her A' Level in 2012. She is currently studying in LUMS. A couple of months ago when I received a message from Saffa to write an article for the Mosaic it immediately took me back to two years ago when I was exactly in the same position squirming under Ms. Rehana's gaze and trying my best to put together enough material for the magazine. At that time I hated the job and berated myself quite regularly that why did I even apply for the post in the first place because trying to put together a magazine that's half respectable while dealing with a lack of contributions, a lazy printer, 5 A Level subjects and extracurricular activities is one tough nut to crack. So I extend my sympathies and apologies to the editorial board for the job they have on their hands and for sending this article in extremely late respectively. :P Anyway on, since this is an alumni article and I am supposed to reminisce over, rather adoringly I might add, the thirteen years I spent in BLL, let's do that. Well, to be completely honest I have had a topsy-turvy love and hate relationship with this place and I think that is pretty conventional for any student associated with any institution. You have your good moments but you do not refrain from calling out your institution on any policy you do not agree with. However, when you finally graduate and look back at the time you have spent there, you only have the happy and cherished memories to talk about and I am going to do exactly that. From the time when I entered the 'big campus' as a scared 8 year old to when I finally graduated as a relatively mature and confident young woman it has been one special and eventful journey. Beaconhouse Liberty will always remain home to me and no other institution that I might be a part of from hereon will come anywhere close to it. I will end my loving ode to Liberty right here before the person who has managed to read this piece till here decides to stop. So what do I miss about Liberty? I miss my absolutely wonderful group of friends, each of whom have now gone down a different path in their academic pursuits. I miss hanging out in the cafeteria and talking about how 'kacha' the pizza was. I miss sacrificing my weekends for debating tournaments and staying back in school till 6 sometimes for the debate sessions. I miss being a silent spectator in the common room while the juniors danced their hearts out. I miss going on class trips and having a gala time in our very 'awesome' school bus. I miss Uncle Afzal's cheerful greeting each morning. I miss the feeling of unadulterated joy every time it was found out that a teacher was absent. I miss the Eid Milan parties, the bonfires and the carnivals. I miss being the Editor of this very magazine and the President of the debating society. Most of all I miss the feeling of familiarity, comfort and cheerful carelessness that this place provided. Liberty not only provided me with some prized memories but it also gave me a chance to meet some truly remarkable teachers who helped me become the person I am today and for that I shall be ever grateful. Ms. Sabina and Ms. Sabahat made invaluable contributions to my life and I wish them all the good things that this world can give.I still remember the Physics classes with Sir Kamran where he was determined to teach us and we tried our best to distract him into a discussion about politics. And how can I forget Sir Asim and how we loved him for his affinity to leaving the class 15 minutes early. 25
The fatherly love and warmth that Sir Muhammad Ali exuded generally and especially on our three day trip to GIKI and his concern whether we were all well-fed still brings a smile to my face. I sometimes laugh about how I would be so nervous each time I had to make a trip to Ms. Rehana's office for work relating to the magazine or the debating society. Gosh those were the real good times! I am pretty familiar with the exciting feeling of being on the brink of finishing school and starting college and embracing freedom in a sense and becoming your own person. Trust me when I say this that while university does bring its share of independence and new experiences the time you spend in this school will be treasured and unforgettable. There will be no teacher anymore who will be concerned about your falling grades or no group of friends who will do their best to help you out when you really need it. So make the best out of the time you still have here and make some precious memories while you still have the time. And all you 11th graders who love going to other schools for A Levels (you know which school I mean :P) better stay back and make this place even cooler!
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein
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Tamasha Mere Agay Hadia Hameed
Hadia completed her O' Level from Liberty Campus in 2011 with 7A*s and 1A and now is currently doing FSC pre-engineering from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. “Malala is a US spy.” “The whole thing was planted.” “Malala is a threat to Islam” I wish I could say that these statements were just passed by Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) in consequence to a great outburst of rage across the country. But sadly it is all true. I have had the unfortunate coincidence of coming across these sentiments and hearing such statements by my fellow countrymen with my own ears. So I asked myself over and over again, "Have I grown up or has the world always been like that?" This sacred piece of land which we call our home; is in reality a hub of conspiracies. Keeping in mind what we have been through for the past 65 years and even before independence, it is not that shocking. More often than not, our nation is more interested in the drama than the actual story. In these six decades of turbulent history, we have always imagined a dark, unseen force behind our every problem. Be it sectarian violence, energy crisis, inflation, martial law or religious intolerance, we have always put the entire responsibility on the West. Perhaps these "foreign elements" cannot be entirely declared innocent and it is a fact that they are involved in destabilizing this pure land to some extent but we have a thing for taking things a little too far. The Pakistan that I am growing up in today is a politically charged Pakistan and above all democracy prevails. (The type of democracy, though, is still questionable!) Therefore open discussion about politics and society in our classrooms, workplaces, and offices is something very common and usual. There are liberals who stand for a secular Pakistan, there are maulvis who endorse a strictly Islamic state running on the lines of Shariah, there are Taliban apologists who, in a way, are mostly clueless and then there are conspiracy theorists. However, in recent years the proportion of the latter has surprisingly increased which is rather frightening. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have added fuel to the fire. There are pictures spreading around, portraying the illogical and most ridiculous conspiracies and videos of misinformed people spreading rumours and promoting religious intolerance in the society. These concerns are the least for us to worry about when we are already burdened by innumerable other issues. Pakistan's history is a mess. It is cluttered with dirty politics, personal vendetta, military adventurism, institutional imbalance, manipulation and evil measures to meet selfish desires and so on. Our government has always been anything but stable. However, despite all that, it has survived and is still on the road to survival if not progress. But religious intolerance is a disease; a cancer that spreads slowly and slyly among the masses and devours them until nothing remains. It was religious intolerance on the part of Hindus that divided us in 1947. It worked for us then but we may not be able to survive if we let it grow among us and divide us. We have been injured once when we lost our other half four decades ago. We would not be able to endure such an injury again. What Quaid-eAzam said on the evening of 1948 is worth writing in gold: "Now I ask you to get rid of this provincialism, because as long as you allow this poison to remain in the politic body of Pakistan, believe me, you will never be a strong nation, and you will never be able to achieve what I wish we could achieve" 27
Is it not fascinating how the world and other living things (besides man) go about their business with utmost discipline and regularity while humans, who were supposed to be the superior race, are too busy creating unnecessary suffering for each other and anything that comes in between? We have become blind to our limitations, assuming that we bear the Divine responsibility to write our own as well as others' fate ourselves. Verily we are nothing but ignorant! Ghalib says it beautifully: Bazeecha-e-Atfal Hai Duniya Mere Age Hota Hai Shab-o-Roz Tamasha Mere Age (The world is my play ground, I see the game all around). I do not know what the world is coming to and how bad it will get. The biggest consolation in the world is perhaps that one is only accountable for one's own actions and not responsible for the hogwash around him. "Al-amr-bi'l maroof, wa nahi al an munkar" (enjoining the good and forbidding the evil) is certainly an important reality of our faith and if we do not have the power to change things we can at least try to retain our birthright to be a human being and condemn evil. I am sure when we stand before the Absolute Being in the Final Court, we will not be responsible for not believing in conspiracies but we will definitely owe an explanation to God for not accepting the truths that were self-evident. The world would always have its share of skeptics and cynics. Behind this world of responsibilities, liabilities, relations, emotions and faith and everything black and white, there exists a scarier, more mysterious world of hoaxes, conspiracies, paradoxes and a million shades of gray! It was always thus and always thus, shall it be!
Questions to ponder upon: E If they say TV is so bad for you then why do they have one in every hospital? E If Donald Duck does not wear pants, why does he wrap a towel around his waist? E If the entire world is a stage, what part are you playing? E If 7 - 11 is open 24 hours, why are there locks on the doors? E If the #2 pencil is so popular, then why is it called #2 instead of #1? E How much wood could a wood chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
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Living at Liberty! Zahra Abbas
Zahra completed her O' Level and A' Level in 2010 and 2012 respectively and she was a medallist in both. She is presently studying at Kinnaird College. Writing an essay as an alumnus seemed easy before I actually got my hands onto it. But after hours of literal brain storming I was finally able to release the gushing ideas in my mind onto the paper. This piece of writing right under your chin is not just an ordinary story or a formal essay but it is roller coaster ride of my experience at BLL. I started off my journey precisely on September 12th, 2006 as I still remember, it was a rainy day. To be honest, I was not really happy to be transferred to BLL; it was raining on and inside me! As I moved forward, the colossal red-brick building stood in front of me with all its aura and allure driving me into intense fascination. I almost forgot that I was feeling low as I gazed around with amazement. The vast ground and the tall structure were, though unfamiliar, but still kind of inspiring. But who knew this very building was going to give me so much of affection, association and a whole lot of eternal memories. The first few days at the new school (new branch) were intimidating and hard to pass but slowly I learnt to tackle my fears and very soon I settled down quite well. As time passed, I grew up from an immature kid into a confident and assured teenager. Before I knew it, I started my O levels, which were the most frantic yet thrilling and exciting years of my life. I got the best teachers and the best mentors ever, who actually moulded me into what I am today. Then there was the final year of O levels what seniors called 'shughal' but we spent the whole year practically looking for that particular word which we could not find! Being the art group we were in constant competition with the sciences' group, that won more importance and better remarks from the teachers. Ultimately we were the arts group, the "non-hardworking" ones, as we were tagged. However that was not the case in real, the fear of CIE finals gave us goose bumps too! As a reaction to which, we had to pull up our socks two months before CIE‌which we called 'well before time!' Then there was A level, the official 'college life' under the school's roof. These two years we made full use of because we actually were college girls! Being the senior most students in school we had to maintain a certain decorum, but still keeping within those parameters we enjoyed to the fullest. Air conditioned classrooms, the 'senior's protocol', liberty to leave the school whenever we wanted to. The common room was an all-time resort where we did everything else but study, relaxed, listened to music, and look "mirror pictures", played, and even slept! The common room was very cozy in winters and icy cold in summers. The juniors used to envy us; peeping in whenever they passed by. The secret school deliveries from McDonalds and Pizza Hut were divine feasts and tasted extra yummy when we knew it was forbidden to get something delivered at school. The unofficial shirt signing and our A-levels farewell were unbelievable, we just could not imagine leaving our second home‌ forever! And now to sum it up, I would take this platform to thank all my teachers who made me who I am. They taught me to be self-subsistent and be confident enough to 'think' for myself. BLL taught me a lot, to socialize, to speak up, to represent and to thank Allah for whatever I am blessed with! Your arms are always open for me, you will never deprive me of your warmth and your love continues to radiate. There is nothing I can give to you in return Liberty, every time I try to express my gratitude I am rendered speechless by the magnanimity of your contribution to what I am now. There is not a single day when I stop searching for you in Kinnaird's old classrooms, there is not a day when I stop wishing to grow younger and enjoy the good old days, but this is life, which has to go on. This is the time when I have to implement what BLL taught me: to move ahead and live at Liberty! 29
My Experience at BLL Hareem Fatima
Hareem completed her A' Level from BLL in 2012 and was a silver medallist. She is currently doing MBBS from CMH. I could, without a problem, start with how Beaconhouse Liberty Campus changed me as a person and was the best thing that could have happened to me but I think it is only fair to start on an honest note. The first thing that came to my mind when I entered this building for the first time as an A' Level student in September 2010 was 'What on earth did I get myself into?' It was a race here. Since day one. Who had scored better in their O' Levels, who was running for the council, who signed up for the greatest number of societies, it was a race. And I realised that if I thought I were good enough, the place was filled with people a lot better than myself. They referred to the craziness as 'practice for the real world', which frankly, sounded crazy on its own at the moment, but now when I look back, it really did change a lot of things about me, and spending two years here really was one great thing that could have happened to me. One thing I still go on about to whoever will listen was the friendliness of the administration. The door to the headmistress's office that was always open and allowed you to plop down on the seat and complain about the place-and be listened to. They treated us like adults-made us deal with our issues on our own. At first that was frustrating, but now actually having stepped into the 'real world', I see the point and would like to thank the school for all the rich experiences that have taught us a thing or two about dealing with the world. All this 'extra credit' learning started with participation in the All-Pakistan Science Fair at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, in which BLL was one of the few teams not comprising university level students. Standing amidst students from nationally recognized engineering universities, engrossed in their projects that were making us all gape at them like idiots taught us all a thing or two about self confidence and believing in oneself. Being part of the editorial board of the school magazine was more of learning than editing; reading what people had to say, and seeing all the different aspects there could be about a thing. Trying to run the Islamic society in a school where you saw people from all walks of life made me learn that not everyone sees things as I do, and the real issue was lack of tolerance and acceptance for opinions differing from our own. This is one of the things you do not usually get to learn at the age of eighteen. Arranging an inter school science fair, the ISSI, made us deal with a myriad of things-from management skills needed to pull off an event of this scale, to the skills required for making business deals with caterers and event managers. The school ensured that we were a part of it all, and not just the academic bit. The school trusted us, it encouraged us to go for what we wanted. It taught us that nothing is impossible, only if you just believe that it is not. Bit by bit, each day, it made me believe in myself. And the training I got for two years is put to use every day, now that I have joined the race.
“Everything you can imagine is real.� Pablo Picasso 30
Remember When? Sarah Fatima Khan
Sarah completed her O' Level and A' Level from BLL in 2005 and 2007 scoring straight A's in both. She is currently studying in LUMS. Some day when you grow really old, (and by old I mean the kind of old that you cannot wait to be when you are actually in school, but as soon as it starts happening, you spend considerable time wishing it would stop) you will sit on a beautiful bench somewhere with a heartwarming sunset providing you a scenic background, and your life will flash before your eyes. It is a morose concept to apply here, only because pop culture has us believing your life only flashes before your eyes when you are having a near death experience, but it is not true. Sometimes you are just tired of worrying about the future and the past sneaks up on you and warms you up with its lighthearted delights and moments that have filled you up with genuine joy. You will be surprised at how many of those memories revolve around the walls of your school, the grass, the bricks, the mud on the white badminton shoes and the smell of samosas, the blazers that would not tie around your waist because they are not made for that purpose, but it was not that cold in the afternoon and nobody could play dodge-the-ball with them on, the single lunch box that opened before the lunch break and filled up the class room with the smell of homemade French fries, the noise that arose from the class when the teacher was five minutes late and the prefect who tried her best to calm everyone down and make those five minutes pass without a visit from the headmistress, the tears over that one math test that you almost flunked, and the laughter at jokes that made no sense but there was a manic fit of giggles that could not be curtailed, smack in the middle of the Urdu class‌ Memories will come to you like a flock of migratory birds returning home after a long winter, one after another, swarming your mind. You will find your heart aching to have those days back when the worst that was possible was to show up for your Economics exam without having done your revision, and the best happened every day. In the form of a random breakfast plan or a permission slip signed to go eat pastries from the nearby Coffee shop, in the cancelled classes because the teacher had flu and the awful test that got postponed till next week, the extra games lesson after the longest Accounts class ever and the unceasing discussions about the cutest boy band member in eternity. It is funny because school is different for all of us. It is not just school; life is different for all of us. Yet some of our fondest memories, some of our purest bonds, are always rooted in the grounds where we learnt how to agonize loudly about homework and carry unchecked copies to staff rooms feeling like the most important people in the world. It is not even an easy place to be all the time. We all have the rough memories right there, stacked neatly next to our fond memories under the label of school. But age and wisdom (which are two completely unrelated concepts one must always remember) help us hold even the rough memories close to our hearts. Even the difficulties of the era sound like music, toughening us up and preparing us to be brave whatever life holds in the future. Thus you will put up a smile and shake your head at the stunning enigma that is time, and realize that a lot of it has passed while you lost track of it sitting on a bench in a picturesque sunset, which has now melted into an inky hue. As you get up to resume the race that you are running in, looking your future in the eye, ready to take life by its horns and what not, I wish your fond memories keep increasing in number. Before the day when you grow really old, may you remember to worry less and live more, remember to stay in touch with those who made your memories worth reliving, remember to take time out and sit in nature's crafty sunsets that free you from all your troubles and help you celebrate the magnificence of the life that you have spent. Lastly but of vital importance, may you remember to be thankful for what you have, and say it often, say it out aloud, say it to the people around you and say it with generosity! 31
The Art of Survival Ayesha Bibi
Ayesha completed her O' Level and A' Level from BLL in 2010 and 2012 securing 6 A*s and 2A*s respectively. Have you ever experienced the moment when you are at the best part of your dream, be it the point where you are about to open the box which promises great reward or the point where you are about to know what that closed door will open to‌.. and your mother wakes you up? Leaving my school life behind and taking my first step into the practical world was one such moment for me. I was at the best part of my life (or so I thought) and before I realized it, it was over and I was facing harsh realities that hitherto I had considered non existent. See it this way; all our lives we choose to gather around ourselves the people we like, we live in a cocoon, wrapped in the certainty of a secure future and we refuse to acknowledge what we do not like. But the world is made of far bigger things than the circle we choose to orbit around, people have real problems, real dilemmas; feeding their children when that means going hungry themselves, gathering strength to face the world every day, knowing that things will not change. So why am I writing about all this in my alumni article which is supposed to be nostalgic in extreme and should make the heart of the readers melt through their eyes? It is because once we leave this life there is one outside that clashes with our notions of ethics and demands us to make a choice. It stares at us from the eyes of the old home-less man who is shivering in the cold under the canal bridge and from the leering of daily wagers as you pass them by in your car. From what I have experienced there are two ways you can survive this either you revert to conformity: ignore the class, gender, religious and ethnic differences that prevail in the society or you fight them. Remain at what you believe is right and not sleep soundly at night. After leaving these red brick walls and judging my position in life, I chose the former, willing to avert my eyes whenever a question of principle came my way. I still cannot sleep soundly at night.
School Dictionary Shinza VIII-C ¡E Tears: The hydraulic force by which feminine power defeats masculine power. E Classroom: A place to sleep with your eyes open. E Duster: Used by students to clean shoes. E Principal: The boss is always right! E Dictionary: The only place where divorce comes before marriage. E Rumor: News that travels at the speed of light. E Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight. 32
My Liberty Campus! Naziha Binte Asad
Naziha completed her O' Level in 2012 from BLL and is currently doing her B.S Honors from Lahore College of Home Economics. Alumni‌ I am an Alumnus‌ wow‌ sounds so strange! During all the nine years that I have spent in Beaconhouse Liberty Campus, I always skipped the Alumni section from the Mosaic because I always thought it was boring to read pages and pages about people writing about them being 'in love' with the place where I wanted to run away from! I thought people had always written those "Oh that red building" and "Oh those teachers I would like to thank" lines just to make a good impression about themselves. But here I am, helplessly and desperately thinking about MY school, MY teachers, MY friends and everything else that I considered MINE. People told me, "School time is the best time of your life; you will not get these times back." I always thought it was a little exaggeration of what it really is. Or perhaps, when those previous students, now adults, attended school it must have worked that way; but believe me when I say it really is the best part of one's life. The cherished moments spent in this very fine institution can make any girl wipe away a tear or two. I had already planned to change school as soon as I finished O-levels; but as the end of the holidays approached and registrations for colleges and A-levels started I was surprised to find out that I actually wanted to come back to BLL. BLL was more of a second of home to me now. Everything about BLL, the familiar corridors, the pricey yet tempting food available in the cafeteria and even those small cartoons made on the edges of the classroom walls by the naughty yet fun-loving students, invited me back to this institution. Anyway, after registering in all the best colleges in Lahore, I asked my Dad to bring BLL's form anyway. I submitted my form and waited. And I secretly prayed that I do not get accepted in other institutions so I could keep my word but still go back to BLL. I knew from within that it was impossible but I prayed anyway. I remember those three consecutive days when my name appeared in the first merit list of Lahore College, the next day in the first merit list of Kinnaird College and then Home Economics. I felt overwhelmed by the fact that my name had appeared in the first merit list of all colleges but at the same time, was sad because I knew Home Economics was the place for me to study the required subjects to pursue my career and with a very heavy heart I made the decision to go there. Today, even after two and a half months of college, I still compare these teachers with my ever so friendly teachers at BLL. The different coloured chairs and tables and the creative doodles made by the students with their pens. The annually painted yet monotonous painted walls and those lectures that seemed boring but in actual hindsight were very intellectual that shaped my career and those of many. And today I admit that I have fallen in love with this campus and everything that is associated with it because BLL not only offered me education but also gave me an opportunity which has enabled me to come face-to-face with this world and its never ending dilemmas.
