blog by zahra

Why have you come to UBC?  What is the most interesting thing you have ever learned at university?  What does learning mean to you?

This week is UBC’s annual Celebrate Learning Week!  It’s a time to celebrate teaching and learning at the university and promote development opportunities for both students and faculty!  Various events are being held (many of them are free!) throughout the week – check out http://celebratelearning.ubc.ca/2011-celebrate-learning-events/ to see which ones you’d like to attend!

I myself haven’t attended any of the events yet, but I have been reflecting upon my own education at UBC.  To me, there are many different stages of learning.  Microscopically, it’s me sitting for hours with my textbooks and doing prereadings.  On the next level, it’s the rapport between professors and students, a linkage that either inspires the students or annoys them with dull, boring lectures.  Finally, learning is a global transaction.  We will eventually finish our degrees and become professionals.  Whether it be professoring at a university, remedying patients’ illnesses, or developing land management strategies for LEDCs, our education at UBC will lead us to make a contribution to the world.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  Although there are less than 10 days left in the month, there are still events happening on campus that advocate raising awareness for breast cancer research.  One such event is Global Pink Hijab Day! Brought to UBC by the university’s Muslim Students Association on Wednesday October 26th, the day focuses on raising awareness for breast cancer while educating the public about the religion of Islam and the hijab that Muslims wear.   Check out the MSA booth in the SUB to learn more about Islamaphobia-garnered stereotypes or to make a donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation!  Most importantly, don’t forget to show your support by wearing pink!

Do you ever have that moment when you pause and realize that you are taking your life for granted?  That moment when you discipline yourself that you should be more grateful for your health, your freedom, your opportunities?  I do.  I also know that, even when I have a sore throat and runny nose, I am in better health than at least one other person in the world.  It is this fact that causes me to be grateful for what I have, and to use my abilities to give back to the community at large.  This is the reason why I volunteer.

I recently started volunteering at BC Children’s Hospital.  Once a week, I get to spend a few hours with kids, kids who are too sick to play outside with other kids.  I get to soothe babies who have not yet celebrated their first birthday, yet are hooked up to tubing and machinery in order for them to become healthy again.  Sometimes a kid wants to teach me how to use a nintendo; another was excited to have company while watching a wrestling match.

These children are so innocent.  They have dreams and aspirations, yet some of them will spend their childhood at 2 homes – their abode and the hospital.  Even though their hopes and wants are on a different level from mine, I remember my own childhood, when I was free to explore the world, blissfully ignorant of anything beyond which crayon colour to choose.  I remember that I always had my mother, father, or a sibling near by to comfort me; some children’s parents have no choice but to leave them alone in the hospital.

Despite all, there is one thing that I am thankful for for these kids – they live in a privileged country and are receiving state-of-the-art treatment.  Like I said, you are always in a better position than another human being, no matter how difficult your position may be.  Realize this, and start giving back.