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Young Global Leaders
Need a dose of hope? Listen to these conversations with inspiring young people from around the world.
If you want to hear what forging common ground looks like in practice, look no further.
I met these youngsters during the 2024-25 academic year, when I was Dean of Baret Scholars, a global gap year program with around 100 students from 40+ countries. We traveled together to seven global regions over the course of 8 1/2 months, during which they formed a tight-knit, loving community, grounded in the certainty that we collectively create a better future for all. They've generously agreed to let me interview them, so that their wisdom, optimism, and brilliance can shine forth for everyone's benefit.
You'll hear terms like "morning program," "afternoon options," "fellows," "fellowships," etc. These refer to different design elements of the program. The details don't matter; you'll be able to get the basic meaning from context.
Enjoy!
Young Global Leaders
Mehroz Mir
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
I sat down with Mehroz Mir for an inspiring and broad-ranging conversation. A few highlights:
- The Path to Leeds: Mehroz details his winding journey across university options — from Cornell visa delays to short stints in Dublin and New Delhi — before finding his footing in the UK, where he enjoys the independence of university life.
- "A Mosaic of Loved Ones": Mehroz explains his relational view of identity: that who he is is simply a reflection and culmination of all the people, family, and friends he has ever loved.
- Hosting Baret Scholars in Kashmir: Recalling a trip where he hosted nearly 20 Baret Scholars in his hometown of Srinagar, Mehroz discusses breaking down local stereotypes and sharing the beauty of Kashmir with his friends.
- Unlearning Stereotypes: From navigating language and dietary needs as a Muslim student traveling through China, to exploring the Amazon Rainforest and Sicily, Mehroz highlights how well-designed global travel can help reshape worldviews.
- Listening and Human Connection: Why living alongside international peers replaced abstract news media with real, empathetic human stories, prompting Mehroz to become more informed and politically engaged.
- Looking Ahead: Mehroz narrates the challenges and opportunities of balancing math studies with an interest in film, navigating his first independent Ramadan and Eid far from home, and finding hope through poetry, art, and love.
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Hello and welcome to Young Global Leaders, where we get the chance to hear from young people hailing from all around the world, sharing about themselves, their accomplishments, and their vision for a better world. Recently, I had the privilege of leading a group of about a hundred young people from over 40 countries to seven global regions on an eight-month global gap year program. Most of them had just graduated from high school, though we also had a few older students. During our eight plus months together, the students formed a deeply loving and supportive community. Anyone could see that they had built something unique and inspiring. Through my eyes as a teacher, coach, and global leadership consultant, what I saw was unlike anything I'd seen before. When the program ended, I desperately wanted to keep in touch with these students and to share their example with the world. So I started the Young Global Leaders podcast. Today we hear from Mehrroz. Mehr Rose, welcome.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Jason, for having me.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome. It's my pleasure, and I'm really glad that you've taken some time to chat with me today. Let's start with uh asking you to share with our listeners where you're joining us from today and what has brought you there.
SPEAKER_01Uh I'm joining from uh Leeds in the UK, and what has brought me here is like a series of events where I was gonna go to some other school. Jason knows all about it. I was gonna go to some other school in the US, then I was gonna go to a school in Ireland, and then I I went to a school in New Delhi for a month, dropped out, and got into a school at the University of Leeds, and I came here. So, like, yeah, this is what brings me here to Leeds.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Actually, I don't I don't know the latter part of that story about you having joined a school in India for a month and then having left. Um, would you be willing to share with us a little bit about that story?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, of course. Of course. So um I was gonna go to Cornell initially. I couldn't go because of the visa situation. I was gonna go after that. I had an option to go to Trinity College Dublin, but I didn't get the scholarship that I needed to go, so like I was left. My only option, which was left, was to go to the school called Ashoka University in New Delhi. I went there for a month. It's the same school that uh two Bere scholars are also from, which are Akshali and Sange Chetty. So I went there for a month, it was a really good experience. I had some friends from childhood from my old high school who were there. I caught with them, like I had a good time with them and like all that, and I got the option to go to the UK. I had applied for the clearing round, which is like the last, last, last round in UK colleges. And I got in and got some sort of scholarship, so came here. That's what I did, and yeah, that's how I'm here.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. Wow, what a what a twisty, turny road you've been on. Uh, how are things going so far for you at Leeds?