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Dreams and Hardships Are Where Every Story Begins! Tehreem Fayyaz
Tehreem did her O' Level from BLL in 2012 and secured 11 A's. She is currently studying in LGS Defence. Although it has just been a while since my last day in this very school, it almost seems like years have fleeted past. Strangely enough, it seems like yesterday that I took the first step towards my dreams. It is like when you enter your O-level, your life comes to a halt. You are growing, you are aging, you are eating, learning, seeing the enchantment and working hard day and night and you are making progress. You are maturing but it never turns out to be a step forward to your dreams until the day that it all ends. The day when your hard work pays off and when you are ready to move on. Life carries on. Hurdles multiply. Complications drain out your strength but as you mature, you learn to fight back. To come out not just as a survivor but as a warrior and in the midst of all the hardships you become strong, courageous, and ever-more competitive. Time goes by. The past is gone. The future is yet to come. The present becomes the past while we still attempt to define it and like the flash of lightning exists for a spilt second and then expires. Is that not amusing? One day you are 16 and planning for someday and then quietly without you ever really noticing, someday is today and then someday is yesterday and this is your life. All you can do is try hard enough to make that 'someday' everything you dreamed it being. That way you can spare yourself the regrets of not having tried hard enough and believe me as long as you have no regrets you will remain happy. ALWAYS. We spend so much time wanting, pursuing and wishing. Ambition is good. Chasing things with integrity is good, but dreaming; that is where every story begins! We never know where the next miracle is going to come from. The next memory. The next wish come true. So, dreaming helps us believe that the world, OUR world, is still full of magic and this simple realization keeps us sane even in the worst of times. When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us. So friends, now is the time for us to start growing up, taking charge, seeing things as they are, facing facts, not escaping them, still with dreams, just reshaping them and this time, finally living them. I learned a lot during my time in this institution. I just hope A-level brings me even more glory and that I finally reach my dreams. From now on every step that I take, each of the choices that I make, count more than they ever did before. The closer I get to the finish line the harder and scarier it gets but backing out is never an option. Or more realistically, it has never been an option. Every obstacle, every little journey molds me into a stronger person and that is what I love about life. At one instant you are filled with disappointment. You are ready to shut it all down but in the very next moment these hardships bring you to your goal and you forget how tiring it had all been. So you celebrate the little miracles and that is the sweet essence of life.
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.� George MacDonald
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A True Beaconite at Heart Momina Saeed-ud-din
Momina did her O' Level in 2008 and A' Level in 2010 from BLL and was a high achiever. She is currently studying at FAST-NU Lahore, doing Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA). For some a building is just merely a combination of bricks and mortar. For me the red-bricked blocks of BLL were much more. They defined me; they defined the very essence of my being. Hey, I know I am being a tad bit over dramatic but that is just a part of who I am. Coming from a small Les Angels Montessori Academy of about 150 children, my third-grader mind could not even comprehend what BLL had in store for me. The place was just so big! Literally! It held about 1500 girls at that time. So what could an eight year old child do, except feel intimidated? I can admit I was scared to the marrow of the place, but who knew I would also fall desperately in love with it, no pun intended *grins*. The eleven years that were ahead of me were, time to use a clichĂŠ, the best part of my life. It was during this time that I grew from a little girl into a young lady. There used to be a time when my teachers used to punish my class for being just a little too rowdy or a little too tom-boyish. "Do you even know how to act like young ladies?" was their reservation every time. We never took it seriously though. It was just a rhetorical question after all. But now I know the importance of that one inquiry. It is BLL that taught me the value of being a true lady. It is only thanks to the efforts of my teachers that now I really do know how to present myself in my university, in society. There were times when my friends and I used to take the place for granted. The same route from the Liberty market to the campus, the same gate, the same everything. Well thank God not the same class because we were always promoted *grins again*. It was the last day of my A-levels and the last "Khuda Hafiz Khan baba!" to Afzal Khan the gatekeeper which made me realize the silent change in my being that BLL instilled in me over the years. I am open enough to admit that I cried buckets over the goodbye. God help me because they are going to come after me for saying this out aloud, but even my friends did, every single one of them. How can one not? Eleven years of the red building, the courtyard, the ground and the new cafeteria block, one cannot help but feel like a child saying goodbye to a very dear friend. At times people consider me a little not-so-smart because even after two and a half years I still do not consider myself a Fastian. No university or college can ever replace the worth and respect I have for BLL. I am a Beaconite, a BLL-ite through and through. And I am exceptionally proud of it!
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Robert Frost
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The Wonders of Liberty Amal Mansur Javaid
Amal studied at BLL till the 9 grade.She is currently studying in the United States of America. Entering the campus as a shy, scared little third grader, I spent six years being molded and groomed into the self-confident, proud, patriotic young woman that I am today. It is the wonders of this school and its remarkable teachers, staff, and administration that brought me where I am today. Liberty is more than just a school; it is an institution that has allowed me to individualize and see the world as it is, a beautiful place, where everybody has a purpose and where hard work and effort can get you far in life. Being a student at this fine institution, I was allowed to come out of my shell, I was taught the difference between right and wrong, I was taught actions have consequences, that taking the easy way out was almost always taking the wrong way out and to challenge yourself to do the right thing always led to success. The credit for all this of course goes to those wonderful teachers that I had the privilege of learning from. They are the ones who make Liberty what it is, a wonderful place of learning. The focus on extra-curricular activities at Liberty was something that helped me once I moved away to a different country. I was eager to get involved outside of class and venture out of my comfort zone because I had been pushed to participate in out-of-class activities at Liberty. Involvement in extra-curricular activities was one way I got to meet people with interests similar to mine and make friends. I was well versed in English and was fluent because of the focus on spoken and written English at Liberty, and my involvement in debates and declamations. The skills I had learned and acquired over the years helped me get my hands on some success in the outside word. It has been a few years since I have been a student at Liberty, but I will never forget the impact it has made on my life. I am honored to have been a student here and I hope the current students and the students to come carry on Liberty's traditions and the greatness of this fine institution.
"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." Mother Teresa
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Short Stories
Life the most wonderful fairytale of all
The Promise Hafsa Hussain AII-A
(Inspired by Greg Mortenson the author of "Three Cups of Teas.") The cotton like layer of clouds in the sky added a shadow of silver to the glaciers. Rays of light penetrated through the clouds and shone on the ice like a disco ball. I inhaled deeply as I carefully took a step forward towards the peak of the majestic mountain, the K2. It was our third month in the Himalayas and indeed a very challenging one. Unfortunately only my partner and I had survived the severe cold up to a level. We were struggling towards our destination that seemed impossible to reach as doubt penetrated my mind. As the thick layers of mist made it harder for us to see, we studied the wind tracks on the rocks and carefully inched our way up. Gradually seconds turned into minutes and minutes transformed into hours but our destination seemed light years away. My legs began to feel numb making it all the more difficult to walk. After a couple of hours we reached the most dangerous part of our journey, the steep slopes. They were a sign of joy as well as an indication that we were closer to the summit. However, numbness began to spread over my body as frost fire. My partner too was not feeling his best but we combated the cold wind that blew strongly in our faces. The pain was becoming unbearable but the only thing that kept me going was the promise I had made my daughter to fulfill her dream. Torrents of tears ran down my cheeks. The wind around me brought back the lovely moments that now played in my head. I remembered standing beside my daughter holding her petite hands in mine. It was a depressing moment for us when the doctor informed us that she had blood cancer. She was in her last stage. My daughter was too young to die. She was ambitious to explore the scenic beauty and had already set future goals. The other day she asked me gently to come closer to her. As I did, she whispered innocently. "Dad, I want you to climb the K2 for me." Those words had acted as fuel to fire during this entire journey. Once again those words echoed in my mind and I tried to ignore the pain. The noise of a thump diverted my attention towards my partner who lay on the ground breathing heavily. His condition was becoming critical. I approached him for help but he signalled to me to go on. I kept hiking as long as my legs could carry me. It seemed endless and at a point they gave up. The freezing night broke me down. I sat on the ground struggling against my fate. My breathing had grown laborious. The cold seemed to suffocate me. I stayed there for a while with my face in my hands when my eyes caught sight of the most exquisite scenery. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I screamed with joy. I could see the rising sun shining between the mountains. I had finally reached the top of the majestic K2. My heart was full now; I had finally fulfilled my daughter's wish. That was the least I could do for her, I thought as I laid her amber necklace on the summit of K2.
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It is a Wonderful Lie Zaineb Zahid AI-C
He opened the doors leading to his study and stared around for what promised to be his last look at the room, at least the way it was. Books once meticulously dusted gathered dust on their shelves. It was just as well, he thought wryly, that he had sold them along with the house. It would never have done to have dragged along rare editions with him, forever a weight on his conscience. No, it was splendid of David to have suggested selling them along with the house. His eyes were not what they once were and besides reading afforded little pleasure. Phrases and characters that he used to delight in seemed now too commonplace, too trite. Favourite writers now thought about seemed to be out of touch with reality. He had picked up his copy of Decline and Fall some months ago but it had seemed awfully ridiculous. What absolute tosh! Why this had never struck him once in the past fifty odd years he had been reading it, he chose not to focus on. He let his eyes rest on the familiar sight. It had been his very own private place, his own sanctuary where he had spent so much of his free time. Had it really been that long ago? He edged closer to his desk without realizing it and opened one of the drawers. He found something and he looked long and hard at it. The proclaimed "One fish, two fish, and three fish." It was a Dr Seuss book. He chuckled to himself. The children had loved reading it. Sophie especially, had been really fond of the illustration on the cover. His musing grew more somber. He remembered, he had been sitting in this very same chair and she had come to him so beseechingly, because the cat had run away. He frowned. The blasted cat had always been lost. But Sophie and he had combed through the neighborhood to find him and Sophie had held on to his hand very trustingly. He asked himself how long it had been since he had felt the warmth of Sophie's hand in his own! He thought and thought and the afternoon sun came close to setting, creating a mosaic of shadow and light across his wrinkly, old face. But he still could not remember. He continued to ruffle through the pages of the Dr Seuss book. The pages had yellowed and crinkled the colours slowly fading. Very much like him. Grey heart, grey head, grey dreams. What was left? Precious little memories. And he murmured to himself something his mother had been fond of saying "…Old time is still flying: And this same flower that smiles today. Tomorrow will be dying." Darkness had fallen around him when he came out of his reverie. As he made his way out of the study and looked at the beckoning staircase, he closed his eyes and let the past wash over him. Then he opened them and reality returned. Surprisingly, he felt no pain on thinking that the house was no more his own, it meant nothing. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In the end, that was all it came to.
“Memory is the diary we will carry about with us.” Oscar Wilde
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The Ray of Hope Noor Fatima XIC-A
Seven year old Johnny sat at the corner of the road. The tears in his eyes glistened as he stared ahead. He wiped off the globules of swear from his forehead using his arm. Abandoned, helpless and desolate, he sat all alone wondering what to do. He thought of going back to the orphanage but the mere idea of returning to all that tyranny gave him the shivers. Blinded and occupied by his thoughts and fears he hoisted himself up and walked right across the road. His limp was getting worse. His left leg felt stiffer and stiffer while jolts of pain shot right through his knee when he tried bending it. The tiny, crumpled photograph in his hands slipped right through his fingers and fell to the ground. All he remembered was seeing the flicker of the headlights of the car that crashed into him when he knelt to retrieve the photograph. Everything after that ………... was blank! Something warm and soft tickled his toes as he blinked and opened his eyes. He started at the pale yellow ceiling above him and the cream coloured walls, none of them seemed familiar. The room smelt of oak and pine, all homely and peaceful. Johnny peered down at his feet to see a plump, old lady seated on the chair beside the bed. Her cheeks were rosy and a mane of salt and pepper coloured; curly hair framed her round face. She pushed up her thick rimmed spectacles on the little bump on her nose and exclaimed, "Thank God you're okay! You have no idea how worried I have been for these past two days." She quickly hurried to the kitchen and fetched him a steaming bowl of soup. While she fed Johnny, he told her about how he was an orphan and his last foster family had turned him out of the house because they did not want a disabled child. He told her that he had gotten his limp due to falling down the stairs. The doctors had said that unless proper medication and treatment were given, he would become permanently disabled. No one was willing to spend any money or time on him, hence his condition had worsened. Tears welled up Lisa's eyes as she heard his heart rending story. She kissed his forehead and told him she would never send him back to the orphanage again. Never again would anyone mock the little boy who limped. Never again, would he suffer. She introduced herself to him and explained how her husband had suddenly passed away due to a heart attack. She told him that they had always hoped that they would have a little boy, their son, who they would love and spoil. She said she would keep Johnny with her and raise him as her own little boy. Lisa thought about how she had cursed her life and wanted to die. God had interfered in her life. He had shown her hope, given her a reason to live. She looked at Johnny and her heart melted. How could anyone give up on that innocent little child? She would never let him go, he was a Miracle. Johnny never felt disabled or adopted when he was with Lisa. She showered him with love, care, affection and showed him how beautiful life could be. When he thought about how his life had been ten years ago, before they met, deep pain and hurt filled his heart. He would never have to go through that again. Lisa had become his saviour and he had become hers. In this cherished bond of love, they had learnt that indeed, life is beautiful!
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One in a Million Faiqa Iqbal XIC-D
They named her Sara. The day she was born was a day of immense happiness for her parents. They went from house to house, distributing sweets on the happy occasion. After a wait of twelve years, Shahnaz and Yousaf were blessed with a child while they were in America. Every possible care was given to the little angel. Vaccinations were given; tests were carried out to ensure that she was normal and healthy. Years went by and Sara was brought up with love and affection. After her 4th birthday, Sara was taken from America back to her homeland, Pakistan, where she was enrolled in a school. All was well until complaints started to come that Sara was exceedingly shy, that she did not participate in class activities and remained aloof from her class fellows. The complaints got more frequent and her parents started to get worried. At home, Sara became mute. She would not respond to her mother when called, and as time passed, stopped talking at all. Sometimes her parents noticed her giggling on her own and making sounds that expressed glee, sadness and sometimes even pain. When things started to get a bit serious, they took her to a child specialist who declared that he had never in his life come across such a case and suggested they consult a psychiatrist. And so the truth came out. "Mrs. Yousaf, this is a very rare case, I would say one in a million. Your daughter is autistic. This is a side effect of the vaccination of MMR, which is measles, mumps, rubella. It shows its affects but rarely," said the psychiatrist. The parents were in a shock. Their only, beloved daughter was autistic. Tears rolled down Shahnaz's cheeks as the man continued, "She will forever remain in her own fantasy world and will therefore respond only to her imagination. She cannot catch most of the stimulus from the real world. Such a case is totally unpredictable and cannot be cured, you must not feel guilty." Shahnaz wiped her tears as she said," The fact that it was just an accident does not ease my pain. My poor darling. To think that she will not be able to live a normal life like any other girl in this world is indeed painful." Psychiatrists were hired to train Sara to carry out simple everyday activities. She learned to brush her hair, to wear her shoes, to express when she wanted to go to the toilet and when she was in pain. She was really fond of listening to music and her mother sometimes fancied that she heard her humming a familiar tune. She ate too much and became over weight and would throw tantrums on the slightest change in her bedroom curtains or the texture of her clothes. Shahnaz grieved and wanted to help her daughter in every possible way. Then, another case of autism was found in Lahore, the granddaughter of a rich politician. Shahnaz approached the mother and discussed her problems with her. Together, they decided to start a care centre where the two children would be given training under the supervision of psychologists, psychiatrists and themselves. After several years, as Shahnaz saw her 18 year old daughter brushing her hair before going to bed, she thanked God. The care centre was running successfully in a rented house near her own home. Her beautiful daughter would always remain an angel for her. She, who had given her mother strength, was, for her mother, truly one in a million.
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All She Wanted Ushna Sajjad XC-B
I stared at the little girl with dark brown locks tug at her brother's arm with a pleading expression on her face. The boy in his teens shook her off with some force; which was enough to make her collapse on the floor. Her lower lip quivered but she was a stubborn child and did not allow the salty water in her eyes to make its way down. I smiled, albeit sadly. The girl heaved herself up and for a moment just stood, glaring at her brother, who paid no heed to her. Then she looked at him and I recognized the intent in her gaze. He was in trouble. "Mom!" the little girl hollered. A lady who was, as depicted by her looks, the girl's mother, came over to her children and reprimanded her son for taking her cellular phone without permission before turning to her daughter. "Mom, brother refuses to play with me," the girl complained. It was only because I was standing nearby that I heard the boy's mutter. "It's an airport, not a playground." "Dania, he will play with you when we get home. Will you, Shehryar?" "No." "Mom, see, see? He will not play with me!" The girl's whines earned her a scolding from her mother who, after giving her older child a pointed look, walked closer to the door of the terminal. Her high heels were all that I noticed before focusing my attention once again on the amusing siblings. "Shehryar?" "Hmmmmm?" "Please?" "Oh, for God's sake, Dania-" "You never play with me anymore!" exclaimed the girl. "Don't be loud." "Brother-" "Dania, shut up!"
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She did. She looked at him with a teary expression before folding her slightly chubby arms across her chest and turning her face away. The posture was simply adorable but I was aware that she was hurt by the terseness of her brother's words. Her ability to keep her tears at bay impressed me. "I wish you go to college soon and never come back!" I could tell by various expressions that the people within hearing distance had been caught offguard but I was not stunned. The ferocity in her words had alarmed her brother, although he concealed the shock quite quickly. She was a little spitfire and as much as I was enjoying the scene, it saddened me as well. Someday, she would wish she could take her words back. Someday, she would weep in the hope that when her vision cleared, he would be there to make fun of her for being a crybaby. She would refuse to talk to him on the phone because it would simply reinforce the fact that he was no more a constant presence in their home. In fact, it would be her home, not his. Someday, she would experience a scene like this and understand more than any other. "Hani!" I turned abruptly but even in my slightly dizzy state, I smiled at the young man before me. One of his hands had a firm grip on a carry-on bag and the other free arm swung across my shoulders as he grinned. "Hey, little sis!"
"Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk." Susan Scarf Merrall
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A Dreadful Memory Anamta XC-D
If you could go back in time and change any event from happening, what would it be and why? She stared at the question printed on top of the sheet wondering if this was some sort of a joke. It was her final English examination and she was supposed to write an essay on this probability of her being able to travel in time. The sheet crumpled from where she was holding it as her hands tightened. It was all like a sick joke. Here she was taking this stupid examination because of what had happened. If she had, had her way, she would have dropped out of school eons ago but she endured long hours of torture five days a week because that was what they would have wanted. Her eyes began to sting and she felt all choked up. She knew she was about to cry, and she knew that she could not stop the tears from leaking out and leaving a wet trail down her cheeks. She sniffed and raised her hand to write. She tried to write but her hand was shaking too violently to even form a legible word. She gave up and put her head on the table. Who knew such a simple question would force out such a violent reaction from her? She tried to stifle her sobs as she did not want to draw the attention of the teacher or the students – she just wanted to be left alone. Two years and she still was not over it. It continued to haunt her every single minute of the day and even stalked her in her dreams. No matter where she was, it was there at the back of her mind – the guilt, the overwhelming sadness…. She squeezed her eyes close and tried to think of something else. But it was all to no avail. If you could go back in time and change any event from happening, what would it be and why? If I could go back in time. I would go to seventh May, two thousand five. It was the day that changed her life forever, since then she was never the same again. She was selfish, aloof, careless and … a murderer. Yes, she knew she was responsible for her family's death. If only she had not been so selfish. If only she had not been so thoughtless. If only she had cared a little more. If only… She almost barked out a hysterical laugh, time travel was not possible so it was no good thinking about what she could have done. The question itself was too idiotic – why dwell on the impossible? She let out a low moan as her head began to hurt. She could not do it; she just did not have the energy to complete the exam. "It's my birthday! How could you forget?" she screeched. It was her sixteenth birthday, a very special day that marked her final blooming from childhood towards youth. "Honey, I'm sorry." Her mother started to say but she cut her off, yelling into the phone, "Saying sorry will not help the fact that you are not here on my special day!" it was her birthday and it was her special day. Her parents did not spend much time with her because they were busy with their work. But one day, just one day was all she had asked from them – one day to spend together as a family, to give her a present and sing the birthday song as she cut her cake. "Look, you know how busy we are. We had no choice but to go, okay? Stop over-reacting! If it makes you feel better we will be here by tomorrow and then we can celebrate and you can throw a party and invite your friends," her mother cried as her she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself 43
down. "But it will not be my birthday anymore! Work, work, work! That is all you guys ever do! It always comes before me! Yeah sure, you guys buy me cool stuff but it cannot replace you both!" she exclaimed. She heard her mom sigh deeply but it was her father who spoke. "Hey, sweet pea, we bought you a gift." "I do not need a STUPID gift!" she yelled. Her rage was flowing freely now – she had no control over herself anymore. "In fact, do what you like! I do not need you guys either! You are never there for me, I hate you." "Wait," she heard her dad say and then a screech of tires but she ignored the noise. They were probably on their way to the next state. And with that she snapped her phone shut and threw it on her bed. She let out a scream of frustration and proceeded to kick the wall several times. She was so mad. She was full of hate – she hated everything. The world was too cruel to her; why did she have to be this unlucky? What did she ever do to deserve such unhappiness? Eventually she was exhausted and collapsed on her bed in deep slumber. It was only two hours later that she was woken up roughly. She opened her eyes and stared groggily at the stranger. The middle- aged man looked grief- stricken for some reason and his eyes were full of pity. And it was five minutes later that she found he was her parent's colleague and that her parents were now at home in the clouds. After she had hung up on them they had been involved in a car crash. They were on their way home with the backseat filled with presents for their one and only daughter. That was the day she had lost all. The day that made her realize that she was acting like a spoilt little brat. She blamed herself for their death. They were not exactly the best parents but they were all she had. From that day onwards she became quiet and withdrawn from the world. She engrossed herself in her studies because her parents had wanted to see her as a successful doctor. They had not been there all the time, but they were there. The day was still fresh in her mind, her heart still heavy with guilt and sorrow. Her parents died hearing her say that she hated them. She had spent the whole month after their death in her room all alone, ignoring visitors who came to pay their respects and express how sorry they were at her loss. They tried to explain to her that it was not her fault. But they did not understand. If only they had not been busy talking to her or hearing her say those hateful words, then they probably wouldn't have crashed. As she was lost deep in her thoughts, the invigilator announced the exam was over. She glared at her blank answer booklet with eyes full of tears.
“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey
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A Message Aisha Shabbir AI-D
I never thought I would be writing about a trip to the convenience store, but this trip was like no other. It seemed like a typical November day, two years ago, as I walked out of Walgreens. It was just a month after my grandmother had passed away and I spent my days running useless errands hoping to fill the void in my heart and distract myself from the pain. As I attempted to walk out of the store, I was frustrated by everything that was going on around me which was a very common feeling during this time. I was angry because I couldn't even remember what I had gone there to buy so I ended up spending over $20 on bric brac just to waste time and money, both of which I didn't have. I was mad especially, at the young girl walking through the store holding her grandmother's hand. The little girl was begging her grandmother for ice cream just like I used to when I was little, before I was old enough to know that there are bigger problems than a lack of sugar. There is heartache and pain in this world. Before I was old enough to understand that one day my grandmother wouldn't be here with me. "Here is $20 my sweetie," the woman said, "Keep it for later and it will get you some Mr. Softy." As I carried on, I remembered all the times my cousins and I would play outside my grandma's house, waiting patiently to hear the sounds of the Mr. Softy truck. The minute we heard it, no matter how far it may have been, we would run inside smothering our grandma with hugs and kisses while begging for some money. No matter how many times she would say, "Remember kids, no ice cream today," everyday we would ask and every time she would always end up giving each of us exactly $20. Obviously, we all know that ice cream doesn't cost this much, but that was my grandma, always giving more than she ever had to give. Who knew that I, an 18 year old, could be jealous of a three-year-old little girl wearing pink slippers and a Dora the Explorer backpack, but I was, because at the end of the day she had something I didn't have anymore, a grandmother by her side. I had to force myself to ignore the little girl who others kept calling "cute" and "adorable" when I simply thought she was nothing but obnoxious. She was just too happy for me and that was unacceptable, at this time, in my world. I continued to the register to pay for my things, none of which I even remembered picking up until I placed them on the counter. It was then that my anger quickly shifted from the little girl who seemed to have everything to the cashier who didn't have anything, not even my change. She had to bring my things to another register which just felt like a waste of time. Everything felt like a waste of my time. When the cashier gave me my change I didn't say thank you. I didn't say have a good day. I simply took my change and left. Feeling exhausted and hopeless, I began walking towards my car. Every step seemed draining. As I looked up into the sky I thought about how my grandmother had left me, and my anger began to
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return. I was outraged by the loss, and my belief in God was beginning to diminish. I couldn't understand why these things happened. As I stood in a public parking lot a million questions formed in my mind. Why did this happen to me? Aren't we supposed to get signs from the people who pass away? Why did I not feel her presence anymore? Is there a heaven? Suddenly, a woman driving right by my side rolled down her window and distracted my unanswered thoughts. "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," she said loudly. Thinking she was going to ask for my parking spot, I simply pointed to my car. The thought of having to verbalize where my car was seemed like too much to bear. "No, excuse me," she said again. At this point, I felt I had no choice but to see what this annoying lady wanted. As I got closer though I was startled-was this my grandmother's nurse, Adu, who had lived with her during her final months? I soon realized that she wasn't, although the resemblance was uncanny. Then, I realized that this Adu's look alike was searching for something in her bag. Surprisingly, I was overcome by a sense of relief that led me to be patient the entire time the lady was searching. Others would be nervous by a stranger reaching in her bag, but I wasn't. Under a clutter of makeup, money, pens, and other belongings, she finally reached to the very bottom of her bag and handed me a three page booklet. "It looks like you need this," she said calmly with a warm smile on her face. I looked down at the mysterious and obviously used pamphlet and on the front cover in big bold letters was written "What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?"It took me only a few seconds to comprehend the exchange with this woman, but by the time I looked up, she was gone. I walked slowly towards my car gripping the tiny little book that was given to me afraid that it would fly away in the wind. I didn't know what it was exactly, but I knew that if my grandmother had anything to do with this I didn't want to let it go. I felt a sense of relaxation as I opened the first page. It explained how people pass on, but their spirit remains with us. This was the first time since my grandma had passed away that I felt her with me, just like I had wanted. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know that I finally felt happiness due to the surprising change in events. I couldn't, and still can't, believe what happened to me that day. I don't remember the specific details that you usually hear about like what the person was wearing, the time of day, or even the weather, but it doesn't matter. It was a random day in November when my life turned around and I began to feel hope again. It was real. It was a miracle. And, I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
“Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.� Anonymous
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A Surprise at the Airport Amina Ahmad VIII-C
While the sun smiled down on the land, my eyes darted form one place to another as I stood at the Allama Iqbal Airport. The airport was tiled with grayish- black glistening marble. Different aromas were coming from every corner. Stalls of coffee could be seen along with a tuck shop which presented all items at double cost. There were magazine shops as well. Everybody looked very busy and engrossed in their own problems. It was as if I was a quiet bubble floating in the sea of noise. I was constantly throwing glances at the clock, tapping my feet impatiently and waiting for my aunt who was returning from Canada after eleven years. Suddenly, I saw a man coming towards me; he was a barrel – shaped man with shaggy eye brows and a ruddy face. He asked if my name was "Amina Ahmad." I told him it was. He requested me to come with him. We passed a dimly lit hallway and came to a large lounge. I read "PRIVATE" on the front door. I sat on the largest sofa available and I was presented with frothy, hot coffee. The man handed me the remote of the television and told me that if I needed anything I could ring the bell without hesitation. I instantly told him to bring fries and a cheese burger along with fresh fruit juice. He obeyed and went away to fetch the order and returned within no time. I was enjoying all this and was very pleased. I did not bother to ask any questions about what was happening. I read a magazine, examined the room and availed the benefit of every item I found present in the room. Finally, I went to relax on the comfortable couch. It seemed as if I was in heaven. Out of nowhere, there was a violent knock at the door and I went to open it. The same man stood there and this time he was not alone. Along with him was a pretty woman about my age. She was wearing a gown and her hair was in curls. She walked into the room and was astounded to see its state. The man explained what was actually going on. He apologized to me that he had mistaken me for somebody else. This lounge was arranged for an actress who was shooting a scene at the airport. The actress was in fact the pretty woman I had seen and by chance, her name was "Amina Ahmad" as well. That's when I realized what had been happening and suddenly remembered that I had come to receive my Aunt. I left the room without uttering a word and rushed back. Fortunately the flight was delayed by an hour. Then I saw my Aunt coming along with her two children, beaming. We went to our house and she started telling her never ending stories about her life in Canada. I decided not to tell anyone about the sudden surprise at the airport.
“Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.” Samuel Johnson
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A Sunrise at Point Udall Ms. Amna Shafqat Currently teaching English Literature and General Paper at BLL
Every morning I get up at 4 a.m. which is even before the lark. When everyone around is lost deep in their world of dreams, I feel surrounded by calmness and purity of time, of thoughts and ideas. The silence at that moment is something to be experienced, to be felt. But then, not everything is silent. I hear crickets and other little insects and creatures trying to join the chorus and whistling of the morning wind. So, being up before the lark, makes me feel that I am with Mother Nature, and gives me an extreme feeling of joy and happiness. This reminds me of William Wordsworth's poem. "Daffodils." He writes: Ten thousand saw I at a glance Tossing their heads in a sprightly Dance. But they outdid the Sparkling waves in glee. A poet could not be gay, in such a jocund company. Oft when on my couch I lie, In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is a bliss of solitude. And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. Such is the feeling when you visit Point Udall at 4:45 a.m. Here Wordsworth was alluding to a "host of daffodils," but I am to the scenes of breathtaking beauty I witness around me here on the island. At this point in my life, one fine day, my daughter suggested that we visit Point Udall to see the sun rise. Being the adventurous kind, I quickly made a lunge at the idea, thinking that this would add more spice to my already nature-loving nature. Sunday at 4:20 a.m., we started for Point Udall. Point Udall has been named after Stewart Udall, a member in President Kennedy's cabinet and this gentleman continued to work for President Johnson, also. Interestingly, there is one Point Udall on the island of Guam also. This has been named in the name of the brother of the above mentioned person, Morris Udall. The road was almost empty at that time in the morning. We did come across some cars, maybe enthusiasts like us, or maybe parties breaking up! As we headed east. I realized that it was still very dark and there were no streaks of morning light. We needed to have the headlights on, but it was very, very peaceful. By the time we reached the aforementioned point, the early morning light had started becoming slightly discernible, and the horizon, far in the remote distance was beginning to come into view. To our south we could see two cruise ships on the water, with their lights still on! Like two shining stars on the dark backdrop! At that time we did not realize the presence of a dense mist and clouds over the ocean. As we came to a stop, another vehicle arrived and halted right behind us. Like-minded people, I 48
believe. Climbing out of our car, we jumped onto the wall facing east, planted ourselves on it, waiting in enraptured anticipation for the sun to make its appearance. As I waited there, I looked around me at the landscape. There was unending grayish blue water on three sides, land was only behind me. The vegetation on the east end is very sparse and scanty and not as lush, presumably because of less rainfall. We can see lots of thorny bushes. The flora at this end is in sharp contrast to that on mid-island and the west end. We sat, and sat, and sat and no sun came out. My daughter looked at her watch; it was way past the expected time of the rising of Apollo. I was supposed to take its first peek on this part of the world at a little before 6 a.m. ---- but no sun. Slowly, anxiety started taking the place of anticipation. Still, no sun! What the heck! God could not have forgotten to let the sun rise! It had happened once before, when Bilal, a trusted friend of Prophet Muhammad, (PBUH) forgot to deliver the mornings call for prayer and the sun did not rise! But those times were different then. Where did the sun go? My daughter said, "There is a technical fault here." Little did we realize that there was a technical fault here. It was almost 6:30 and the sun should have been over head by now! But, by now the daylight had spread all around and yet it did not occur to us that the Saharan dust mixed with clouds was intervening between the sun- enthusiast and the sun. Then, all of a sudden. "There it is." From behind a thick curtain of gray clouds a tiny upper curve of the sun became visible, "Look, Aasma, the sun. " I was beside myself with excitement, as if I had never seen the sun ever in my entire life before! And yet, every day of the week I try to protect myself from the blazing Caribbean sun by covering my head and body completely! So, there was Apollo, Mr. Sun. his dramatic appearance was preceded by a lot of anxious moments of waiting done on our part—which were worth it! The following Sunday, we undertook the trip again with the same purpose in mind. This time there was somebody already there before us, and with a telescope! How exciting and tempting could it become! We could clearly see the planet Venus, shining brightly in the pre-dawn east. As the daylight started creeping upon us, Venus began shrinking in size and brightness! This time out anticipation did not turn into anxiety, as the wait was quite shortlived. Soon enough, the sun made its grand appearance almost at the horizon and at the appointed time. This is how Mother Nature works, showering her divinity upon us humans so that we may clearly see the signs that God speaks so very, many times in His books of guidance that He has sent down to His Creations. Signs that are unmistakably very clear for the clear mind to perceive, comprehend, understand and abide by.
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better�. Albert Einstein 49
Change is Good Taima Rao AI-C
Sitting at the restaurant table and looking through the huge, crystal clear glass window, I saw the havoc-affected streets of Lahore. Sun rays illuminated my table and fell in my eyes, blinding my view of the limping lunatic outside, asking for money from whomsoever passed by. I knew from my earlier enquiry about that man, he had been a lawyer for one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. But he lost his family in a bomb blast and subsequently his mind and left foot. Now all he could do was limp about day in and day out, live one day at a time, and see his life passing by. I could not believe how much the place had changed since last year. Migrating to America with my husband was my lot and I could to nothing except say goodbye to the country I loved so much. The scent of freshly watered grass and stench of wall plastered with cow dung can never leave my memory. The sight of playing children and colours of spring kites still soothes my mind. The feel of the wind against my face and the sound of my nephew's claps when he cheered me racing on my bicycle will always be a pleasurable memory. But that is all now just a memory. It can never materialize again in my native land, at least not soon enough for me to see it. I left my hometown when I was 22-years-old with my husband who was already settled in America. After just 2 months, the minor civil-war started when democracy turned into a sharp knife which sliced away the happiness from this evergreen city and left the land devoid of laughter. Recently my uncle was killed when the local extremists burned down a public bus he happened to be travelling in because it did not have the newly introduced government flag on it. I had come to attend his funeral, against my family's wish. I knew it was risky but It was hard on my aunt and cousins and being a Muslim and a close relative, the least I could do was attend the funeral, offer my support and pay my condolences to them. When I walked out of the airport on the day my plane landed in Lahore I sensed something was missing from the air, but the airport was in the posh area and free of the desperation of the inner city. I did not give it much thought and sat in the taxi. During the little talk we had, the driver warned me that Lahore was not the same anymore. "So I heard," I said. "Hearing is not the same as seeing, baji." He insisted. I did not say anything because I was at a loss at what to say. When we entered the city, the first thing I saw were battered signposts and sunburned vegetation surrounding the roundabout where a man had a gun pointed at a kid. Apparently he was asking – no, shouting – for something. The parents were standing nearby and were going frantic. Some people were holding the mother who was kicking and screaming and pleading with them to let her child be. The first thing I noticed was that the robber was alone and not wearing a mask. His face was exposed to everyone who saw it. 50
"Doesn't he fear that people will remember him and hand him to the police?" I asked the driver. "Baji! No one is foolish enough to turn in the son of a bureaucrat to the police and the police are not stupid enough to put him behind bars." The driver smirked. "A bureaucrat's son?!" To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I was indeed shocked at the shamelessness my country had drowned into. Then I saw that the food street had been burnt. After inquirng I came to know that there was a blast at a gas station nearby and these were the remnants of the food street. Beggars and the handicapped swarmed the place. Instead of the aroma of chapli kahab, now the only smell in the air was of rotten bodies and dog-eaten meat. The colour on the streets was the colour of the blood of fellow citizens and the only sound was of wailing children. The government and opposition had had a great clash and the supporters of each party were intent on killing those of the other. And amidst all that, the innocent ones were being crushed – hard. I came to know that the government was working on solving the problem of Lahore but still nothing seemed to slow things down. Now, sitting here in the restaurant, I looked back at the happy days of my childhood and sighed with mixed feelings of anguish and content; content at having had the chance of enjoying the carefree days of my childhood in this country and anguish for the present state of the same country after it fell into the hands of the brutal "leaders"! My country's story is tragic and fills me with worry and agony but still I will fly away to another land, a foreign land tonight, and probably never come back again. Because I have a family, a career and a life there, but mainly because that is the way it is; you do not save the rabbit from the lion's den, you escape the den and hightail it out of there so that you yourself do not get caught.
“Memories are what warm you up from the inside. But they're also what tear you apart.� Haruki Murakami
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Detective Liz Khadija Khan VI-D
Like everyday Liz woke up early to read the newspaper. That day she read about the gang of thieves that comprised two women and three men. The women in the gang acted like maids and after a few days at their workplace they called their male gang members in the dark of the night to rob the house. Liz thought it would be fun if she would be the one to figure out who these people were and get them arrested. Liz always tried to solve mysteries; she wanted to be a detective. Later that day when she came back from school her parents told her that they had hired a new maid whose name was Sara. Liz asked her parents why they needed a maid when her mother was handling the house chores very well. They told her that her mother would soon be joining her previous office. Liz was very astonished at the sudden decision but understood the financial constraints that the growing inflation had put on her parents. She also understood the need for a new maid. Liz tried to accept the fact that her mother was not going to be around her all that much along with the presence of a new maid. Sara looked really nice but Liz did not know for sure if she truly was. Every day when her parents left for work Sara would start to annoy Liz. She would often refuse to do the chores she asked her to do. Liz got a little suspicious about the maid because she acted like she loved her in front of her parents and when alone she would be mean to her. One day Liz decided to follow Sara into her room. Once there she saw a map of the house and there were red dots on the places where all the valuables were kept. After seeing that, she got even more suspicious. She told her parents all that she had seen but they did not believe her. They thought she was making up stories. After that her mother asked her to call Sara from her room to give her some instructions. When she went near her room she heard Sara talking to someone on the phone. She heard Sara whisper into the phone, "Come at mid night I will open the door for you." When Liz heard this, she became certain that Sara was a thief. That night Sara checked on Liz to see if she was sleeping, exactly at mid night. Liz pretended to be asleep so she could see if Sara was really going to rob the house. When Sara went out she tip toed behind her and saw her let some unknown people in to her house. She quickly ran back to her room and called the police. Sara and her gang were starting to open cupboards and drawers when she heard a siren. It sounded like a police siren which woke up she's parents. The gang was so scared that they dropped the bags in which they were collecting the valuables and tried to flee from the scene. They had only gone a few blocks away when the police caught up with them and they were all arrested. The police informed Liz's family that these were the same thieves who were mentioned everyday in the newspapers. The police also commended Liz on her bravery and told her parents to believe her from then onwards. She also got a pleasant surprise when the police told her there was a big reward for whoever helped in the capture of this gang. And sure enough, after a few days Liz's dad received a cheque of $10,000. To make up for their mistake, her parents took the family on a luxurious vacation to Europe. “Trust you own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's.� Billy Wilder 52
Poetry Thoughts that breathe, Words that burn
Action Now or Silence Forever? Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah AII-A
As words and verses seem to suffer And man's will deteriorates As governments fail to act as a buffer I shudder to predict our fate. Once a beacon of hope was I Now, no more than a talking shop I wonder out aloud as I lie For the tyranny remains unstopped. I wonder if I am to blame And should I continue to curse? For my well-rested legs at home are lame As I carry around an empty purse. Indeed, I should hold myself wrong Because I silently watched the crime. Kept quiet all along As they robbed my country's every dime. The time has come for us to accept That we indeed were weak An unjust rule, we will reject And coward minds shall speak. We will now listen to those who say "We have brought this upon us!" We'll swarm the streets night and day Because we realize this is a must. Silence now is silence forever, As long as we shall be For a weak nation is never Seen, heard or free.
