Assignment 22: that one time i was a translator - Hannah Qazi

Interestingly enough, I've found that in the most unusual of times, I've had some of my best experiences. For instance, the happiest I've ever felt was after I attended a funeral. These moments - as bizarre and random as they sound all share similar qualities and feelings that keep me up at night reflecting over. One of the most defining was at an Islamic Convention with my best friend. Although we'd been sent to this camp to expand our knowledge of our religion and culture - I gained something more through it. See, at this camp - despite it being in Washington D.C., the most American part of America - barely anyone spoke english. They spoke my mother tongue of Urdu, which was the one language my best friend was yet to be fluent in. Needless to say, this made things quite difficult for her. She became isolated from her community and couldn't understand the tasks given to her. So, I took it upon myself to act as her guide and translator, despite my painfully American accent. Little by little, she began to add bits to her vocabulary and we managed to get by pretty well. This moment defined the importance of inclusivity and compassion for me. For I had realized the many ways my friend had returned the gesture and acted as a translator for me. Rather than translating language though, she translated life experiences with her three additional years of knowledge. If we didn't have someone to guide and include us, we would be lost. This moment drove my passion for humanitarian work and led me to get involved in organizations like UNICEF. It drove me to strive for a community of learning and fairness marked by mutual respect - one that is critical to a university like UCLA.