SPEAKER_01Uh things are going so far. Things going so far, they're going really good. It's like um I really enjoy being here. I really like what I'm studying. I am very, very happy with my university. And I think in the UK, I'm really trying to get like I'm getting the kind of experience that I've always wanted. Like uh, I think in the US and even in India, like they treat when you're doing your bachelor's, they mostly treat you as a student. But in the UK, while you're doing your bachelor's, they treat you more of as an adult. Like, you have to figure out a lot of things on your own. You gotta figure out your accommodation, you gotta figure out your like where you're having food, how you're cooking, like a lot of things like these. Like, you gotta figure out your um like GP registration, which is like health insurance and everything. And you gotta figure out your taxes if you have a job and all that. So, like it's a lot of things that like that I always wanted to do like early, way early on. So I think I am kind of getting the I'm getting the kind of exposure that I've always wanted. So like I'm really happy.
SPEAKER_00That sounds like a lot of adulting to be doing immediately at the beginning of uh of university.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is. It's hard, but um I've managed to somehow sort it out.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Well, congratulations on making it as far as you've as you've made it, and for persisting through that long process of figuring out where you were gonna be attending university.
SPEAKER_01Yes, thank you so much, Jason. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're welcome. So next I'll ask you the same question I ask everybody, which is what makes you you?
SPEAKER_01What makes me me? Um well, I was like, I saw some other podcasts, like, and I was just like, oh my god, like this question, because I've always I've always really thought about this question a lot, and I've all I've always been like, whenever someone asks me this, I've always been like, oh my god, don't ask me that. That's like normal. But um I think someone in Beret once said that I'm a mosaic of all the people I have ever loved and been with. And I really, really agree with that. Like I'm a reflection of all these people that I've loved and of all the people that I've always been with. Like my parents, I'm a reflection of my parents and their upbringing and the environment they bought me in. Uh, I'm a reflection of how my sister just acts towards like her daily things. I'm a reflection of all my friends that I've lived with for a year and my friends from childhood. So like I would say I'm just like maybe like the good parts and the bad parts all culmination into one of like all the people that I've ever known.
SPEAKER_00That is so beautiful, Matt Rose. I've never heard, as far as I can recall anyway, such a relational way of thinking about yourself. And I would also say that given how I know you, what I know about you is that also makes a lot of sense that you would define yourself in that way because you are so relational. Um, you are a convener, a bringer together of humans. And yeah, I love I love your uh articulation of your own. Like what makes you you is all of these other human beings. I think that's beautiful.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think I think that's what we got. Like we only got human beings to live for, to be around, and I think that's what I'm all about as well.
SPEAKER_00Well, we'd love to hear more about your story and your background and how you came to be a part of the Bere Scholars program, which is what brought us all together.
SPEAKER_01Yes, of course, of course. Uh so I come from Kashmir, uh, and to those who don't know what Kashmir is, it's a disputed region between India, Pakistan, and China. I come from the region which falls under India right now, and I'm from Srinagar in particular, uh, which is the capital of Kashmir. Uh I was brought up in Kashmir. I lived most of my life in Kashmir, and I did my schooling in Kashmir, and then I came to Bere Scholars for a year. I traveled the world with the Bere Scholars. That's how also how I know you. And after that, I came to university. Uh, about how I heard about Bere Scholars is that like uh I was I had one of my friends who did this exchange program in the US. It was called it was under AFS, the American Foreign Exchange something, like it was something along those lines, and she knew I was taking a gap year, so like she was like, Oh, I just heard about this opportunity which came up because they had a partnering, they had I think some like Beret was partnering with AFS in some sense or something, I don't know, or and so she sent me she's she sent me an Instagram post about it, and I was like, Okay, let me look into it and everything, and like of course at first when I saw it, it was like too good to be true. Like, oh my god, what is this? Like, like this this cannot be true, and uh but I applied and after a year, yeah, it was true, everything was there.