Illusions Ghania Shuaib AII-C
Shadows of ego have left everything at stake Illusions striking every decision you make Your optimism, your faith has completely shattered Hopes of success, desire to excel, scattered Thinking that life always brought bad to you Blaming God that He made everything sad for you You reach a platform with no one to hold on You do not have a shoulder to cry on Pessimistic illusions have led you to this sorrow If only you had a warming heart that you could borrow Let another day start, For illusions only haunt an empty heart. 53
Don't Let It Go Ulveena Aitzaz AI-C
Everyone dreams of who they want to grow up to be, I always wanted to be simply me. Till my eyes opened and I did gaze, At first what I thought was just a phase, I finally saw who I'd be looking up to, Surprised that I never saw, never knew. You were right here, all along, Telling me to stand strong. But as I grew older, we grew apart, And you tell me it's my life and I need to make my own start. But can you not just take my hand, grab it tight and not let go? Take me around the world to show. Bring me up to be who you wanted me to become, Because I'm growing up now and time has come. To have inspired, You have conspired. Now keep our promise, keep your word, You were the one who taught me that not to, was absurd! Now guide me to exactly where I should be headed, I know you believe most of my talents are embedded. So for that sake alone, stay and inspire me just a little more, Till I know who I want to be for sure.
Who Am I ? Fatima Muzaffar Ahmed XIC-C
I am just words, Craving to be said. I have mere visions, Of what lies ahead. I have got sorrows, For them I have wept. I have got strength, I have got depth, I have got dreams. So bright, so bold. I am not alone, I have people to hold. I have got a mind, I don't have to be told. I am free! I am just me!
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The Land of Sighs Mishaal Tariq AI-B
Their miseries make me wail, make me cry, It feels as if I were about to die Tensions have flared and now are so high. Can't we let go and give peace a try? They mock me, taunt me, make me sigh. My world is filled with despair and my soul is what it destroys. Away from this loneliness, I want to fly. No matter what it's like, I just can't lie; Everything has become a horrible sight for my eyes. Those memories are gone, it's been a long while since I waved them good bye How will I survive, I don't know, oh my! A deep fear haunts me, I feel like it's next to never, but why?
Little Raindrops Esha Imran VI-E
Oh, where do they come from? Little drops of rain, Pitter patter, pitter patter Down the window pane They won't let me walk And they won't let me play. They won't let me go, Outdoors all day.
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Do I Still Move On? Saffa Faisal AI-A
In the midst of life, My eyes keep searching here and there, Everything appears blurry as though a wave of thick fog has just taken over the city Sweats of blood, fatal migraines, aching cramps My heart pounding with a deafening sound Tired of walking, tired of trying Every path before me promising its share of failure, tears and disappointment No path suffused with rosy hue, only thorny bushes My heart has been ripped from my chest with great power and cruelty Teardrops and days of loneliness becoming more frequent with the passing time No one by my side No one to hold my hand No one to comfort me Do I still move on?
Lovely Winters Adina Amir VI-D
Lovely winters have arrived now And all of us exclaimed 'Wow!' We can put on our coats and long boots And this all changes our mood This is how we can enjoy the weather Everywhere I can see bird feathers Now it's time to have hot chocolate and soup And no more ice-cream scoops I love winters because of the clothes Mostly scarves, uppers and coats
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Our Nation Noor Fatima IXC-F
Millions and millions of souls stepped forward. Repairing and singing the same chorus. The world had never perceived such a picture of unity and sensation, This was the illusion of our nation. All races, standards and ages, Invading like a wave, chained with robust integration Amassed under the single perception, Ahead went, our nation. Bound by fortune and the hand of the Lord, Ready to die than to live in unjust wrath, Holding no wealth but the strength of determination Stood rigid, the conquerors of our nation. Aggression and fire, evident in their eyes, As our forefathers waged the war 'Freedom' was at the end of the shore of innovation Manfully and vigorously sailed out our nation. Unrevealed courage was on their faces, Everybody was laden with struggle and embraces Long-lasting demand of a separate homeland with no discrimination Rang in the silence of our nation. Who stood surmised to deny the fact? The shuddering influence of the impact Which comprised the dream of the ultimate destination Seen by the soldiers of our nation. Paid with the price of blood, home and family Surrounded from every corner by the ruthless enemy, Not a single soul was dried of the overpowering inspiration, Such a situation was of our nation. Days in, days out, directed by dawn's first beam, Whole land of believers struggled for Iqbal's dream, Noble cause of an Islamic country's creation, Hastened the cause of our nation. No longer will injustice be endured, No further any spirit can go, Smoldering desire, burning every objection, Or obstacle in the path of our nation. Dozens of footsteps marked in history, Following the legend, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, His leadership, which the world still recalls in admiration Blessed with his remote conscience was our nation. Decades of slavery, Resulted in inevitable bravery, Under the waving flag of white and green, Once again glorified our nation Here I stand, dreaming of the same unity and faith Stuck under the spell of vivid imagination, inspiration, My eyes cast at a sea of an invading nation, Repeating history, with freedom being the motivation Marching forth is our nation. 57
The Sun is Setting Hareem Fatima XIC-B
Things are no more the same I've gained everything after losing everything Life is not by my side The winds are gushing and the birds are chirping Days pass by and the clock keeps ticking Life goes on and you remain oblivious of the storm inside this delicate framework I am hysterical and I am about to shatter It's all going to erupt and you will see The world will see this bleeding heart of mine My tears will replace these sandy beaches And things will no more be the same These giggles, grins and glares Nothing matters anymore, because it's all the same Something's broken inside, something's about to die These lips will turn blue and limbs will be icy cold There won't exist your well wisher and you will realize
The True Wholeness of Life Khola Jamshad IXC-B
A life so fragile Caught in the middle Struggling to survive Wanting to thrive Lost in a world where darkness reigns Where everyone works for their own gains Hoping for a way To make it a better day Searching for the one thing That can make your soul sing An inspiration to paint the canvas Of a life bare as it always was This journey ends with one simple choice To be lost or pay the price Of being alive to tell the tale Of an inspiration that made you avail The true wholeness of life.
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Rather Be Blind Hafsa Qasim XC-C
Rather be blind, Than to even glimpse upon the war. Though it is better if taken away If not used to look inside for the good in people, Rather than the bad. Rather be blind, Than to see the people, perish in a world of rage, To never see the sunrise again, But instead the dark clouds with no silver lining. Rather be blind, Than to see your family sink, in the sea of struggle, No lighthouse to guide the ship, As it collides with rocks, and cliffs. Rather be blind, Than to see the bloodshed of the young. Though tearing your eyes away, But the memory still remains deep inside the heart. Depend upon nature and mind, To use a magnificent gift, That has great power To do as much good, as much bad
Love for None Hubashia Khan AII-C
The agonizing pain that was bestowed upon me, I wanted to die, but had to go against my will, The pain, the agony, I was supposed to forget. Has made me weak, now that I regret, The memories of true bliss, Are those which I miss. Come face to face with the enemy within, Make me stutter to even speak of it, In the end when my deeds are done, I have no hatred for others, But still love for none.
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They Say It's Destiny Saman Binte Adnan AII-D
I dwell in sorrow, I cry in pain For all I can hear is the thundering of blasts And all I can see is the never-ending flames of the raging fire Burning everything down ruthlessly‌. down to the very bottom of the floor But people say it's destiny I see a drone here and a drone there And all I smell is blood in the air When the glass of hope shatters and despair surrounds They still call it destiny When a father is murdered And a son kidnapped And when one is deprived of his rights When the society is blindfolded into living in the darkness They say it's destiny When the sisters are flogged And babies, murdered mercilessly in the arms of their mother And the houses go down and inflation rises And the streets bleed They say it's destiny When the flare of hope dies a silent death And when someone pulls your leg when you are just one step away from success And the words spoken are unheard And all the tears are shed in vain They say it's destiny When the future is uncertain And everything is sinking in the waves of the ruthless ocean And when I try to look back hoping to learn something that would change this attitude of theirs They say it's useless And try to put me into a deep sleep Because‌. They say it's destiny
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The World From a Child's Eye Ramsha Ijaz XIC-B
Let there be light, Let there be hope! Let there be friends, instead of foes, Let there be flowers, instead of guns! Let there be smiles, instead of cries, Let there be freedom, once and for all! Let the dove of peace fly, Let it soar high up in the sky! Let the people unite once again, Let them remove their enmity once and for all! Let their sorrows be buried for good, Let joy rekindle life again! Let the sun eliminate the shadows of darkness, Let the people see the world with hope again! And when my Lord has fulfilled my wishes, Only then there shall be peace and tranquility!
Seasons and Life Khola Jamshad IXC-B
The chocolate brown leaves fall to the ground And a girl dances to the sound Of enjoyable music roaming around But seasons change, so does life. Cold winter frost runs the streets In that cold, the girl meets A darkness inside her, bitter with hate Reaching out, battling with fate And when the spring roses sprout From this shell, she wishes to break out To not let her way, be shrouded with guilt To break down the wall she had built Can the summer warmth free her of this shame? Of having no one but herself to blame Despising her own name All she wants is an end to this game
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Bare Feet Aisha Shabbir AI-D
A light wind swept over me And all of nature, smiled with the sunshine While the earth laughed in flowers And showed her beauty in the autumn's sunset sky I watched the swallow drinking on the wing, As it sipped at the surface of the waters, And played over the pools and streams Earth and sky, field and stream And the mountain river, rushing to the sea Can teach more than any sage, or written word, For a single smell, or fleeting scent, Can conjure up a lost childhood summer, Beside a lake, listening to distant thunder So let the rain, kiss your upturned face Listen with your heart, to its soothing serenade Dance with the lightning, wind and rain, Let it take you to a long distant place Return to nature and be soothed and healed And have your senses refreshed and revealed To be once again, spontaneous, wild and free Forever remember each shimmering lake, And recall the sweet breath of the trees, As it floats on the wings of a warm summer breeze Revels in the morning's shimmering sunrise And the evenings saffron sunset's fading light, Watch the clouds as they float across the sky, Then cross the horizon and fade at last from sight So instead of dreaming of some magical place, Over the horizon and just out of view Enjoy the flowers and trees in bloom In full view, just outside your window Because the earth loves the feel of bare feet And the wind longs to play with your hair
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When Death Struck Her Son Sana Zaman IXC-B
Blood dripped slowly from her mouth. Like the cold rain trickling down and about. She lay there stupefied and the blows came again, The sun seemed to cry as if extremely in pain.
Malicious faces above her, they dimmed in and out. Now memories raced ahead, flashing vivid and bright. The dewy grass glistened but hung its head in shame. The roaring wind whistled and hushed all the same.
The images, they reeled, they clicked and they stabbed, They stuck true and fatal, her heart simply bled Her mind ceased to shriek and scream; all that came, Was an audible whimper, throbbing with her son's name.
And all disharmonies seemed to tune out, Sweet, last memories flooded and strained, To keep that heart beating, alive and spirited, The rosy cheeks, the dark eyes, Now crimson and stained‌
And her eyes, the same ones but fiery, alight They struggled, they worked, to grasp and to find His life- Oh! Is he breathing, alive? But the eyes kept on staring, Like piercing daggers and knives.
It is a mundane, old story, let me clarify, A mother lost her dear son; he was murdered, though why? That, no one knew but as they stood over their kill, The mother knew, it was greater than sin.
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The Untold Hareem Fatima AII-C
When your bed of roses turns into a bench of thorns And your strength becomes your weakness, Look not back and expect no good; For that is when the shadow has left And you are abandoned. Utter no words and hope no better; For that is when you have lost the game. Give in to the monarch And do not resist; For misery is fate and you are the captive. Let darkness enlighten And do not await For you have embarked on an endless journey. Sealed in silence and shrouded in mist, Lips rust and senses demolish Alas! This is when you lose yourself.
Only Time Will Tell Zeelaf Butt XIC-B
That night you burned me Intentionally or unintentionally? Only time will tell You will reap what you have sown Will it be bitter or sweet? Only time will tell To see you fall, to see you burn I have waited eons, But only time will tell The seed you once planted, has grown tall and green But is it for you the fruit it bears? Only time will tell I festered the hatred, fueled it, grew it Will this be the end for you? Only time will tell But at the moment of truth, the last blow, the final strike Will I back down? Only time will tell 64
Open Your Eyes Raazia Kamal Butt AI-C
You say something's wrong with you, no nothing's wrong with you Something's not right, hey everything's alright Can't face it, it's reality You make it, it's fantasy You think you're wounded brutally, you're falling down You're healed perfectly, hold your ground. You're hopeless; you're a can of rubbish Believe in yourself, you're very talented I know you were in the dark and no one was there I know you wished someone could be here There was no one, no one to guide You wanted someone by your side Listen closely, there is God Open your eyes, no longer are you lost You can't cheer up, you're so empty, so lifeless Smile once in a while and you'll be full of life You thought you'll never play your part Look around you've come this far Kept asking yourself how hard will it be ? Tell yourself things will work eventually Loads of complications, you can't get along Get a grip, come on be strong I know you were in the dark and no one was there I know you wished someone could be here There was no one, no one to guide You wanted someone by your side Listen closely, there is God Open your eyes, no longer are you lost Struggling, but I can see tears in your eyes Take a deep breath, sometimes it's okay to cry Being unable to complete your quest Be at ease, you shouldn't get depressed Be carefree of what other people have to say Your self confidence is not dependent upon them anyway The glass is half full not empty, think it this way I know you were in the dark and no one was there I know you wished someone could be here There was no one, no one to guide You wanted someone by your side Listen closely, there is God Open your eyes, no longer are you lost.
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My Inspiration, a Muse Maira Farooq VIII-B
My inspiration, My muse Makes me move on, From dawn to dusk, Anguish to peace; Shows me ways To inscribe poems and stories; Gives me confidence To fight any fears and doubts And Elevates me to Blissful heights With a stimulating Imagination!
To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says: "Leave no stone unturned." Edward Bulwer Lytton
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Articles
Think before you speak. Read before you think
A Confession: I Am A Daydreamer! Saffa Faisal AI-A
I lean back on my darkly hued couch, snuggle up in my grandmother's hand-woven quilt and hold a cup of tempting coffee, the aroma of which can make even a saint fall to his knees. The ever-glorious yet meager sunlight was playing peek-a-boo with me on a chilly winter day. Ah! What a perfect time to be inspired, to be mesmerized and to fall deep into the never-ending pit of one's imagination and thoughts! What a splendid way to reach new possibilities and to explore more just by using your human tools of imagination and creativity! But what if I tell you that my above mentioned act or daydream in simple words makes me, as society puts it, a slacker, loafer and a layabout? I vividly remember myself as a chubby seventh-grader skimming through the tattered pages of a novel close to my heart, Lily's Crossing. Well Lily was a daydreamer! She used to ponder on how to leave her grandmother's house at Rockaway Beach where she was forced to live by her father who was dispatched by the military to fight in France. It was her immeasurable imagination that almost caused her close companion, Albert his life. But why does not the average reader admire her ability rather than criticize it? I fail to fathom! See when you talk about the word daydream, the thing that instantly hits that average mind straight away (thanks to the media) is wasting your time thinking about non-sense things like your endless crushes. In hindsight, it can actually do wonders for you. Daydreaming can enable you to increase your productivity. Say you had a rough day at school, your best friend and you end in a nasty cat fight, you have a test tomorrow of transformation and the cherry on the cake, your room is a total mess! So what do you do? How do you erase all the bad memories that are repeatedly hindering you? Well for a change you can sit down for 15 minutes and just daydream about your happy place, your peaceful abode or a place of unicorns and rainbows. This will enable you to clear your mind and focus on your exam just as a lion focuses and observes its prey before making it its dinner. Being lost in your fantasy world can actually help you to overcome your phobias. Let's suppose you hate roller coasters. The very thought of it brings chills down your spine. And to make things worse you have a family trip to an amusement park in the next two hours. If you were a good enough sport and daydreamed about it, you would have predicted yourself sitting in those uncomfortable seats secured by those rusty safety bars. Just as the roller coaster starts taking pace you tighten your grip on your sister's hand and before you know it you are moving up, down and in other weird patterns. Instead of screaming in horror, you are actually having the time of your life as the icy wind blows in your face tangling your hair, you get that ticklish feeling in your stomach and you can see your family cheering you. Okay now back to reality! So when you would be actually waiting for your turn to get up on that monstrous ride, you would be feeling much more confident. Furthermore, daydreaming allows you to step away from your current being and helps you to envision where you want to be in the next ten years, what morals you want to stand for, how are you going to make yourself remembered etc. Thus, it can help you to be the driver of your life, not the passenger! On the contrary, too much of daydreaming should be avoided. Why? Because then you will start to procrastinate and this eventually will stress you out and that can lead to breakouts, migraines, hair fall etc. You better watch out! Any how, I have a confession; I am a daydreamer, an active one. And there is nothing wrong with being one. Psychologists say that an average man daydreams about one-third to one-fifth of the hours during a single day so you do not need to feel that you are some slacker! As Shirley Henderson says, "I daydream all the time, and I like that quality." 67
Are We Really That Different? Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah AII-A
Introverts or extroverts. Righteous or spoilt. Generous or miserly. Humble or arrogant. There are so many words which bind human life together; so many words that show similarity between two people. Yet, when it comes to nationality our defining characteristics translate from being friendly, hospitable or honourable to being “Pakistani”, “American” or “British”. We are quick to forget any likeness we have to a person of another nationality and find our opinions being dominated by a single tag. Is national pride wrong, you ask? Of course not, but being patronizing is. If only governments could understand, for I believe people do though, all that sensationalized news and dramatic television anchoring had to take its toll! On the morning of 31st October 2012 I reached the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, and met five other Beaconites with whom I had to travel to India for a peace conference. Chosen from different branches across Pakistan, the six of us were meeting for the first time a day before the conference where we were to represent Pakistan. As fate would have it a delayed PIA flight, vegetarian McDonald's and a seven hour bus ride to Dehradun ensured our friendship as we stepped off the bus in the cold early morning on 1st November as the delegation from Pakistan. The Mumkin Initiative was organized by Welham Boy's School, Dehradun, and hosted student delegations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. While our discussions centred around increasing cooperation among South Asian countries through trade, tourism and education we discovered that there already existed foundations of acquaintance among our countries which could be built upon to further form a greater, stronger South Asian community. I have always been, and hope to remain, a citizen of the globe who believes in the best of mankind and that we all have more in common than we believe. However, I cannot put into words the feeling of belonging to the world that came with being a part of Mumkin. It helped me understand how achievable this ideal was. Even before the first day ended we all felt as if we had known each other for a long time. Our parents were told we would call them once we reached “home” (the hostels) and by the end of the conference we all tried our best to stall saying the inevitable “good bye”. Learning about the cultures of our neighbouring countries, attempting to speak in each other's native languages, exchanging social viewpoints and performing on the cultural night have truly knitted us closer as South Asians. As I reminisce about that time, I realize that deep within us (humans) we realize that there is more to us than being just a citizen of a country. Of course our nationality is and shall always remain an integral part of our existence, but there is a connection we have with fellow beings that is not dominated by pride or ignorance but by acceptability and respect. It is astounding how four days have strengthened my belief in the universal association between people and I can only hope that every person starts contributing to the better world in his/her capacity as a “Pakistani”, “American” or “British” etc. Though I can write pages on what I have learnt at Mumkin and mention anecdotes that evoke envy but those memories shall remain an important part of my life while the lesson can become a part of yours. Every person reading this article will have his/her own experiences which will shape his/her life, but I shall conclude with the following words by Thomas Paine: “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” 68
DRAP: A Positive Step for the Health System Noor-e-Huma A1 B
As we all know Pakistan today is facing a myriad of problems. These problems range from the domestic to international levels. Among many domestic dilemmas one of the basic problems is the lack of a proper health care system. Provision of health care facilities is the responsibility of the state. Nowadays successful governments of the welfare nations keep the health care system in their top objectives. We can clearly see its demonstration by the US government where President Obama's Health Care Bill remained a heated debate in the US presidential election. The Pakistani government, unfortunately, has always remained muddled in political turmoil and so has given little attention to health care, which is the basic right of the citizens of any nation. Pakistanis in hundreds fall prey to fake, unauthorized medicines, unqualified doctors and unnoticed drug mafia. One should never forget in this regard, the incident of the 'Punjab Institute of Cardiology' which took more than 147 lives. 'The Drug Regularity Authority Bill' also known as DRAB was passed by the government on 12 January 2012. This bill authorizes to establish a drug regulatory body to prevent sales of fake and substandard medicines. This body will also regulate the issues of manufacture, storage, import and the trading of medicines. It will also advise the federal government in international dealings regarding health care and formulate proper health related policies and laws. This step was indeed one in the right direction. Moreover, it is being commended by the pharmaceutical industries within and outside the country as its enactment will help in maintaining a close check on the drug mafia, which over the years has successfully managed to market fake drugs. Credit should be given to the free and vigilant media that has provided a platform over the past years to voice health issues prevailing in the society. Apart from the federal government, responsibilities also lie with the provincial governments after th the 18 Amendment- the devolution of the subject of health to provinces. The Punjab Government's establishment of 'Drug Information Centre' (DIC) and Centralized Poison Control Centre are also steps taken in the right direction. Fulfillment of the demand by the Federal Government and the Punjab Government will also offer a lead to the other provinces. Creating a healthy competition in the health care system is necessary so that medicines are produced in an effective manner. Heavy responsibility lies on the pharmacies. They must make themselves morally obliged to provide registered and authentic drugs because 'health is wealth.'
