Laura L. Smith
  • Home
  • Books
  • Blogs
  • Speaking
  • Contact Laura

WHAT I LEARNED LAST FRIDAY NIGHT

10/3/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
The brave and beautiful dream chasers I met from Afghanistan last Friday night.
Last Friday we hosted a dinner for ten Fulbright Scholars from Afghanistan. Not your typical Friday night in our house.

My husband is a professor and was running a workshop for 70 Afghan scholars last week. Part of the weeklong visit was a dinner in an American home. We were blessed to be chosen as one of the host families (my husband running the program certainly helped).

Eight men and two women who all speak English, who all have graduated from college in Afghanistan, who all are in the United States for a two year master’s degree in various areas of expertise at Universities all across the states (ranging from the state of Washington to Washington D.C.), who all have been handpicked by the U.S. Department of State to receive these prestigious scholarships shook hands with me, my four kids and my hubby, thanked us graciously for the simple dinner of pasta and salad and shared their stories.

I specifically wanted to speak to the women. They were physically captivating with their olive coloring, large, dark eyes, and thick black hair. But these women blew me away with their inner beauty. One was a dentist in her homeland. She’s come to the States to get a Master’s in Public Health Policy, so she can return to Afghanistan and create better health care policies for her people. The other left home for the first time in her life to pursue her MBA in Finance in Rochester, New York, with dreams of helping non-profit rescue missions with their finances. One said, “I’ve been dreaming of this day since my first year of high school. I worked so hard for this scholarship.”

Yes she did. In a country where men and women are not treated equally, where education and employment opportunities for women pale in comparison to what men are empowered to do, these women fought the odds and went against what was expected of them achieving what some perceived as unachievable.

I take the fact that my daughter attends high school for granted. And living in a college town, it seems the opportunity to attend college is readily available. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. These women will live for two years in a foreign land, away from their family and their food and their culture, speaking a second language, relying on buses to get them from small apartments to classes, to chase their dreams—dreams of hope and of change.

Picture
Let your firework light up the sky!
That kind of bravery in dream chasing deserves to be noticed. So, whatever dream you’re tossing around in your head today, think to yourself:

·      Would I move to a country on the other side of the world to fulfill it?

·      Would I leave family and friends and the familiarity of my culture to fight for it?

·      Would I work years and years to achieve it?

If it burns that deeply in your heart, chase that dream with full force and enthusiasm. Light up the sky with the sparkling firework of your dream. And look to the example of these women as inspiration.

What's your dream?
1 Comment
Roger L Jenkins
10/4/2013 11:22:26 am

Ms. Laura Smith is one impressive wife, Mom, and humanitarian.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Laura  L. Smith

    Subscribe

    * indicates required
    Email Format

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Advent
    Adventures
    Allergies
    Apples
    Back Packing
    Baggage
    Basketball
    Batman
    Beauty
    Believe
    Bible
    Blogging
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Braces
    Brandi Chastain
    Breast Cancer Awareness
    Cafeterias
    Celebrating
    Change
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Coffee
    College
    Concert
    Contest
    Control
    Courage
    Created In God
    David And Golaith
    Disney
    Divergent
    Dreams
    Driving
    Easter
    Embracing Your Role
    Enjoying Life
    Europe
    Exercise
    Fall
    Family
    Farmer
    Fashion
    Fasting
    Fear
    Finding Your Place
    Fireworks
    Fishing
    Fixed By Force
    Fixer Upper
    Football
    Forgiveness
    Free Books
    Friendships
    Frozen
    George Clooney
    Getting Closer To God
    Getting Closer To God
    Gilmore Girls
    Goals
    God
    God\
    God Given Gifts
    God-given Gifts
    Golden Rule
    Good Friday
    Gospel
    Grace
    Graduation
    Grandma
    Growth
    Guys
    Hair
    Happiness
    Healing
    Health
    Heroes
    High School
    Holy Week
    Homecoming
    HOPE
    Hot Lunch
    Ides Of March
    Impact
    Inner Beauty
    Interviews
    Invisalines
    Isaiah 40
    It's Addicting
    Jason Bourne
    Jason Warne
    Jesus
    Journeys
    Joy
    Laughing
    Laundry
    Legos
    Lent
    Letting Go
    Life Lessons
    Light
    Listening
    Listening To God
    Love
    Luggage
    Magi
    Magic
    Magic Kingdom
    Mental Health
    Metro
    Miracles
    Moms
    Moon
    Moses
    Movies
    Music
    New Year
    New Year\
    Obedience
    Oliver Twist
    Pansies
    Patience
    Peace
    Perseverance
    Peter Walking On Water
    Pick Pockets
    Pink Bra
    Planning
    Playing By The Rules
    Playlist Fiction
    Popsicles
    Potential
    Praying
    Princess
    Princess Diaries
    Prize
    Promises
    Psalm 139
    Realigning Your Life
    Recipes
    Relationship
    Running
    Savor
    Seat Assignments
    Self Image
    Self-Image
    Self-image
    Sharing
    Shopping
    Snow Patrol
    Soccer
    Social Justice
    Social Media
    Sororities
    Spring
    Steroids
    Stories
    Straightening Out Your Life
    Strength
    Stretching To Hear God
    Subway
    Summer
    Summer Reading
    Superheroes
    Superman
    Swimsuits
    Tag
    Take Breaks
    Taking Time
    Teen Fiction
    Thankful
    Thessalonians
    The Thief Lord
    The Word
    Toads
    Tortoise
    Travel
    Trips
    True Reflection
    Trust
    Truth
    U2
    Unpacking
    Winter
    Wonder Woman
    Writing
    Yoga
    Zumba


Follow along with Laura:​

Photo used under Creative Commons from Narisa
  • Home
  • Books
  • Blogs
  • Speaking
  • Contact Laura