SPEAKER_00Was there any when when you were considering applying to join Bray Scholars, what was that process like for your discussions with your family? Uh was everybody supportive? Was there any resistance? How did that go?
SPEAKER_01Uh so of course, like when uh like I told my parents about the I didn't tell my parents about the program actually until I had applied and got in and received a scholarship and everything. Once I got like everything like that was set up for me to go in terms of other than the visa part, uh I told them, and my dad was extremely supportive. He was like, Oh my god, if this is true, this is gonna be this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you really, really just have to take. And I'm like, Yeah, I really want to do this, but like, are you sure I should do this? Like, I'm gonna take a gap year. Are you okay with that and everything? So my dad was like really up about it. My mom was a bit hesitant because, like, of course, like considering the kind of context that we grow up in, like in Kashmir, it's really looked down upon to like just take a year off from studies and everything, and like take a gap year and not go to university directly. So she was not very much in support of the idea, but uh Farhad, who was the one of the recruiters for Bere at that time, uh, like he really, really like sent email to my parents, like had calls with them and like convinced both of them to send me to Bere. And yes, like they eventually sent me to Bere and it they don't regret it one bit. They really they I think my mom now tells me like every now and then it feels like I have lived this thing through you because I would call them every day, I would send them pictures every day, I would like just they know all my friends. A bunch of my friends came to Kashmir, which was very, very nice. So like they feel like my mom feels like she has lived this thing through me, which bring her brings her immense joy. So like I think they're really happy that I did it, and they have no regrets. So, like, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I remember when you brought a bunch of Bray scholars to your home. I think it was not long after we had arrived in New Delhi. How many there was a large number? How many were there? Do you remember?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I remember the scholar was just in he pulled me aside in like outside the hall and told me, Maros, you didn't tell me that you were taking all these students. And I was like, Yeah, I'm sorry. But yeah, I think I bought nearly 17 or 18 kids with me, and uh it was really nice. They had a lot of fun, they stayed there for the weekend. We all stayed in the same place. Um, it was really nice. It was really good for them to know like how Kashmir is, what the geography is. They skied there, like it was the first time for most of them to ski in the entirety of their Buret journey. So, like, yeah, they really enjoyed it, and I'm really glad they enjoyed it. And some of them could draw connections to other places that I've been to. Like two of my friends, uh Nico and uh Elena, who were in Armenia for their high school. Uh, they went they were there, and uh they could really draw like similarities between Armenia and Kashmir. So like I think that's one of the best things about Bure that you can you have been to all these places and you can draw similarities between different different places.
SPEAKER_00There was one thing also that I want to express appreciation to you for, which was uh, you know, when when I heard you were bringing so many students, it wasn't you know it wasn't just sort of the generic, you know, gotta follow protocol, but it was also um you know, I had a b a lot of stereotypes that uh you that you basically um caused me to question. And those stereotypes, you know, cashmere is just a very dangerous place. And and um so you know, I had all these alarm bells going off in my head, especially because at that time um our chief security officer had recently departed race collars, and so I couldn't draw on I couldn't draw on his expertise. Um and uh and then I actually didn't take, I just did a little bit of research on the web to find that my stereotypes were just that. They were they were stereotypes. So it also gave you offered me an opportunity to learn some things, which I which I really appreciate very much.