Fun Facts: E Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine E A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband does not give her coffee. E Everyday more money is printed for monopoly than the US Treasury. E Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th." E Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time. E More people are killed annually by donkeys than air crashes. E Pearls melt in vinegar. 69
The Worst and Best Aspects of Being a Teenager! Mehreen Zaman XIC-D
It is funny how little kids seem to make such a big deal about being a teenager. To them being a teenager is a complete mystery. To be a part of the 'older kids' group, to be and feel mature, to be able to make your own decisions, to be the baby-sitter for a change, to talk about 'mature' things, bigger things, different things. Believe me, the thrill of the day when you actually become a teenager is to be actually able to pronounce a '-teen' when you say your age. And that is about it. Because being a teenager, you have to struggle through every second of your life, and overcome new challenges you meet every day. It is an interesting stage of life, but one where you cannot give in without a fight against life, and time itself. 'You think you know me, but I am changing all the time'- anonymous teenager The teenage stage is one part of your life where you formulate the idea of exploring and experiencing new things. It is the age when we hatch out of our shells and see the world with new eyes; an arousing curiosity building inside us. This gives a chance to broaden our horizons and test where we stand on new things. An added plus: without the constant hindrance of our parents. This is no longer the stage where parents walk along with you on the road of life, holding your pinky and noting every step you take. They are with us, but at a distance behind allowing us to discover new paths ourselves, through constantly reminding us of the consequences of our actions. Also, along this whole journey you yourself have no idea who you really are and what exactly you want to become. You are unable to describe yourself because you are in the process of molding it. You, yourself are confused but, curious about where you might end up. During your teenage life, school is one of the most important things; one that helps to build up our personality. It leaves you so many memories that you can cherish forever. School can either groom you or ruin you: "Green and orange nail polish? To school? What in the world are you thinking?" "It's called fashion, mom......" "...such long hair? Really son you look like a long haired pillock! Just let me cut it..." "No mom! It's my Tom Cruise look..." Our uniforms are far from proper... "Cuffs down young man and shirts tucked in........" "Ankle socks? With cats printed? Do you not know you are in school?" And we go to great lengths to look cool... "Either cut your hair or get yourself in a girl's school....." "The purpose of wearing headbands, ladies, is to make sure you don't have hair all over your face..." As far as our studies go, we are extremely diligent students....in complaining about them: "Forget Miss and her essay, I was supposed to go out tonight..." "Isn't any teacher absent.....?' "Double Physics and Chemistry? You have got to be kidding me!" Needless to say, it is really fun time especially as it is spent with your friends. 'Is there a world big enough for me?' - Jane Frances. 70
Being a teenager you are now in that stage of life where everybody expects you to choose your career. You need to start planning your future which ultimately leads to the most unbelievable, horrific and utterly clueless conversation with your parents. For example, if I want to be a fashion designer, my parents seem to see me being equivalent to a tailor and they will never let that happen. I cannot be an interior decorator, because there is not much scope in it. I cannot be a graphic designer because my parents do not want me to marry my computer. I cannot be a banker because it is a waste of many years. So it leaves us with the usual options: engineer, lawyer, businessman, doctor, pilot or every other boring job they can seem to find. I am sorry but not every child has the aptitude of dissecting a poor harmless little frog which has not done you any wrong. Not every child has interest in fund revenues, exchange rates, investment or whatever. Not all can bear the immense burden of navigating a huge plane with the responsibility of more than a hundred passengers. No, thank you. And if a child is confused about what career should he take parents seem to say: "Part of becoming responsible means you should know what you can do and are good at. So what do you think?" Well I would not have come to you if I knew, ok? And our sweet mothers? "Why a job? Get married and live a peaceful life" Right! The words that offer the least bit of comfort. 'Playing a role- that's easy. But being yourself, now THAT'S a challenge'- Drama coach. In the world of teenagers, it is difficult to be yourself and express your true self in front of everyone: your parents, your teachers, friends or family members. You are forced to be who they want you to be or who they expect you to be. But you are not that. Or, more believably not ready yet. It is not the age where you can simply blurt out everything in front of anyone. Even the tiniest mistake here, gains you a long time before anyone can trust you again. You often have to put your wishes aside and think about others. That is the way it works. Therefore at this stage many kids, sorry I mean teens, are unable to express and portray themselves as their true self and tend to become quite reserved, confused, have many secrets and yes be over-emotional too. 'You can take a road that will reach you to the stars; I will take the one that will see me through'Nick Drake. No matter what happens or what your parents might expect from you, there is no reason for them to press what they want you to be. And no reason for you to go along with what they want you to become. It is your life and sometime later if you are not where you do want to be, you are going to regret it. So keep it simple: enjoy, have fun, get good grades and mean it when you say you are proud to be a teen!
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Consumerism Leads to Climate Change Zaineb Zahid AI-C
Debates on climate change are a recurring theme in a world with increasing environmental awareness. With nations pointing fingers at each other but none accepting blame, the main question remains as to who really is responsible for the climate change? Is it the culmination of decades of environmental neglect and carbon emissions in the developed world or the exponential growth of pollutants in emerging economies such as China? When it comes to attributing causes and culprits, nothing is black and white. Corporations and multinationals have many faces. White collar employees are following orders. They can and will be laid off at some point in their careers and in these uncertain times, only their present is important. Ethics and personal qualms have to be put aside. CEOs and company heads will claim that there is far too much to be done for them to be concerned with petty concerns and even if they wished to implement environmental laws, it is impossible to do so because company boards who own the majority of stock will refuse to agree. Tony Hayward's public disgrace in the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill is for now only a cautionary tale behind closed doors on how to hide trails and what you should not do for your position to be compromised. (Also on how to never ever have a public tantrum where you end up stipulating that your private life is more important than an oil spill). For the rest of the world, brazenness and ruthless capitalism has for once attached a face and disgraced a corporate brand apart from Goldman Sach's. But the consumer too has responsibilities, something which well meaning journalists often refrain from publishing in too much detail lest their populace of well-meaning readers take affront. Companies and global giants feed on people's own inflated views of themselves. The reasoning is simple really. People feel that they are after all, entitled to certain standards of living. (Incidentally, this awakening of deserving more, deserving better has only recently seeped into public consciousness. Before that being unhappy with jobs and life was only a matter of course). Hoarding up material possessions gives the majority of people something to infuse their energies in, in a time and place where both Communism and Christianity have declined. The higher the demand for goods and accessories, higher is the production and consequently pollution. Worldwide research shows that growth in per capita consumption is strongly linked to increases in income levels, which ultimately translate into higher demand for everything else — the base that supports consumerism. One of the major driving points of consumerism is the desire for more, even when enough is available. That desire is seldom satisfied, if at all. That indeed is the problem. And with growing population numbers — 5 billion people in 2005, 7 billion people in 2011 and 9 billion predicted in 2025 —this can only translate into stronger demand. The processes that produce consumer goods and the systems within the consumer chain are both significant contributory factors in the cycle of climate change and global warming. Only take for instance what it means for carbon emissions when a middle-income or even wealthy couple possesses upwards of five personal vehicles and are looking to acquire more? Or consider when families buy too much food for their own good they end up filling landfills with waste and rotten food. The question arises as to what really is the solution? Cut down on carbon emissions. Cut down on water usage as well as that of energy. All this is easier said than done. Who can and who will? Realistically, environmental problems are not something that today's generation of politicians and adults will have to be confronted with. Will they be lambasted about it when they are dead? Perhaps. But the Daily Mail might be assured of at least one searing headline in the future. Besides, it is so much easier to suppress it, even ignore it, and then let the floodgates open. At least for now. 72
I Bet You Did Not Know About Them Isra Imtiaz AI-B
All great ideas were once considered to be weird, illogical and just simply irrational. All successful people have been rejected on one or more occasions. The sleepless nights that they had spent just to bring forward their thought provoking ideas which are refused and thrown away in the waste basket just like scribbled paper. It may surprise you that Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because of "lacking original ideas". But that did not stop him and other successful people like him. Our minds are conditioned and are used to the old ideas and so we consider new and unusual ideas to be weird. Few have the imagination and inspiration to see a new world before it is shown to the ordinary citizen. The following real life stories also changed the face of science and logic with their twisted ideas. BEN UNDERWOOD, THE BOY WITH A SONAR VISION: Ben was born in Riverdale California on January 26 1992. At the age of three his eyes were removed due to cancer thus making him blind. For a normal person this would mean disability for the rest of his life. However, Ben Underwood was not among such people. He taught himself to ride bicycles, rollerblades, electric scooters and even played video games. In fourth grade he even started to write a novel, science fiction. How he did this? Well with the help of sound. Ben used human echolocation, an ability that allows humans to detect objects in their environment by sending echoes from those objects. Basically he made short click sounds that bounced back from the objects and his ears picked up these echoes and let him know where the objects were. This is similar to the principle of active sonar and animal echolocation used by certain animals like dolphins, bats etc. What was amazing about him was that he did not use any dogs, canes or even his hands to help him find his way, he only used sound and for this he received a lot of publicity in the United States of America, going on radio talk shows, the Ellen Show and even 'The Oprah Winfrey Show'. He was on the front pages of numerous newspapers and magazines one of them being "The People Magazine". This teen was a huge inspiration to all blind people and hope for all parents who believed that if their child is blind he or she cannot live a normal, healthy life. Sadly he passed away on the morning of January 19 2009 due to the cancer that took away his eyes, a week before turning 17. MISTER EAT EVERYTHING, MICHEL LOTITO: Michel Lotito better known by his name "Monsieur Mangetout (Mr. Eat Everything)" during the 57 years of his life has been known to have consumed up to nine tons of metal till 1997, his death year. He consumed 18 bicycles, 15 supermarket trolleys, 7 television sets, 16 chandeliers, a computer and a low calorie Cessna light aircraft! The plane alone took him two years from 1978-1980. He is also said to have provided the only example in history of a coffin (handles and all) ending up inside a man. He holds the Guinness world record for the strangest diet. He began eating unusual material as a child and had been performing publicly since 1966. He suffered from pica, a mental disorder in which people compulsively eat non-food items such as dirt and plastic. His condition was first diagnosed at the age of nine and it was only after he learned that his stomach and intestines had walls of twice the expected thickness, and his digestive acids were, allegedly, unusually powerful, allowing him to digest a certain portion of his metallic meals that he turned his eating disorder into a career. Lotito did not often suffer from ill-effects due to his diet, even after the consumption of materials usually considered poisonous. When performing he consumed around a kilogram of material daily, preceding it with mineral oil and drinking considerable quantities of water during the 'meal'. He used to break down the materials into small pieces before eating them. Lotito died on June 25 2007, of natural causes unrelated to his strange diet.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.� - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 73 27
Youth and the Hurdles it Faces‌ Zeelaf Butt XIC-B
Someone once said "Youth comes but once in a lifetime and with Youth come many hurdles." Life is a game that must be played no matter what it throws our way. We have to jump every hurdle, solve every riddle. For this we have to use our heads and strive our very best to find solutions. We have to perceive the challenges and understand them in their truest sense. It may seem like a big burden but that is simply life. It hides the true intent of things in so many veils of misconception that we end up thinking something else. Same is the case with these challenges. They play a different role than we think. These challenges actually instigate the hidden capabilities in youth. They force them to use their heads in a sticky situation. And here the qualities of young life come into view. Their limitless energy and the extraordinary adaptability takes over and leads them to success. They develop a more analytical approach to life. "In youth we learn, in age we understand." This means that life is a learning passage; we go through many problems, whether they are emotional challenges, economic or social. Of course nobody's life is perfect. People face their own kinds of demons every day. Every day is full of problems for every individual. And these problems, build up the confidence and instill qualities in youth which are necessary to develop them into mature adults who are able to handle the pressure of the working society. To face even bigger monsters, to defeat them. Life is not all rainbows and butterflies; it is a harsh reality in which we have to fight to make our own place. We have to work hard if we want to leave our footprints in this world. For this we need to be strong, resilient, and unbreakable, but all the same, caring towards others. This feat is only accomplished if we start learning them at a young age. Life is not going to wait for us to catch up. Time passes so quickly that we are left wondering about what happened. Imagine a place where everything is perfect, no problems, and no worries that furrow our brow. What would be the result? We would not practise our skills. We would not have to sit down and judge between right and wrong. We would not be used to the habit of working hard because everything is coming to us nice and easy. A person without depth of character or thinking skills would be the result. Wisdom would not exist because that comes from experiencing hardships and failure. So the challenges in life are actually a chance for the youth to hone and perfect their skills. To come out with their guns blazing and a strong will to succeed. So from another perspective these problems are actually the tools to bring out the best in young people, to mould their characters and to give them a taste of reality.
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth.� - William W. Purkey
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The Anne Frank of Pakistan (Malala Yousafzai) Sarah Sabir XIC-C
"If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards." "Whereas the police report is concerned, Malala Yousafzai along with two other school girls was on her way to school when some unknown attackers came and opened fired on Malala Yousafzai's vehicle after recognition. " The name was quite familiar but I just could not point my finger at whoever she was. Then I remembered that only yesterday my father mentioned her name and informed me that she had kept a record of the barbarous acts of the Taliban and had released it in the form of a book. Minute by minute the news came in and the world was caught up in a strange feeling of compassion about the condition of the young girl, fighting death itself as she was determined to defeat those who used violence to enforce their views. It was distressing to hear about the cowardly attack on the young yet courageous girl and I felt it very similar to the story of Anne Frank. In 2009, private schools in Pakistan's troubled Northwestern Swat district were ordered to close by a Taliban edict banning education amongst girls. About one fifty seven schools had already been destroyed the year before. Malala Yousafzai, then in grade 7, chronicled how the ban affected her and her classmates. The diary first appeared on BBC Urdu online. Similarly, Anne Frank also kept a diary of how harshly and barbarically the Jews, including her, were treated by the Nazis. This incident kept on disturbing me. Could we not even raise our voice in a nation that prided itself on being a democratic one? Is the reward for raising your voice, gun shots and other inhumane acts? I believed that now it was considered a crime to raise your voice against injustice and I could hardly imagine the torture the girls had to face in Swat and my heart ached for the confrontations that they had to see before their very eyes. The place where I live seems paradise when compared with these Talibani dominated areas. Malala's story is and should be an eye-opening experience for the rest of the citizens. We should be as determined as Malala and not let any hurdles stop us from achieving the beliefs that we fight for. She had to pay a huge price for trying to achieve something for her people. We need to be stronger and hard working to protect our rights and to fight for them. We should not let anyone stop us from prospering just because we are girls. We as women need to make our rights prominent among the people as we are also part of the society that needs regeneration. This would help us achieve a brighter future for all the women in Pakistan so one day we can also stand shoulder to shoulder with all the men in our country.
Five steps to a happy life: 1. Believe happiness is a choice. 2. Rid your life of negativity. 3. Look for the positive in life. 4. Reinforce positivity in your life. 5. Share happiness with others.
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Happiness Our Versatile Dreams Qainaf Najam AI Taima Rao AI-C
Dreams, like shadows, escort a person from his cradle till his grave and exactly like shadows they keep changing constantly with time. This is a property of dreams that is inconsiderate and independent of era, place or any devastating circumstances. It seems like philosophy but it is a fact of life, about dreams. And maybe, just maybe, this is what philosophy actually is, instead of the dictionary's definition for the word i.e. "The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline." But for now let's just say that philosophy is everything except the topic of the article! So, back to our original topic: Dreams. In different walks of life we encounter our dreams in a unique and typically different way. As an infant we do not even know what dreams are. We cannot even distinguish between our dreams and nightmares but that is certainly not the type of dreams under discussion. But how do we know, we are infants at that moment right? Well, never mind, we have grown up now and have become kids. At this stage we get familiar with the word and even learn to spell it; "D.R.E.AE.M.S". Oops, wrong spellings but we are little kids yet, remember‌ and mistakes happen! But at this stage, as I was saying, dreams still do not mean much to us except something that Cinderella wants to brag about all the time. Give it a break! Then as we grow older, say 12 or so, we are and see our dreams in our very own innovative style. Like our dreams may be becoming a pilot, rescuing a beautiful princess from a high tower, becoming an engineer (when we even do not know what exactly an engineer is) or even becoming say a neurosurgeon, if you actively follow Grey's Anatomy. In high school, we do not have much time to chase our dreams. We are so busy chasing good grades, posts in the student council, latest gadgets and other materialistic things. We already have so much stuff on our to-do list that we hardly have time to add the five-letter word to it. Even before we finish our university life, we start dreaming about getting a job that will lead us to an air-conditioned, carpeted office, with ebony black furniture, a refrigerator full of – everything and much more! We start salivating just at the very idea. When in the late thirties, men leave their homes with their spouses and children sound asleep and go to their respective offices with a refreshened dream every day, of changing their lives and getting enough money to buy their wives a diamond ring for their next wedding anniversary. Even in the autumn of our life, it is a dream of grandparents to see their children and grandchildren gathered happily at their home and living in peace and harmony. No matter how impossible it may seem, there is always a ray of hope helping them to keep themselves together. Then even on the deathbed when hope has left our side, a dream, a final dream, remains. When our last breath is kissing us goodbye, there is a dream of seeing the face of their only son one last time before they die so that their souls can rest in eternal peace. Dreams are meant to be chased and they are out there as real as we are here breathing what may be our last breath, so reach out and grab them!