SPEAKER_01Yes, thank you so much. Thank you so much. It was it was a lot about me that I wanted to show my birthplace to people I love and people like who are around me and everything. I wanted them to see this, and I'm so glad they did. And yeah, like we break a few stereotypes along the way, and hopefully, like I can see you in Kashmir someday. I would love to host you if you're ever there. Let me know.
SPEAKER_00I definitely will, and I would that would be an absolutely amazing opportunity, and I do hope that that happens one day. Every student that I talked to. Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt you, Maros?
SPEAKER_01No, no, no, no, no. Go ahead, go ahead.
SPEAKER_00I was just gonna say every student that I talked to who was fortunate enough to be part of that visit was just glowing when they got back. They just had such an amazing time. Which gets back to what I was sharing about you earlier, you know, that you bring you bring people together. That is just something that that you do, and that's a a real gift.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_00In a program like Beret, we often talk about learning as uh you know an outcome. And I'd like to hear if you if you have anything to share with our listeners about anything that you might have unlearned during your travels.
SPEAKER_01Unlearned during my travels. Um Yes, like uh definitely like there's just like this thing that like there are a lot of things that I unlearned, and one of the things was like uh it was just like stereotypes and like in general, like of course, like uh when we went to China, there were a lot of stereotypes about like this place being like heavily surveillanced, and at the same time there were a lot of stereotypes about like okay, I cannot find like because I'm Muslim and uh I cannot eat poke, there was like a lot of stereotypes about like even like people back home saying, Oh, like most things contain poke there and you cannot just be like do this, and there's a language barrier, and like you cannot really go get around and all that. And when we actually ended up in Beijing, uh, which is also like I came a week later, you know that as well. Yes, yeah. Um, so like when we ended up in Beijing, uh, we just it was just like a total different experience. It's just like we had some Chinese kids who really and some kids from Hong Kong who really like walked us around the whole thing, and I think one of the best things about Bere is that like even if you learn that even if you cannot communicate with a certain group of people, they can still show you the beauty of their homeland, they can still show you how beautiful their culture is, they can still like give you the food that you can eat, and it will still be as delicious and as good, like, and you won't be missing anything. So I think I learned this, unlearned this one stereotype about China that like this country is like this country which is like very cut off from like the other parts of the world and everything, and there's not a lot I can do here, which turned out to be the quite which turned out to be the exact opposite. I had the most fun in China, I had my friends who walked me around places, I've interacted with a lot of Chinese people, and it was an experience of a lifetime, and I couldn't ask for more.
SPEAKER_00That's beautiful. And you know, I have a I have a lot I have a personal stake in China. I've spent a lot of my life there, and I've spent a lot of my of my life and my career trying to break down stereotypes about China, and so it's especially heartening for me to hear from you about some of the stereotypes that you had about China getting broken down as well.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it was an incredible experience.
SPEAKER_00Well, so we are recording this conversation on March 2nd, 2026. Believe it or not, it's been almost 10 months since our journey ended. Oh my god, okay. I know, right? I know, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, it's almost about to be a year.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I mentioned that now because because I have a question about how you've been reflecting on the year, uh, which I'm which you've had now almost 10 months to do. What would you say are some of the main ways in which you have grown?
SPEAKER_01And what I have grown after Beret.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's interesting now, because I'm thinking, you know, when I I I put these questions together right after the end of the program when I decided I wanted to start this podcast. And now it almost it almost feels like more fruitful to ask you how you've grown since Beret. So I'll leave it up to you. Why don't you just share uh various ways that you've grown either during Beret, after Beret, or both?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay. Uh so like that that's like much easier to answer because like Beret Beret was just like this insane once-in-a-lifetime experience because and I do genuinely believe like it is one of the best things in the world that at least like young adults, teenagers, or like people very early on in their life could experience because like what is like I cannot think of many things which are better than like getting to travel the world, having the being fortunate enough to travel the world when you're like 19, 20 or something, and then like traveling and meeting like people from what like 48 different nationalities and like being in an inclusive community with them. So like uh, but just to answer, like what since Bere I have grown tremendously, it's just been like I have experienced inclusivity that like to a level that I didn't think was like there. I couldn't believe like so many people from so many different cultures who speak different languages because like for most of us English was not our first language. Uh like they come together, they like get into this inclusive environment and become like the best of friends, and like it's just like I learned like there are people around the world, if you find them, like you can have that level of inclusivity with them, and they can create a safe space or an environment in which you can grow tremendously. And I also learned that like I also one of the very big things that I learned was like of course there are things that pre like notions that I've had from childhood about like certain things, and I meet people from these like places and they have exact opposite opposite notions to me, and it's really hard to like at first, like it's really hard to understand, like, oh my god, why do you believe in this? And then they like explain it to you, and you're just like, like, of course, at first you still don't get it, but like then, like when you like taking the context they've grown up in, uh, like taking the context, taking the country or the place they have grown up in or been in, you really try to like get their perspective, you really understand their perspective where this person is coming from. Because, like, if I was in that in their position or in their place, I would be exactly like them. So it's just like you really have to understand what the other person is saying, listen, and rather than just like putting your notions or putting your opinions on them and try to understand the place they're coming from. So, like, it's just like I think I've grown really into having a conversation. I've really grown into like how to have a conversation with someone and try to learn from them as much as they could learn from me, or even try to learn from them more than they could learn from me. So that is one of the things I've learned from Baret, and one of the other things that I've really learned from Beret is that we always say that the world is beautiful, but like you don't actually realize how beautiful it is when you actually end up in these places. One of the most transformative experiences, two of the most transformative experiences for me was like the first one was the Amazon rainforest. Uh I did my fellowship, which is like uh so like we spent like three weeks in a base city uh across different regions, and when the region was South America, which was our second region, uh our base city was Brazil, was Sao Paulo, Brazil. And some, and then we have these 10-day fellowships after that. And during those 10-day fellowships, like some students went to Peru, some students went to Argentina and Patagon put Patagonia, Argentina. Um, some students went to Rio, and I went to the Amazon rainforest, like I went to Manaus. And yes, you've heard so many things about oh my god, it's the Amazon rainforest, it's like the biggest tropical rainforest in the world and everything. But when you actually end up there, you see how different the place is, how like how just different it is. It's not something that you see on Instagram or something that you can search up on Google and like see pictures or something, it's really a different experience to swim in the Rio Negro River and to swim with pink dolphins in there, and just to like take in the beauty of the Amazon. Being in that place is just a very different experience. And another experience that I really had was like Palermo, Sicily, which ended up being my favorite place, and of course, we've all heard about like oh my god, Italy is a beautiful place, it's a beautiful country, the Mediterranean, it's so nice and everything. But when I actually went there, we climbed a cliff there, and it was absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was so gorgeous. It was like I couldn't bring myself to like actually be like, oh my god, wow! Like, I can't believe this thing actually exists.
SPEAKER_00Well, there's so much in everything that you just shared. Uh one one thing I'd like to just go back to briefly is oh, do you do you have to go right now? Okay. Yeah, great. Just give me two minutes. No problem. I'll just wait here.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00I'm so sorry. No, not at all.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Hello. Hi, so it just turned midnight back on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it just turned midnight, so I just wished her and like back on call.
SPEAKER_00You knew she was gonna be awake at midnight.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She was like, she was gonna be awake. My sister planned this whole thing. She was just like, call me at this time, and like I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we had a cake ready and everything. So I just wanted to be like happy birthday.
SPEAKER_00Was your mom surprised to hear from you?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, kinda like she I was I told her I was in a meeting, so like she was just like, Are you not gonna wish me happy? I was like, I'm gonna wish you happy birthday.