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inspiration Life is an inspiration
Mrs. Nasreen Kasuri This extraordinary woman needs no introduction. She is the founder of our very own BSS that started as a small nursery and has burgeoned into a worldwide educational organization: she has been the force behind this phenomenal rise. She has not only earned the country a good name but has also changed the face of private education. She was awarded 'Sitar-eEisaar' in 2006 and the 'Pakistan Women Power 100' in 2012. She is also actively involved in numerous charities and non-profit organizations. Q.
You started the school way back in 1975. Whose brainchild was that and what was the reason behind this venture?
A.
I started Les Anges in 1975. It was my brainchild because I had two young children, one of whom is the CEO today. I took them to a number of nurseries that were available in town. I wasn't particularly happy with any of them. My frustration led me to look at the possibility of starting my own nursery. As I had studied Montessori when I was doing my Masters in Psychology so I was quite taken up by this system. I thought let's look into that and that's how it all started.
Q.
What were the reasons behind making this organization global?
A.
Within Pakistan the education market is still not saturated and we continued to grow and expand. Also we needed links outside Pakistan for training purposes and for exposure to newer educational technologies. For that we had links with the UK. We wanted to cement those links because there were teachers coming from the UK to train teachers here and teachers going abroad for training. After an exchange of ideas we thought that there should be a Pakistani brand of education. Now that seems like a tall order for a country where the literacy rate is low but there is no reason why even out of Pakistan quality cannot be achieved. I mean it is not necessary because the literacy rate is so low that there cannot be a spot of light, there cannot be bits of excellence here and there. The world needs to see that.
Q.
What response did you receive when you went global?
A.
We did not face any resistance. No, not at all. The only issue that every country has is that they are very possessive when it comes to the education sector and they don't want anybody to come in because of ideological issues. Whenever we introduce ourselves to somebody, they go to the website and when they read about Beaconhouse, they only get positive information. They are quite happy to deal with us. Our schools in Malaysia are doing exceedingly well.
Q.
What were the hurdles through the journey, if any?
A.
There are hurdles. I mean nothing is smooth running. There are very few journeys that don't have hurdles. There have been hurdles, yes. But we've managed.
Q.
If we look at India, they have a uniform education system. We on the other hand have four 77
different education systems. Do you think it is possible to unify the education system of Pakistan and how? A.
You see, when everybody quotes India what they don't realize is that India is a huge country and it's got so many regional languages, many more than we do. They have found a practical solution to that which is that every state has a choice of teaching either in English or their regional language. So the states make their own choices. In Pakistan we have the state education system which is in Urdu. And then we have our regional languages, English medium schools and the madrassas. Now, the point is that when you go to Sindh or the Frontier, the issue that you have is that they have their own provincial languages. They are not nationalistic about it. You can't really force them to teach in Urdu. For them Urdu is as much a foreign language as English. If the Government of Pakistan was to give a similar choice to all the provinces, regional language or English, it would be for the people to choose. As far as English medium schools are concerned, Urdu is given as much importance as a language as English. Urdu can continue but it is with English that you have a cutting edge in technology. All the latest teaching techniques and blended learning material is in English. The development in the world is very fast and keeping up with the pace is not that simple.
Q.
Why do you think it is important to empower Pakistani women?
A.
It is important to empower women all over the world, more so in Pakistan. We are 50% of the population of our country. If 50% of the population does not contribute to the growth of a country then that country can never progress. Women are a very important party to address in the world. Women have to be empowered, they need to have a sense of dignity, and they have to be intellectually and financially empowered because they always say 'If you educate a woman, you educate a family.' An educated mother will be a better mother: a mother who has dignity will give her child a sense of confidence, a sense of stability while a mother, who is not empowered, is unhappy and frustrated and will pass that on to the child. Accordingly, generations will suffer. It so happens its mostly women in the education sector and they do need the money, but if they are working, they should have a sense of pride because they can earn their livelihood and pass on knowledge to the next generation.
Q.
How can we bring women at par with men?
A.
If they have the same education level. In the world of today, it is education and skills that are important. Hundred years ago physical strength was very important and men are physically strong. Nowadays, most professions don't require brute strength. Women have the same brain, the same capacity to learn as men. As a matter of fact, women are doing better than before in everything and giving the best results.
Q.
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How does it feel to have your achievements acknowledged? How do they motivate you?
A.
Oh, it feels good. Anybody would feel good to have their achievements acknowledged. They motivate me to continue contributing in whatever way I can. I'm not the Chief Executive anymore, Kasim Kasuri is, but I still come to work every day since education is something that I'm really passionate about. I feel very sorry for the state of affairs of education in Pakistan and whenever I'm asked to contribute, I always do.
Q.
Do you think there is a need for charities and non-profit organisations in Pakistan?
A.
They have a positive role to play. There are many such organizations in the Western World. US, UK and Europe, the champions of capitalism, have non-profit organizations in a very large number. They play an important role in the development of any sector, be it education or health.
Q.
How do you see the Pakistani women in the next 20 years?
A.
Education amongst women is the first step to their empowerment and in the promotion of which the government will have to play a very active. I do see women bridging the gap and the pace will accelerate. Women have bridged the gap from the time when I was a child. What I saw then, when I started the school and what I see today, they have moved on. There has been so much exposure through the internet. It's the revolution of the mind, in how we think and how we perceive ourselves. Fifty years ago women believed themselves to be inferior. The revolution comes from within us. When we expect to be treated in a certain way then we behave in a certain way and our expectations change. And that changes our status.
Q.
Any words of advice to the girls at BLL?
A.
My advice to all the girls is that they must have a profession. They must work. They must be good wives and good mothers but they must also train for a profession. One of the things I see even today is that girls studying in BNU do very well, getting GPAs like 3.8 but after graduation they get married and do not pursue their professions. The role of the mother is very noble but it is possible to be a good mother and still have a profession. I started working when my children were three or four years old but I don't think I have ever compromised on my role as a mother. Now that is empowering yourself!
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Hamid Mir Pakistani journalist, news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst. He has participated in many international conferences. He also writes columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a show, Capital Talk, on a private news channel. He was twice banned from Pakistani television by the government of Pervez Musharraf in 2007, and by the Zardari administration in June 2008. He has also received 'Hilal-i-Imtiaz' for his work. 1)
Name one person who has brought a positive change in your life and why? Definitely my mother. She encouraged me to become a journalist like my father despite the fact that my salary was very low in the initial years. My mother helped me to buy a motor bike and that's how I became an active journalist.
2)
What would be the most inspiring moment of your life? When the people of Kashmir get freedom from India and the Palestinians from Israel.
3)
How would you like to be remembered? I would like to be remembered as a good and genuine human being.
4)
How do you cope with failure and criticism? I don't lose hope and I always face failure as a reality. I try to learn from criticism and accept positive criticism.
5)
Given the situation of journalists in Pakistan and the recent attack on your life, what makes you continue your career? The people of Pakistan have given me a lot of respect and love. They expect a lot from me. I was attacked because I was fighting against the enemies of the people. It is my responsibility to continue my fight through my profession. That is why I decided not to surrender. I will keep fighting against those who want me to leave journalism in the first place.
6)
How would you like to see Pakistan in the next five years? I am positive that the future of Pakistan is bright because our students are brilliant. I see a flourishing and shining Pakistan in the next five years.
7)
Many people blame the media for the current state of Pakistan. Your comments? There was no free media in 1971 when Pakistan was divided into two parts. Who broke up Pakistan? Media never planned the Kargil operation in 1999 which gave our country a bad name. Who planned the Kargil operation? NRO encouraged corruption in Pakistan. Who signed the NRO? Suicide bombings and drone attacks have also brought shame to the country. Did the media do all of that?
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The media is the mirror of the society. We see our faces in the mirror. I don't say that our face is bad, though the mirror is. Yes, there are some black sheep amongst us but they are not the true face of the media. Don't forget the 98 journalists who have been martyred in the line of duty in the last 10 years only because they were trying to bring the hidden and harsh reality to the average Pakistani. 9)
If you were the President of Pakistan for 24 hours, what would be the first thing you would do? After recent amendments in the constitution, the President has very limited powers. Anyhow, I would leave the President House and convert this big building into a university.
10) How can Pakistan come out from all this corruption, destruction, failures and climb the ladder of success? The solution is very simple. Rule of law. 11)
What were your dreams as a child? My dream was to become a cricketer but after the death of my father I left cricket and became a journalist.
12) How would you describe yourself when you were a student? I was a very naughty, but bright student. 13) Anything naughty you did in school/college? I used to scare my class fellows with plastic snakes. 14) Any words of advice for the girls of Beaconhouse Liberty? Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom and charity.
Plant a seed of friendship. Reap a bouquet of happiness. Lois K. Kaufman
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Omair Rana He was born on 31st January, 1978. He graduated from Bloomfield Hall and then joined the University College of Lahore for an undergraduate degree. He got his London School Diploma from there and stayed for one more year. Omair Rana then graduated from the University of London External directly with a degree in Economics and Management. In 2001, he created Real Entertainment Productions with a good friend of his. Since then the enterprise has produced more than 33 successful plays. Q.
The field that you chose is quite unconventional. What were you influenced and inspired by?
A.
Failure. I believed that I couldn't do anything else better.
Q.
In a society that is not so supportive towards the kind of career you pursued, what hurdles did you face building your way up and how did you deal with them?
A.
I would only let people who matter, judge my career, those being my parents. I was disowned by my father, but I got a degree and still wanted a job, particularly in productions.
Q.
Out of teaching, acting, directing, and producing, what gives you the most pleasure?
A.
Acting and teaching.
Q.
Do you enjoy your celebrity status?
A.
I don't have one.
Q.
How would you describe yourself as a student? Anything naughty you remember doing in school?
A.
I was a very average student. Even today, if I were to go back to school no one would remember me and probably would have to ask which batch I was from. Otherwise I was cheeky, energetic and very introvert. Very introvert.
Q.
If our sources are correct, you flunked in A' Levels. How did you handle that? Was it difficult to look past it?
A.
I proved the system was wrong.
Q.
Other than that, what are those few shocking yet interesting things about you that the majority does not know?
A.
Well for one, I passed the same subjects that I had flunked in (Economics and Math) and later graduated from the university majoring in those subjects. Also, I am not that old as they think. Now this can be taken both ways.
Q. 82
On a scale from 1 to 10, how weird would you rate yourself?
A.
Me? I'm not weird at all. I'd give it a 5.
Q.
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when we say:
a)
Food street
A.
Nihaari
b)
Marriage
A.
Myra
c)
LUMS
A.
Rejection
d)
Meera
A.
I have no idea how you are going to write this one down.
e)
Inspiration
A.
Way too many.
f)
Guys wearing red skinnies My teenage
g)
"To be or not to be"
A.
Hamlet.
h)
"Light, camera, action!"
A.
Bas karain, ghar janay dain
i)
"A pound of flesh‌"
A.
Excited.
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Zoe Viccaji Zoe Viccaji has been playing the guitar and writing her own music since the age of fifteen. Music has always been a part of her life and she grew up with a mother who also plays the guitar and sings and a brother who was in a band. Her sister Rachel Viccaji also seems to be heading towards the music fraternity. Zoe joined her first band, ironically named 'Ganda Bandas' when she was seventeen. Since then she has been a part of various bands but is now pursuing the life of a solo artist. She has written mostly English songs during her career, but is now shifting her attention to Eastern and Urdu material. Zoe spent the early part of her career as a painter, but soon realized that music was her true calling. She also acted in a few musicals abroad and two musicals 'Mama Mia' and 'Chicago' in Pakistan, soon after which she was asked to come on board COKE Studio and has been a part of seasons 3, 4 and 5. She has set up her own home studio where she continues to record her own music, and collaborate with various producers. Her most popular songs include Hai Ye Silsalay and Mera Bichra Yaar. She has also collaborated with some international chains, such as Levis. Here are the questions we asked her: Q. Who is the most inspirational personality in your life? Why? A. I'd say it's been my grandmother for a very long time. Her philosophy of life has been something that I've looked up to for years. I remember her saying she felt like the richest woman alive because there was nothing more she wanted in life. She lived in a small one-bedroom house with a very modest pension, and spent most of her money on other people. Q. What was the most inspiring moment of your life? A. There have been so many in the course of time. I always look forward to the excitement of learning something new, and having that explosion of energy to make something happen. Q. What is your definition of happiness? A. Contentment. Q. How would you like to be remembered? A. As a good person, and someone who went beyond her talent. Q. What were your dreams as a child? A. I wanted desperately to be a vet! I loved and still love animals, and felt like this was my calling in life. Too bad I didn't have the brain for Biology or Chemistry. 84 28
Q. Any loves other than music? A. Sports- I love running and yoga, and generally staying fit, it feels good. I also absolutely love travelling and meeting strange but interesting people outside my circle. Q. During days of struggle what keeps you going? A. I usually talk myself out of getting too down about things. I remind myself that this time shall pass and there will always be brighter days. Q. Which song of yours is closest to your heart? Why? A. Most of the songs of my upcoming album are close to my heart. The one closest though is a song called “quarter to three� which hasn't been released yet, but I have been performing it live quite a lot. Q. Anything naughty you did in school? A. I was a real pain in school, the most fidgety thing. I think when I was in St Michaels I beat up one of the boys. My mother said she saw a scuffle in the playground and knew it was me! Q. How would you describe yourself when you were a student? A. I was generally very confused because it bugged me that I didn't know what I wanted to follow as a career. I was always an avid learner and very earnest about my work. I think I'm a much happier person now that I've found my niche. Q. Which genres of music can't you stand at all? A. Heavy metal makes me grit my teeth. Q. Is there anything you go nuts over? A. Puppies and kittens Q. What is your most embarrassing moment ever? A. There have been quite a few, but I can't remember anything that I couldn't just laugh off. Q. Any new projects that we should know about? A. Yes! I'm releasing a new song and video under the duo name Zoe and Zohaib. Watch out for that this Feb!
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The Teachers at BLL: An Inspiration! Hirra Faisal
Hirra completed her O 'Level in 2010 and got 8 A's. She also finished her A' Level in 2012 and got 2 A's. She is presently doing ACCA from SKANS. Being asked to write an alumni article for this year's Mosaic did not make me feel elevated or honoured, rather it brought on a pang of nostalgia that took a long while to subside. Believe it or not but spending more than a decade at the same place really makes you fall in love with it. I can never forget the careless ease with which I used to roam the corridors of BLL even well after home time. Within these walls I have laughed, screamed, cried, played games, taken long walks, devoured food (read overpriced canteen food), and even had a chance to satisfy the dictator in me. Within these wall I not just made friends but rightfully found my amigos whom I can always count on to be there for me come what may and can depend upon to call me themselves and remind me that they are still alive and that my credit management sucks. Also it was within these very walls that I was inspired the most! With this year's theme being inspiration what better alumni article than the one where I share with you my inspirations. My first inspiration was Ms. Umama Umar. Ms.Umama was one Islamiat teacher who actually made Islamiat fun! I can never forget the zeal and enthusiasm with which she used to teach us Islamiat and all the incidents that she used to tell us apart from the standard material published in our books. But what was most amazing about her was that she was the first Islamiat teacher who inspired me to not just take the Islam that our parents and grandparents have told us about and that has been passed on from generations and generations but to discover Islam on my own. She encouraged me to think and reflect whether the Islam we know and follow is the true ruling of Allah or the one that has been molded to suit our societal beliefs. I can never forget when reading about the first four Khalifas and the Imams, my classmates and I were in a dilemma concerning Hazrat Ameer Muawiya's loyalties and so we questioned Ms. Umama and she very calmly replied that Allah will not question you on the Day of Judgement about his loyalties so stop wondering and stop yourself from committing sin by saying something bad about a Companion who was a scribe of the Quran! And just like that Ms.Umama not just put an end to our dilemma but influenced us to worry about our own selves and not about others and their actions. While Ms. Umama inspired me to find out the true essence of Islam, this teacher inspired me to become efficient. And a lot of my fellow classmates would agree when I say that this teacher was the most methodical, efficient and the best time manager we came across. Yes I am talking about none other than our very own Ms. Rabia Malik. Being pretty much a lazy sloth all my life you can well imagine the impact Ms. Rabia had on me when I became her subject representative and closely got to observe her and her 'maroon' diary which contained her daily schedule as well as the daily lecture all planned out. Ms. Rabia literally opened my eyes to how wonderful life can be when it is organized and continued to awe me with how effectively she balanced her professional and personal life and that with a smile too. And most importantly Ms. Rabia showed me how precious our life is to waste even a single hour after all you only live once, right? Lastly this teacher taught me the most important lesson of all to always look for the best in people and rightfully work hard and shoot for the stars! When you only live once and have been gifted with a brain then why spend your life idling around instead of discovering the potential and intelligence 86
Allah has bestowed you with and combining it with resilience and hard work to truly achieve success where ever you go. Sir Jawad was one such person. Throughout my A' levels Sir Jawad literally pushed me to work harder and strive for excellence. And though I was the worst student ever, Sir never stopped believing in me or stopped telling me that I could do it. I not only missed a lot of my classes but I left quite a few midway too to do society work and did not start my project until two months before the submission date but Sir Jawad bore all my inefficiencies patiently (read only got me scolded by Ms.Romana twice). And even two days before my finals, he told me that if I put my mind to it I could do a lot better than just get an A*. And even though I failed him, his inspiring words and faith in my potential are still with me telling me that the sky's the limit! This is my story and this is how BLL had an impact on me. It not only polished my abilities but its teachers influenced and motivated me to become the person I am today and aspire to be in the future. Thank you to all my teachers for inspiring, encouraging and motivating me and thank you BLL for giving me some of the best years of my life.
"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.� John Lennon
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Inspiring Quotes (Compiled by the Editors)
“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London “All the effort in the world won't matter if you're not inspired.” - Chuck Palahniuk “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” - Aristotle Onassis “Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” - Joseph Campbell “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.” - Suzanne Weyn, “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” - Vincent van Gogh “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says 'I'm possible!” - Audrey Hepburn “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” - Martin Luther “Believe you can and you're halfway there.” - Theodore Roosevelt “Hope is a waking dream.” - Aristotle “Do one thing every day that scares you.” - Eleanor Roosevelt “My Life is My Message” - Mahatma Gandhi “No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” - Maya Angelou “If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.” - Woody Allen “Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” - Swami Sivananda “Belief creates the actual fact.” - William James “Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back.” - Babe Ruth 88
“I Have a Dream” Minahil Tariq XIC-B
On 21st September, 2012 the Pakistani masses came out into the streets shouting for the removal of the blasphemous film against the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). What was supposed to be a peaceful protest soon turned into an act of utter violence, demonstrating nothing but the lack of wisdom of our people. I have a dream, that someday every person young or old will be properly educated. There is no doubt that the future of our country will greatly depend upon the type of education and the way in which we bring up our children as the future servants of Pakistan. Education does not merely mean academic education. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up the character of our future generations. For the future generations of Pakistan to call themselves properly educated, they must know how to behave in society. To call themselves humans, they must know how to love and respect one another. We must take ownership of what we are doing, which means the highest sense of honor, integrity, selfless service to the nation and sense of responsibility. We can no longer blame the situation of our country on our leaders and politicians alone. What we need is education. Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more of a clever devil. Intelligence plus character is the goal of true education. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed. I dream of a day when we do not categorize citizens as Hindus, Ahmedis and Shias, but simply call ourselves Pakistanis. I dream of a day, when people worldwide line up for a tourist visa to Pakistan, when flying by PIA is an honor and a privilege, when earning a green passport feels like a lifetime achievement. When students in the USA scream in excitement when getting into a Pakistani University, where no man is forced to steal to satisfy his hunger, where no boy is strapped to a bomb on a false promise of heaven. Where the treatment, and where a violation of human rights is worse than treason. One day we will stand together to make sure it never happens again. I dream of that day, these dreams are what keep us awake at night. If we were to stand as one all our goals would finally be in sight. Let us keep our differences aside, let us all finally unite.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” - Albert Einstein
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Window to My Soul Khadija Muzaffar AI-C
Silently stare into my soul, What will you find? What will it hold? A rush of thoughts, A twist of gold? A tale so great, A face so bold? You might not see, Might not perceive, What you would find inside of me. Yet if you reach, you just might find, A soul exists, just like your kind. Just one touch, will set you ablaze. The fire is alive, your heart starts to race Glorious fields and infinite skies, Are what you picture, When you look through my eyes, You are young, But the seed has been sown. A few more showers, And you'll have grown. You'll be an individual, With ideas unique. And all my soul will be, An Inspiration.