SPEAKER_00That's great. Oh, good. Oh, beautiful. Yeah. So getting back to you, uh getting back to our conversation. There's so much in what you just shared, and I think um what I'd like to draw our attention to is what you were saying about the power of listening to somebody else's reality. And I feel like it's often the case with humans that we we aren't willing to listen, not so much because we aren't curious, but because the curiosity gets outweighed by a sense of threat because we feel like if I understand something, that means I have to agree with it, and then I have to maybe give up something about myself. And what I love about what you shared is just the power of just listening to understand. So you understand somebody else's view. Um and I think the most powerful language you used is when you said, you know, if you had been raised in that environment, you would have thought exactly the same thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly the same way.
SPEAKER_00Right. And the power of relationships, I think, is also can't really be overstated. You were with the other students for eight and a half months living in close quarters. Um seeing each other every single day. And in a sense, that really forced everybody into a situation where you know, you could you had to make a choice, you know, I could just go about my business, withdraw into myself, or engage and try to learn. And I love how you handled that um with just kind of this endless, endless curiosity.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you so much. I think that's the most important part. Like you can't really cut yourself out. Like, if you cut yourself out, you you don't get to have this amazing experience because people don't like even just as the inaugural cohort of Bere, or just like people in general, or like people who apply to Baray, they don't talk enough about the fact that the Baret experience, yes, it lies in the travel, but it also lies so much in the people who are there. Like there are there's just that, like, people all be got again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I was turning our attention to that. Uh so eight and a half months with these human beings, and then suddenly it's over. And you move into the next chapter of your life. What was that experience like for you?
SPEAKER_01Um, what was that experience? It was, of course, like it was hard seeing of people that you have gotten to know so closely, like for like eight and a half months, and now you're just like back to your home place that you've lived all your life. Uh, and for some of them, like at least like most of us had lived in the same place for like at least 10 plus years of our lives. So just like you're back in your homeland, back in your house, back with your family, and you missed your family, but as soon as you reach, you miss these people like who are just scattered around the world. And of course, it's really hard to deal with it at first, but you have to learn to accept it, and I did accept it, I learned to accept it, and as soon as I was back, it was summer, so I spent my summer just first like trying to figure out my college situation because I didn't really have like a like fixed college, so I was just like, Okay, I need to like get a college at least, like, I need to figure out my next year and everything. So, like, it was a lot of like pressure in terms of like figuring out where I want to go and study what I want to study because like after Beret, I was really confused about what I want to study, and as soon as I was done with that, I was just like it was spending time with my family, uh reconnecting with them after like traveling for a year and like sharing my experiences firsthand and telling them, Oh my god, like I remember this from this, I remember this from this, I miss this person right now. Big when I see this, I miss this person when I smell this or something. And like so it was just reconnecting with my family, figuring out my college situation, uh, getting in touch with my friends, like spending a lot of time with my friends, spending time with my grandparents, and then just going in this mess of a situation, like where I had to like just jump from this college to this college, end up in Delhi, leave Delhi, come to the UK. So, like that's what I did for like the next three, four months until uni started. And as soon as uni started, I found it really, really easy to assimilate myself among these people, among this uh like place and everything, because it's really easy to like just have a conversation with people when I think you've like Dunbury or something, because like when you're just like they're talking to you about something, like some niche British thing, and you already know it because you have these two or three people from who grew up in London or like grew up in Northern Ireland or something, and they told you about it, so you can have a conversation about it, and then you have a conversation about something else, you have a conversation about things that you know which are very much a part of British culture, but you just know them through your friends that you have known. Uh, and so it was really easy to like assimilate myself here, but at the same time, uh it was it's obviously hard to like find a new set of people when you've been with such amazing, amazing people from all around the world, and then a lot of studying, a lot of lot of studying. I'm studying mathematics, so like it's really like yeah, it's taking a toll, but we but like yeah, we we pass through, we ball.
SPEAKER_00There's one thing you just said, uh which I hadn't thought of before in terms of something that I think the Beret experience offers to people, and well at least that offers to you, but I suspect is probably also shared amongst a large portion of the cohort, which is that you have so many reference points, uh common reference points with people because you've been exposed to so much of the world. So it actually makes it makes forming new relationships a little bit easier.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, it definitely does. I think it's again like to come back to the point that like I'm a part of like I'm a mosaic of all the people I've loved or been with. This also they I think their references also come along with it. They're just about some TV show they know, something like some like drink that they would always like have when they were younger, and you see it on the shelf and you point out at it, and you're just like, oh my god, like my friend loves this, and like they're also like, Oh, we love this. Like, you want to try it? Yeah, I want to try it. I have tried it, but like still I'll try it with you again.
SPEAKER_00Well, moving on to our next question, um, which you we've already touched on, um, which is about communicating and collaborating across cultures. So, you know, getting getting along with folks who are different from us. And you already shared a really deep insight about that, about listening and understanding other people's worldviews. Um, I'm wondering, are have you had any other insights with regard to communicating and collaborating across cultures during your time from your time with Beret?
SPEAKER_01Um guess uh some other insights that I've gotten from like Beret is just I think yeah, like one of the things is like how important it is to be political in terms of like things, and like just be political in terms of like you have like I think a lot of people are apolitical, and again, good for them, but I didn't know anyone in Bere who was apolitical, everyone had an opinion about something, and I didn't because I was apolitical before I came to Bere, and like I realized how stupid it was, like, or even like okay, like I don't want to comment on it if it was stupid or not. People can live their lives. But I just realized that how important it is to have opinions, how important it is to like learn about things and not like just leave things like okay, like I just know this much, I don't need to know more. No, you need to know more, you should know more, and you have to know more because we are growing adults who we are the next generation of people who are going to lead the world and we have to be informed about things. It's not something that we can just like look past and be like, okay, I just know this, like when I'm older or something, I'll get to know this. No, I think we really really need to study what's happening in the world right now, what has happened in the world before, and what could happen in the world later. So, like, and when I say this, like it comes very much from the fact of like it happens when you communicate from people because like it's not like you just see something in the news, it's also very much about the fact that you get to like hear it from the person where they're from. Like uh, like there's there are so many there's so many like places which are put up in the news, and there are opinions in the news, and you hear about them, and they're such one-sided opinions, uh, coming from both parties, but like then you talk to someone who is present there, who has grown up there, who whose family still lives there, and they're telling you real-life details, they're telling you real-life experiences, they're telling you real-life situations. So you get information on a scale which is just not like abstract or just in the air, or like just in the news, or on your screens, you get to hear it from someone you dearly love, you get to hear it from someone you've spent so much time with, and they tell you so much. So I think that is one of the insights that being political through your like getting information or getting to know about politics or getting to know about getting information from your friends and their real life experiences is much more important than getting it from like I don't know, some abstract news article or something. I hope that answered. I don't know if that answered the question.
SPEAKER_00I think absolutely. And I think um you're taking us to a pretty pretty deep level with this, where what I'm what I'm taking away from what you just shared is that being in relationship with people from all over the world connected you to the human impact of global systems and policies in a way that you can never get from reading about something in the newspaper or online.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly.
unknownRight, right, right.
SPEAKER_00So there's a and and that making those human connections has motivated you to to stay informed, not just out of some you know, detached intellectual curiosity, but presumably because you care about the human beings who are impacted, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like of course, like like yes, like you have to you have to care. How can you not? Like you you just have to care. But again, okay. But I just believe you have to care. So like that's the place I come from.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I think I mean I would I would encourage you to to go easy on your pre-beret self because you hadn't had this set of experiences before of of getting to know all these people, right?
SPEAKER_01Definitely, definitely. I you just you grow and learn. Or you learn and grow. I think that's you learn and grow. Yeah. You learn and grow, and it's just if you're fortunate enough to experience something like this, take as much as you can from it.