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Inspiration Ushna Sajjad XC-B
From the flag adorned with a crescent and a star, From the fragrance of our national flower, From the man who died in front of my eyes, From the clouds that rumbled and shook the skies, From the people who never gave a second glance, From the time I took a fatal chance, From the script I could never complete, From the laughter never to repeat, From the wind that blows in the dead of the night, From the butterflies that took flight, From the whispers so low I could have been mistaken, From the snow never there and the winter never awakened, From the baby that tugs tendrils of hair, From the dress one loves and refuses to share, From the cars driven way too fast, From the secrets untold and a hideous past, From the expectations I watched mix together with the trash, From the valley people thought that could never flood, From the dead plant that gave out shoots, From the melody that could be played only on flutes, From the curtain that could never hide the doubts, From the cowardice in their hearts and the smirk out, From all these comes an invitation, I reach forward and grab inspiration.
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Inspiration I Sought Noor Fatima IXC-F
Under the deep blue sea, In the broad daylight, I looked for inspiration, I might never find. For the sake of the sacred truth, In the sound of a humming bee's melody, I searched for inspiration, So longed by this failure. Since the first page till the last page, Descending from every reign to reign, Inspiration, I sought. Even the search availed me naught. I went to a raining site, Lost in the blooming nature Hunting for some inspiration Again, I met with disappointment. Then came the season of Christmas and hay, The surroundings filled with the sounds of jingle bells, Rejoice was the sheer anticipation Without any revealing beam of inspiration By my side, cuddled a crippled child In his twinkling eyes I pictured a caricature of a night sky Still no inspiration in my sight Where must I go now, left or right? Here comes the land of the gypsy, All dressed heavy and flimsy, I stared in hope of inspiration But turned away with the same misfortune The roaring train swept past me, Saw several hands waving happily, I tried to read their faces to get inspiration, The train went away, leaving me in the same hallucination. Then I sat idly, unaware of gay and glee, By the side of a water stream, My eyes twinkled with hope Filling me with awe and inspiration I had solved the mystery of my hunting sensation Inspiration is centered within every creation Why everything was so dry and dull? Because I had none in my perception Now I know, now I find, Inspiration is in every life and sound.
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Life @ Liberty
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
To Debate or To Orate?- BLKC 2013 Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah All-A
When you realize a dream after years of hard work, your desire to build upon it increases with each passing moment. Hosting the inaugural Beaconhouse Liberty Kasuri Cup (BLKC) 2012 was a milestone for the Beaconhouse Liberty Debating Society and so it should come as no surprise that we wanted to make it bigger and better this year round. Did we succeed? Oh YES! The event started off with the 13th Annual Intercollegiate Bilingual Declamation Contest on Friday morning (18th January 2013) and concluded with the grand finale of the English Parliamentary Debating Championship, which stretched over the weekend, on Sunday evening (20th January 2013) whereas BLKC's unique Orators Challenge was held on Sunday afternoon. The declamation was an enormous success with empowering speeches and hilarious anecdotes. While comments on the chairperson occasionally became more than just humourous, participation and victory of institutions like the University of Education was a delight to watch. Never among those who believe the art of debating can be restricted, BLL is proud to have witnessed such progression of talent in the debating circuit. Friday afternoon saw over a hundred and fifty debaters from around Lahore gather round in BLL's auditorium for the English Parliamentary Debating Championship. Did I mention we had requests from over 50 teams? Well, being the hospitable hosts that we are we managed to increase our cap to accommodate 44 teams, making BLKC 2013 the largest parliamentary tournament hosted by any school in Pakistan! Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's Dr. Saeed Elahi was the chief guest for the parliamentary debates final in which the teams had to argue whether one should support the Turkish Metro Bus project or not. While the management was kept on their toes to ensure the participants had the best debating experience, we were rewarded by generous applause and commendation by the debating fraternity. Red brick campus, diligent host team, efficient tabulation and witty newsletters gave every participant enough reasons to believe their weekend was well spent. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the tournament was the Orators Challenge where speakers from all over Lahore truly battled it out for the title of the Best Orator. From the heart wrecking experiences about love marriages being like a chocolate sprinkled doughnut where it seems alluring and fancy from the outside but is hazardous like wheat,- "wheat is what a doughnut is made of. And what is wheat? Fungus!" We were warned that marriage makes one round, fat and hollow from inside like a doughnut as the Best Orator walked away with the esteemed trophy. That might have sounded funnier live than on this paper but picture this: a participant was shown the visual of a yellow rubber duck and had to relate that to the theme "Awais Lovely." I hope you're not laughing because the Orators Challenge did have its share of complex logical reasoning questions. Can you, dear reader, define define? Can you tell me why is hard not easy? Can you confidently apply for the job of an undercover journalist who tries to enter the ranks of a radical religious organization's makeover artist? We think not.
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All in all, the tournament was a great success and gave everyone quite a bit to remember what debating is supposed to be all about. Under the tagline "Eloquence is nothing short of magic" BLKC 2013 managed to project the true essence of debating in it's different formats and capacities, both as a means of debate on current affairs and discussion on the intricacies of the little things that matter in our daily lives. *BLKC management takes a bow*
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.�
Maya Angelou
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2nd Annual ISSI Myra Sohail AI-C
The 2nd Annual ISSI (Innovative Scientific Solutions and Ideas) one of the major events of Beaconhouse Liberty was held on the 3rd and 4th of January 2013. It comprised many rounds, a few old ones and some new ones. Some of the changes that we wanted to bring in this year were to have it on a larger scale and to make it even more enjoyable. I am very pleased to tell you that our team and our teachers relentless efforts resulted in an even illustrious and larger ISSI this year! This year's ISSI was dedicated to Neil Armstrong; the first man to set foot on the moon. In his memory, we had given the teams names of the major stars in our galaxy as their Team IDs. This year we introduced two new rounds; the category round and epiphany round which proved to be a success and were thoroughly enjoyed by the delegates. We also had a D.J. night accompanied by a Scavenger Hunt, Knock Out, Battle of Ideas, Guess What?, Model Making and many others. The fact that this event was fantastic is an understatement. This year more schools and universities participated from all over Lahore including FC College, KC, Aitchison College, SISA, LLC, LGS (JT, 1A1) and Beaconhouse Defence Campus. However, ALGC showed great enthusiasm, they not only brought a whopping number of teams eleven to be exact! but also won many competitions. Their team "Lyra" bagged the winning trophy of Rs. 25 000 sponsored by NEXT. The judges roped in for this event were highly respected and experienced professors in their particular fields. However, to ensure that latest techniques were practised we invited a professor of GIKI to satisfy any queries that the delegates had. The event’s success cannot be measured by the grand scale of the competition alone but the maintenance, discipline and coordination in the host team was another one of our many plus points. Everything was planned out thoroughly and not only did the delegates enjoy a perfect science ambiance but also satisfied their taste buds with mouth-watering food. Moreover, every event was decorated separately and was a great sight for the eyes. The ISSI is an exceptional opportunity for students to be able to learn from outside the black and white monotonous text, to have a practical experience of the scientific world. It is undoubtedly one enjoyable roller-coaster to jump on to. This is why these events are so important; they craft the foundations of our careers. The credit for the success of this event goes to our school, the principal Mrs. Humaira Mahmood, the A' level headmistress and of course the people who shaped and formed the project and gave it lifethe Science Society President Mariya Sami and the event heads. The efforts of the ISSI team were fully rewarded as the event came to a close. Though a student is only as good as her teachers but I want to thank not only the school principal and the headmistress but the understanding and heartening support of our teachers. We hope to make the third edition of ISSI even bigger!
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Fashion Anthem'13- My Spotlight After All? Maryam Waqar AII-B
It started off as an idea put forward by a group of friends and ended up in an event one cannot easily forget. Fashion Anthem 2013 was initially a plan that involved too many complications for it to be taken to the systematic administration of Beaconhouse Liberty Campus. However, with constant help from friends, we were able to accumulate all necessary details to make a fancy proposal of an interschool event we wished to organize. It was hard convincing the admin but could a generous principal like Mrs. Humaira say no to a group of girls who promised to work so hard? Surely not! And that is where the journey began. After a week of brainstorming, running away from contract-thirsty event organizers, short listing a management we thought would contribute and holding meetings with people we knew could help, we finalized a plan for the event and got to work. Yes, we fought and had issues but we stuck to what we signed up for and promised to put forth an amazing event which was made easier when our sponsors stepped in. While I dealt with the sponsors, our amazing committee heads did their part in making the event possible by putting in extra hours after school which I can never thank them enough for. Hiba Ali mentored the models making them almost perfect as the event date approached. For us, Fashion Anthem was all about providing participants a forum to shine and state their beliefs about Fashion and Media. Selected teams from all over Lahore showcased their designs across 4 pre-set categories via ramp walk and screened short films to give details about their inspirations. They were judged on their creativity, design, interpretation of themes, catwalk and choreography by a panel of well known personalities in the Pakistani Media and Fashion Industry including Mr. Kamiar Rokni, Miss Mehreen Syed, Mr. Khawer Riaz, Mr. Muhammad, Mrs. Rabia Aamir, Mr. Umar Jilani and Mrs. Asma Tariq. The show as expected, turned out to be a great success. An audience of over 500 enjoyed the show along with the scrumptious food served by Masooms, Twins and Karachi Paratha Roll and left behind memories that are a major part of my time spent at BLL. News channels flashed clips of segments from the event and people praised it in a manner that made me proud to be a part of the event. Beaconhouse Defence Campus was awarded the Best Team and Best Male model awards whereas Lahore Garmmar School 1A1 won the Best Designer and Best Female Model awards and ALGC took away the Best short film award. This event, being my last at a place I now call home, gave me a chance to prove myself and as I think of it now, being the director at Fashion Anthem 2013 was my spotlight. My chance to shine and I did.
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Society Round Ups (A' Levels)
Mehrunnisa Khan President All Societies
Beaconhouse Liberty Campus despite all the burdensome studies, is not just about academics. Equal importance is given to extra-curricular activities since it is the right of every single student to not be bombarded with studies and exams but to have a playful and learning experience not only from books but also from outside activities. These activities can empower students to make their own decisions and help them gain vital experiences in order to enhance their future. For instance, by participating in sports, students learn cooperating with one another and what it feels like to be in a team.
Nafeesa Atif Vice President All Societies
To fulfill these purposes BLL has 18 functional societies and clubs operating all year round. We will give you an insight into these societies.
Sports Society This year the BLL Sports Society has yet again done brilliantly and proven that victories in sports will be guaranteed if you are a part of BLL. With great assets like Sir Ashir and Miss Fareeha, this school will definitely continue to excel in sports. Following is the list of achievements for the year 2012-2013:
Shizza Shahid President
? At the16th Women's National Basketball Championship, Shizza Shahid of AII was selected to take part in the National Basketball Championship held in Islamabad and was able to bag the Gold Medal.
Sharmeen Shahid Vice President
? At The City School Climbing Championship, Mahnoor Shiekh of AI won the third position by climbing 120 ft. ? At the Punjab Olympics, the A level teams participated in Basketball and Netball and won Bronze medals in both sports. Sharmeen Shahid of AI won the Silver medal in Athletics (Shot Put). The O level team won the Gold medal along with the trophy in Basketball. Umaima Saud, also the captain, was awarded Rs. 5000 for the Best Player award in Basketball. While, the O levels Netball team won the Silver medal. Sameera Aftab won the Gold medal in Table Tennis and was also awarded RS. 5000 for being the Best Player. Fatima Jawad and Iqra Tahir won the Gold medal in doubles category. Fatima Jawad also won the Silver medal in the singles category. Together they lifted the Team trophy for Badminton. In Athletics BLL also lifted the team trophy after bagging a total of 15 medals, (Gold, Silver and Bronze). Overall BLL was ranked second among 56 other institutions that participated in the Punjab Olympics and lifted the second posiotion team trophy for the whole event. ?
At the Inter-Regional Basketball Championships, the O levels team continued with its success and 97
won the first position, third time in a row, after a nail biting final against Beaconhouse Johar Town Campus. The A levels team won the second position in the Inter Regional Tournament held at Beaconhouse Defence Campus. ? At the LumsSportsfest 2013, BLL participated in Basketball, Netball, Table Tennis and Badminton. BLL achieved 2nd positions in both Basketball and Netball. Sameera Aftab won the 2nd position shield in the Table Tennis category. Shizza Shahid was awarded with the Best Player award in the Netball category. BLL was able to bag the overall under-19's Female Trophy for the whole event as a result of the highest points achieved amongst all other participating institutions. ? At the Intra-Regional Basketball Championship BLL's best players were selected to be a part of the Central Region Basketball team. Iqra Ayub from BLL was made the captain of the team which consisted of players from Defence Campus, Gujranwala and Johar Town. Five other players from BLL were also chosen. The team went to Islamabad for the event where it was able to secure the second position after a nail biting final losing by a mere difference of 2 points. ? At the Inter-Regional Badminton Championship held in Wapda Complex and hosted by BDC, our O levels team proudly lifted the Winner's Trophy. ? At the Convent of Jesus and Mary Inter-school Netball Tournament, BLL's team won the second position in the tournament. In the end, it can be said that this was a fantastic year for us!
The Science Society The science society is one of the most successful and active societies of BLL. It was founded for the people who love the feel of accomplishment, the power of knowledge and an exhilarating ride of puzzles and mind problems. The society helps these people to experience the scientific world. The society has taken many educational expeditions in the previous years and has gone to Mariya Sami many competitions. I am happy to say that on President numerous occasions, they have been crowned victorious and have always managed to leave an outstanding impression.
Myra Sohail Vice President
Our biggest event for the last two years has been the ISSI (Innovative Scientific Societies and Ideas), a phenomenal event in which many schools participate and now one of the eagerly awaited events of the year. Like its first edition, ISSI 2012 was a highly successful event! Furthermore, one of our teams was the runners up in Math guage in PSIFI’13, LUMS. The society, however, does not only help students to participate in events but also helps them to experience the life of a scientist. We give them a problem or a case to solve, we take them to sites for samples and then help them to test them and find a solution to the problem. The achievements of the science society are due to the relentless efforts of the President of this society and our teachers. I would also like to thank all of them for their hard work and for making such a strong base of our society. 98
The Model United Nations Society The Model United Nations Society of BLL, thanks to its pioneers was handed to us in its full form. Not only does it have various achievements to its credit but also the ever increasing number of members proves the success of this society. MUNs was initially a part of the Debating Society, but recognizing the importance and popularity of this concept, a separate full fledged society was initiated. Understanding the need for Fatima Sheikh Meher Mehtab diplomatic discussion in this globalized era, it is Vice President President accepted by everyone how absolutely vital it is for us, the youth, to be fully informed and educated on the global change in the world's political, economic and social paradigms. This year the MUN Society extended its platform by encouraging new and young diplomats to come up and showcase their talent. Several trials were held for the Senior and A level Sections to recruit students for this society after which enthusiastic delegations were sent to MUNs held at Aitchison College, Lahore School of Economics, Forman Christian College. Though no awards were won but plenty were secured for the future as these diplomats got a chance to exercise their debating and diplomatic skills. So all this society asks for is diplomacy, hard work, dedication and of course a tiny bit of socialization and voila! We have the strongest delegation.
The Movie Society
Hafsa Hussain President
The name says it all. As movies are nowadays the most popular means of entertainment, the Movie Club at BLL strives to provide quality entertainment to the students. Like always in the history of movie afternoons, there is always a problem emerging at the last moment and this time the problem was sunlight due to the NEWLY changed curtains but that problem was solved and the first movie of the academic year projected in October was 'The Lucky One'. The students loved the romantic movie and enjoyed it till the very end.
Shahtaj Malik Vice President
Well the Movie society is not only restricted to the representatives, we welcome everyone's views and take into account their tastes. Fulfilling our promise, the next upcoming movies are 'Sinister' and 'The Possession'. We look forward to breaking the historic cycle of problems emerging at the last moment, however, your cooperation is always valued. We certainly hope to come up to your expectations. At the end a word of encouragement to Shahtaj Malik to keep up the good work. 99
The Debating Society This year the parliamentary debating season might have started earlier than usual but our under19 team still kept up the tradition of participating with full vigour in all competitions preceding the Raziuddin Sheikh All Pakistan Under 19 Debating Championship. Our team performed brilliantly and made sure Aaisha Nisha Sikander Shah President
that not only did Team BLL maintain its prestige as a formidable school team but our speakers were also
Raazia Kamal Butt Vice President
recognized among the finest in the circuit. BLL’s under 17s team also kept the
flag high by competing in several U-17 tournaments and achieving team rankings in the top 20 consistently at different tournaments. The Beaconhouse Liberty Debating Society also hosted the 2nd Annual Beaconhouse Liberty Kasuri Cup 2013 (BLKC 2013), which went on to become the biggest school level tournament hosted in Pakistan. The society aims to become bigger and better in the coming years; after all “eloquence is nothing short of magic.”
The Dramatics Society Dramatics is someting that resides within everyone. We are all actors! Impersonating our friends, acquaintances and let’s not forget, lying with so much confidence that it actually comes off as being the truth. Here at BLL, the drama queens have matured with each passing year. The girls Ikra Saleem Khan President
participated in LUMS DramaFest ’12 and showcased their talents in the play “dareecha.’ Though no
Zahra Abbas Vice President
awards were won but they received standing ovation for their tireless efforts. The annual play tradition was renewed last year after 8 ‘drama-less’ years. Our aim this year was to provide a platform for BLL-ites to display their immense talents and that happened as “Threefold-BLL’s Annual Play ‘13” proved to be a great success. The play was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience which turned out in masses. Furthermore, to polish the skills of our members, we organized many coaching sessions. In all, we had a satisfactory year!
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The Law Society The Law Society at BLL is a relatively newer society, but not an inactive one. Our aim has always been to initiate new ways of learning the political and legal dimensions of the world we live in today, not only for Law students but also for those who have not opted for this subject. This year the Law Society participated in various Law Moots held at different branches of LGS. Such mock courts were extremely helpful for the participating students to understand how actually Meher Mehtab court stimulation takes place and contrary to popular President Indian films, your lawyer doesn't get to scream around and throw papers and is not a detective.
Mishaal Tariq Vice President
Besides this, the society has been planning an informative conference/workshop and educational trips to small courts and juvenile jails so as to increase the popularity of Legal studies amongst the student body and to work towards promoting the importance of knowing this subject not just as an A level course but as a concept in itself. So even though the world will tell you Law is boring and dry, this society aims at changing this opinion. Stay tuned in to explore the fun side of Law (and trust us, there is one!).
The Business Society The Business Society has proudly managed to become successful and popular in a very short span of time. Our students show great interest in events that are held because they get a good exposure to the corporate world. Therefore, their dedication, interest, hard work and creativity together have brought up such great "Business Minds" who truly are assets to BLL. Several fascinating events are held each year that give students an opportunity to gain Laraib Kamal Mahnoor Tahir considerable insight into the business world. Our President Vice President students participated in the "Grammar Entrepreneurial Challenge" and the "SICAS Entrepreneurial Challenge", which were useful experiences. Furthermore, they enthusiastically took part in the "Aitchison Business Concept". The hard work and efforts put in by our students and administration deserve great appreciation. Overall, the society had a good year and hopes to continue being a help to those students who want to pursue their career in the business field. "In the business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield." - Warren Buffet.
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The Social Welfare Society A year has passed and now I shoulder the momentous responsibility of being the President of the Social Welfare Society which is active all year round.