SPEAKER_00Well, turning our attention to the future, can you share with us what's next for you?
SPEAKER_01What's next for me? So right now I'm studying in the UK, I'm studying mathematics, and uh I'm planning to minor in film because I've always had an interest in film. Um, and talking to like some of my friends in Beret or some of my friends back home, they've who have always been interested in film and or are pursuing film careers or like careers in media studies or something along those lines. Like uh it has really like put me in a position where I'm like, okay, I think just my interest in films or just like seeing these films is not enough. I want to learn more, I want to like see more, I want to experience more. So that is one of the things I've always had an interest in mathematics. Um, so like that's why I'm pursuing it right now. Uh I've gotten some internships over spring, and I've been fortunate enough to get some over summer that I'll be pursuing. They mostly relate to finance, so like I think I'll I'm leaning towards those that that path. And later on, like anything like social in terms of yeah, like Ramadan is going, so it's my first time fasting on my own, and it's really hard. I need to cook and like do everything on my own, which I hadn't experienced before, but like it's always good to have new experiences. And Eid is coming on the 20th, and I am convincing everyone, and and it's my first time celebrating Eid out of my house, away from my family. So I'm convincing everyone in Bure to come to London from around Europe, and I've convinced at least five people other than the ones who are already in the UK, so I'm very happy.
SPEAKER_00Wow, wow, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_01I hope I get all of them.
SPEAKER_00And Ramadan Mubarak.
SPEAKER_01Yes, thank you so much, Ramadan Mubarak, as well. It's uh this is my first time celebrating it outside of my house, so like I've just been like trying to figure it out as an adult, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Wow, you have been doing so much adulting. It's it's amazing to me that how much you've been responsible for in terms of your own well-being. It's really quite something in the midst of in the midst of all the transitions that you have that you have been doing all of this adulting. It's pretty impressive.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00Well, the last question I have for you, Mero, is so we live in a world that's full of suffering, and a lot of that suffering is caused by humans, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and to lose hope. Have you got any words to encourage us about the future?
SPEAKER_01Have I got any words to encourage people about the um I think I think like someone once said like we read we we read poetry or we read philosophy or we read um arts, any form of arts, or just like to like because we're members of the human races from a movie and I really really like take in it because like I think the world is such a messed up place about what's happening right now, what has happened before and what's coming up. I think we just like have to like look forward to things which are just beautiful. Like I don't know how to like fully explain this. It's just like we try to take inspiration in these different things, like or just like we try to like have some sort of hope in like maybe like poetry gives you hope, like you read poetry, like poetry about anything, like gives you hope, like even though you know like it isn't there what you're saying, what like the poet is saying has nothing to do with what the world is going on, but for some stupid reason you just have some form of hope. Like the poetry could be about loving a person or just loving someone, or it could be just about some random thing, but it still gives you hope, it still fills you with love, and I think love and hope are really interconnected, and that's why it happens. So, my like my just like thing for like people to like gain hope from is to just like immerse yourself in learning something beautiful because even though if the world is messed up, it's a bad place, there's always beauty in the human race or just beauty in the world itself, and if you're fortunate fortunate enough to like take some time of your day out to like immerse yourself in those beautiful things, do it because for some reason, some stupid reason, it will bring hope to you. That's how it works for me. I um I read, I pray and do all of these things, and they bring me hope.
SPEAKER_00Well speaking of beauty, I think that is a beautiful note for us to bring this conversation to a close with Merros. Thank you again for making time in the midst of your very, very busy schedule to talk with me today and share your experience with our listeners.
SPEAKER_01Yes, thank you so much for having me. It was such a good experience just reflecting back on everything.
SPEAKER_00I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Mechro's. If you did, please tell at least one friend about it. Give us a five star rating and follow the podcast. That will help others find us. Until next time, let's keep our heads clear and our hearts open.