Saman-Binte-Adnan President
This year, the Social Welfare Society started up its work with even more energy than before keeping in mind its objective i.e. to educate students, promoting in them the love for welfare work and the responsibility of caring for others so that they benefit the whole community.
Momina Ayaz Vice President
Another aim of the Social Welfare Society is organizing events and trips which give students a chance to serve the society so during this term the work of our society started up by paying a visit to The Rising Sun Institute which is an institute for mentally and physically handicapped children. It was a joint effort made by all in donating money and hats off to Momina who managed to make 450, yes 450 beautifully packed goody bags all by herself. And all the efforts made by us were rewarded in the form of beaming smiles and happiness on every child’s face. The Rising Sun Institute was the very place where we learnt the lesson to live and care for others especially for those people who are not as blessed as we are. We came out of the institution changed human beings because the visit had a deep impact on us. Then came Walk-A-Thon, a fund raising walk to help the less privileged citizens organised by the Hope Uplift Foundation in January for which efforts were made by the students at BLL to collect handsome amounts to help the needy many weeks before the walk. And it was quite encouraging to see that on the day students from middle school as well as senior school participated in the 7.5 km long walk actively, also depositing the money that they had collected. Walk-A-Thon was not only a walk because ahead of it awaited the carnival in which each and every individual regardless of age enjoyed to the fullest. It was an experience worth having giving all of us beautiful and colourful memories. Following Walk-A-Thon the members of Social Welfare Society paid a visit to Dar-ul-Kafala which is an old age home. This time we took fruit and cakes with us. What an individual sees at Dar-ul-Kafala might be depressing for some people but this is the place I would recommend the future Social Welfare Society members to visit. People abandoned by families presented a gloomy scene and every individual had a very sad story to share but despite the sadness an individual like me gained self satisfaction and a life long lesson to obey and handle parents with care no matter how old they grow. My mates and I have learned a lot through these experiences and it is because of these experiences we have become better human beings. I hope that the Social Welfare Society members work with the same zeal and enthusiasm in the days to come.
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The Nature Club To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment." Jane Austen.
Maria Ayub President
The nature club helps us to get connected with the people of our community, but mostly it is the time that we set aside to enjoy the benefits of nature together as a family. A simple idea with a definite result. Shouldering the responsibility as head of an active society like Nature Club was not child's play and this was soon realized by me.
Noor-e-Huma Vice President
Promoting in youth the love for nature and peace, and responsibility for protecting the environment is the main aim of the club. We commenced by sending a delegation of students to the LACAS Environmental moot in October 2012. Students performed actively and were appreciated. Speaking of future ventures we are working tirelessly to organize the 'nature 360' and promise to leave no stone unturned to make it a glorious triumph and hence, set a benchmark for the youth. Students are also preparing themselves for the MOSUM'13 that is to be held in February, an event by LGS Johar Town. This is an event organized on a large scale with foreign delegations coming to promote nature and environment. We hope that our students succeed. A special mention here of our Environmental Management teacher Miss Sharmeen Tariq who works with the students to prepare them for the upcoming events. She has contributed a lot to the society. Thank you miss! "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience".
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Media Society The Media Society has been one of the most happening societies this year. Having sent various delegations to more than 20 inter-school competitions this year, the society has enabled a large number of students to exhibit their talents in fields of their interest. Beaconhouse Liberty Campus bagged the second position at Media & Arts Fest'13 in nail art and live reporting along with lifting the runners up trophy for ad-making at BizFest'13. Moreover, BLL won the Best Add at JT Film Mahnoor Moazzam Fest making the admin proud yet again. Keeping all Vice President this aside, the biggest achievement of the media society this year was hosting BLL's very first Media and Fashion event- Fashion Anthem'13, directed by Maryam Waqar and Hiba Ali. The event was all about creativity, being loud, being direct and showing the audience what one believed in. 15 teams competed head to head in two categories; short films and ramp walk and wowed the audience with their efforts. Maryam Waqar President
In short, the year was filled with lots of hard work and fun which will never be forgotten! 103
Society Round Ups O' Levels Science Society Yes, we are the "nerds" society. (No, that does not mean that all of us wear nerdy glasses and are always found buried in books or running after teachers, that is just me, the President. :P) The Society was set up this year with a great deal of help from Miss Nazia Shaheen. We have an over-whelming number of 129 members and a 'Science Representative' from each class. Our members have and still are participating in Faqia Iqbal a number of events in various schools. The President Vice President and Vice-President participated in the Garden Town Kaleidoscope model-making competition and bagged the 3rd prize, which was a huge achievement given the fact that they made it at a day's notice. Our members will also be participating in future events and hope to make the school proud. Rohma Ahmad President
The Society is also holding model-making competitions for the 10C's and quiz competitions for the 9C's. The Society is also focusing on individual members needs. Senior science students help provide guidance, answer queries and explain concepts to junior students, thus helping each other out in their academics as well, and polishing their own skills along the way. I hope the Society continues to prosper and do much more to make BLL proud in the years to come.
The Media Society The society covered almost all the events that took place at the school premises. We were always on our toes for all events at all times. The time for all the major school events has just arrived so we are hoping to stay vigilant. The main aim of the society is to provide coverage to all academic and social events happening within the premises. This not only helps to refresh and sharpen the Aamen Ishaq memories of those who were able to attend the Vice President events but it also helps people to keep in touch with occasions they miss. Thus, we gladly say that our society has performed its function to the utmost perfection. Laiba Irshad President
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The English Debating Society The most interesting thing that has happened this year, undoubtedly because of Ms. Rehana, is that O’ levels now has its very own societies. One of the most active societies, as it has been for many years, is the Debating Society, which includes O’ levels as well as A’ level students. The society's progress depends greatly on Ms. Rehana, who encourages us to attend debating competitions (and helps us prepare speeches). Other than that what has made everything possible is that Beaconhouse Liberty undoubtedly has the most inspirational Debating Coach, Sir Ali Hannan Malik. This year O’ levels hosted the 13th Inter- Collegiate Bilingual Declamation contest where schools and Universities from all over Lahore Eman Ejaz were invited. The O’ levels and A levels hosted the 2nd Annual parliamentary President competition, "Beaconhouse Liberty Kasuri Cup", which turned out be one of the most grand and illustrious tournaments in Pakistan in which 44 teams participated. Other than that, students participated in the declamation contest held at LGS Johar Town and won laurels at institutes such as Beaconhouse Garden Town and Beaconhouse Johar town Campus. Furthermore, they even took part in MUNs hosted by FC College, Aitchison College and LGS Defence. O’ levels students are the ones who form the Under-17s team to attend the parliamentary competitions. They have represented the school at Aitchison College, Beaconhouse Johar Town Campus, Lahore Alma, Beaconhouse Defence, LGS 55 Main and the Under 17s nationals. Let's hope that this continues! As a last word, for those who want to build their confidence, express their views and are in search of a platform where their views and opinions will always be respected, the debating society is ready to welcome you anytime
The Math Society The Mathematics society started off this year with an overwhelming response as over hundred students signed up. It is one of the most active societies of BLL. The society aims to enhance the Mathematical skills of the students. We give every student a chance who is keen enough to participate in various competitions that take place in different schools. It provides these students with exposure and a chance to express themselves. The members recently participated in Ayesha Shahid Beaconhouse Mental maths Olympiad. Sara Ismat Vice President and Rija Raza managed to bag the first prize at Beaconhouse Garden Town Maths Quiz! We are looking forward to winning many upcoming competitions. We are also organizing an interclass maths competition ourselves in order to encourage the students who will be compiling worksheets on various topics assigned to them. Laraib Malik President
We hope that the future members will keep up with the enthusiastic spirit and the winning tradition of the society and work for its betterment.
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Round the Block Compiled by the Editors
1.
BLL ka matlab kia? Momina Sajid: Be Liberty's Lover :P Zainab Farrukh: Bachian Lush Lush =D Anonymous: We are beaconites! Naam tou sunna hi hoga :P Anonymous: Banda-less Larkian Limited Mishaal Tariq: Born to be Liberal Lunatics Shizza Shahid: Sports excellence! Hafsa Hussain and Maheen Asim: Be Limitless Noor Imran Butt: La Illaha Illal Laah :P
2.
Why are you here today? Noor-e-Huma: Because I was the stupidest person to come here to take Eco classes and ended up not taking them. Yusra Iftikhar: Basketball =D + ego =* Ghania Shoaib: Canteen ka khaana khanaay! Mishaal Tariq: Because of Miss Romana convincing me on admission day! Shizza Shahid: BASKETBALL PRACTIICE YAAR! Hafsa Hussain: To make something out of my life! Aruba Zubair and Mahnoor Tahir: FRIENDS! Saffa Faisal: Mosaic ka kaam karnay :P
3.
Most overrated thing in BLL? Mishaal Tariq: You being pushed by the admin to go to the auditorium to attend seminars while you have your driver waiting outside. Mahnam Khan: Uniform Isra Saleem: The torturing food class everyday in the morning! Anonymous: Debaters Mishaal Sulehri: Fashion Anthem
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Anonymous: Myra Nasir ki awaaz Momina Ayaz: Extra curriculars ._.
4.
Something you would like to say to the Grammarians? Nafeesa Atif: People pliss…we are beaconites! B) Khadija Zeeshan Kirmani: We're too cool for ya! Momina Sajid: You can never be Beaconites! Mahnam Khan: Cliched!! Always wanna be on top! Plainly over! Huma Rauf: Come out of your fantasy world. Raazia Kamal Butt: Attitude aasman per, aur pohanch keerray tak! Maheen Asim: Basketball kay liyay tou skinees kay illawa kuch pehn kar aa jaya karo! Aruba Zubair and Mahnoor Tahir: Arrogant
5.
Heaven is a place on Earth when.. Khadija Z. Kirmani: all friends are together <3 Momina Sajid: You get free public wifi Mishaal Tariq: When you get to attend MUN's, don't attend school and be high! Mahnam Khan: There's chocolate in your mouth. Huma Rauf: There's no Economics class Zupash Khan: When everyone in the common room has taken a bath! Fizza Ali: You pass in Accounts! Noor-e-Huma: When Sir Mumtaz said "You should go for PhD in Economics to America." Uff..mar gayee.. Raazia Kamal Butt: More play, less work :P Sidra Sabir: When you are living life at BLL Miral Waqar: When I'm around ;)
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Hafsa Hussain: Gymboree's wifi signals are good! Mahnoor Tahir and Aruba Zubair: When Sir Mumtaz says "That's enough for todayâ&#x20AC;Śyou may leave.â&#x20AC;?
6.
What do all the "Khans" have in common? Naziha Asad: Cuteness apart from Quetta ka pathan, Sher Khan Saffa Faisal: Sexy accent ;) Momina Sajid: The surname of course. Parsa Nadeeem: Don't put passwords on the wifi :D Humna Tauseef: Faltu dimaagh Zupash Khan: Swagggggg :P Anum Tahir: The mix gendres :P Wo khud confused hotay hain kay who muzakar hain ya moanus! Raazia Kamal Butt: May I copy Anum's answer? :P Hafsa Hussain: Gora rang Ghania Shoaib: Sab ka dimaagh kharaab hota hai and moods unkay heroines kay make ups say ziada jaldi badaltay hai. Maheen Asim: The irritation about "Pathan" texts (Sidra Sabir :P) Mishaal Tarq: The "Khan" in the end. Unknown Khan: Because I'm a Khan and I'm not a terrorist! Taima Rao: Beautiful eyes! =) Sidra Sabir: Amazing accents "tum kya karti hai!" Miral Waqar: Dumbness ;) Noor Imran Butt: They lack common sense. Hareem Khan: Impressive personality. Momina Ayaz: Kayoote urdu accent :3 Hareem Fatima: Definitely not their complexion because kaalay pathan do exist :P Their "kojapana" is the same throughout!
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Nazli Humayun: All are super stars! Ulveena Aitzaz: Hilarious jokes going around about them.
7.
Best memory in the common room? Khadija Z. Kirmani: Yusra's dance on Jalebi bai and our stupid dancing. Momina Sajid: Gangnam Style dance with Khadija and Meera. Also once when it was unbelievably clean:P Mishaal Tariq: Straightening my hair. Mahnam Khan: Table dancing with Khadija/Meerah/Parsa and heart to heart chats with Zupash/Noori etc. Noor-e-Huma: When Meher did my make up on the first day of A'levels (Umm…pretty sure that's called RAGGING :P) Yusra Iftikhar: Jalebi Bai Dance Zainab Farrukh: Water fight with Anum. Hafsa Hussain: Playing cards with my mates. Anonymous: "THA THA THA"-common room kay darwazaay per Maheen ka dramatic zulm. Namra Fatima: Umm…Yusra kay prank calls :P Miral Waqar: Fatima's mobile breakdown. Shahtaj Malik and Isra Imtiaz: Muft ka khana mila tha yaar ISSI walay din and we were not even in the management :P
8.
If you could change anything from the following, which one would it be and with what? - Our "designer" uniforms - Gymboree - Farooq Momina Sajid: Gymboree with hostel for A'levels. Bazghah Idrees: Dupataye ka print change karo! Anonymous: Gymboree with a nice and big common room.. Isra Imtiaz: Gymboree! Hamara ground chori kia isnay. 109
Hareem Khan: Our designer uniforms as they are extremely boring! Misha Mehtab: Not Farooq, he's fun. Let's just get rid of his tharkiness. Please! (He's fun? Girl, which world you livin' in?!) Amna Omer: Definitely Farooq! Somebody teach him some manners please! Momina Ayaz: Uniform please. Makes people think we work at restaurants! Ulveena Aitzaz: Farooq for sure! I simply want to stop hearing about the guy and so the next EI-C does not get to contaminate the precious Mosaic by daring to mention his name!!!
9.
Dabbay main dabba, dabbay main kia? Momina Sajid: Aik aur dabba :P Zainab Farrukh: Awais Lovely :P Anonymous: Karachi ka pathan naam Sher Khan! Mishaal Tariq: FBI special agent ka badge :D *I'm so high* Sidra Sabir: Farooq and Waqas packed and Fedexed! (Best!) Hafsa Hussain: Gangnam Style Noor Butt: Main aur meri shaadi! Faiqa Shah: Aur us dabbay main aik aur dabba, aur us main aik aur dabba aur us dabbay main aikâ&#x20AC;Ś ? Hareem Fatima: Dabbay main dabba, dabbay main cake, meri Hubashia Khan lakhoun main aik:P Momina Ayaz: Editor in Chief kay liye tohfa. MICHAEL CLARKE! Ulveena Aitzaz: Hawwa?
10. Teachers kay takkya kalam? Mishaal Tariq: Sir Omar "You should not bring your parents to PTM's" Huma Rauf: Sir Mumtaz "Array Baba.." Khadija Z. Kirmani: Sir Kashif "Bakio ka zero laga dein" Sunnia: Sir Omer ka "So sad" and "however".
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Momina Sajid: Miss Kinza "Beta Jani" Fizza Ali: Miss Rabia before giving homework "Aap kay liye tohfa". Zainab Farrukh: Sir Saroop "Agar mera aur aapka jhagra hojae aur hum court jain.." Anonymous: Sir Saad "Beta tawajo kijiye" and *after a long irrelevant example and much of the idhr ki baat udhar ki baat* "waapis aain" Anonymous: Sir Akhtar "Beta mobile band kar lain warna main battery lay liya karta hoon" (We can take a wild guess at who this anonymous person could be :P) O' Level students: Sir Khalid "aap nay tou baisti kar dee" :Miss. Uppal "Update" :Mrs. Akbar "Nahin, aap jhootain hai" :Miss Asma (biology) "doobaara say" :Miss May "You CAN go to the washroom if your legs can support you my dear!" Maheen Asim: Miss Rabia "Apna tohfa laitay jaain" Aymen Khan: Sir Akhtar "Ankhain meri choti hain laikin utnay hi kaan teiz hain" Myra Nasir: Sir Zafar "You got that?" :Sir Akthar "Beta Saturday ki class main aana farz hai nahin aao ge tou gunnah ho ga!" Nazli Humayun and Hawa Farzoq: Miss Nasreen "Ab aa gaye hain tou kuch parh lainâ&#x20AC;?
11. What is the silliest thing people have said about you? Saffa Faisal: That I'm parhaku! Momina Sajid: That they don't like me. Like that's possible! Mahnam Khan: We've heard names like Maha or Mahnoor or Maham but not Mahnamâ&#x20AC;Ś hello?, whole point of being unique! Huma Rauf: Are you engaged? Hafsa Hussain: In my passport ki photograph I look like das bachoun ki maa! Bazghah Idrees: Sleeping Influence :P Ifrah Idrees: Bullet train Maham Azeem: 24/7 parhnay waali larki Hira Farasat: T um 17 ki hou? Tum waqaai A'levels ki bachi hou?
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Zainab Farrukh: That I resemble Mahira Khan! Raazia Kamal Butt: Are you in ninth grade? Mishaal Tariq: Ye larki theek nahin hai! Hareem Khan: Bookworm: Hubashia: You've left the school? Momina Ayaz: That Ulveena and I are "ideal" best friends. Yes, maybe, in a parallel universe we are =) (Honey, putting in smileys in places like this doesn't take away the essence of what you said.)
12. If you could be any teacher in BLL, who would it be and why? Mahnum Khan: Miss Sharmeen simply because she is cool, chill and stylish. And no, I'm not buttering her. Huma Rauf: Miss Rabia because of her friendly nature. Zainab Farrukh: Miss Kinza cause she has visions about the future. Noor e Huma: Food teacher for no good reason. Hira: Miss Kinza So I could read minds and everyone in class would love me. Hafsa Hussain: Miss Asma coz it would be fun to manage events. Anonymous: Sir Asim. Level hai yaar! Taima Rao: Sir Saad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; voice. Hawa Farzoq: Miss Seema because I have her perfect notes :P Hareem Fatima: Sir Asim. Coolness at its peak. Momina Ayaz: Miss Kulsoom, O'levels ki Urdu teacher, coz everyone and I mean EVERYONE loves her and she is the jaanuest.
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BLL is a place where... Every birthday is a successful blast
You meet the many faces of our drama queens
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Gossip for us is more important than oxygen
Ragging makes us rich
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We dance our hearts out in the rain
You meet your soul sisters
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We indulge in Biryani after a day of burdensome studies
We paint with our hands rather than brushes
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We put the original Gangnam style to shame
You act like idiots all the time
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You can actually meet the friendliest admins ever
We 'help' each other by teaching them
Talented people can be found in every corner
Election bribery is sweet!
Art Gallery
Minahil Kaleem IXC-A
Moazzama Sadiq VII-E
Momina Ayaz AI-D
Momina Sajid AI-B
Momina Sajid AI-B
Momina Sajid AI-B
Nabia Khawar XIC-F
Nageen Ather AII-B
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Nageen Ather AII-B
Nageen Ather AII-B
Nageen Ather AII-B
Nageen Ather AII-B
Nageen Ather AII-B
Noor-ul-Aien XIC-E
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Raazia Kamal AI-C
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Sakina Khan AII-A
Sakina Khan AII-A
Sakina Khan AII-A
Sehar Ghafoor AI-C
Sehar Ghafoor AI-C
Sehar Ghafoor AI-C
Sukaina fatima VI-E
Sundus Jawed AI-A
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Alina Zahra VIII-A
Amna Feroz IXC-E
Amna Feroz IXC-E
Anamta Zahid XC-D
Areeb Amjad IXC-F
Areeba Malik AII-A
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Eman Abdullah IXC-A
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Fatima Hamayun AI-B
Fazeen Rasheed IXC-G
Fazeen Rasheed IXC-G
Halimah Hamid XC-D
Halimah Hamid XC-D
Halimah Hamid XC-D
Hiba Ali AII-A
Issha Shahid IXC-C
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Art Gallery
Issha Shahid IXC-C
Javeria Siddiqui XC-E
Maham Baig VI-F
Maida Faisal XIC-E
Maleeha Bangash AII-D
Maleeha Bangash AII-D
Maleeha Bangash AII-D 124
Minahil Kaleem IXC-A