To find the better half of ‘can’t’

A journalist has a lot of responsibilities and an equal amount at stake. We need to meet deadlines, yet our work should never be hasty. We need to be factually accurate and make every article an interesting read. We can’t afford to miss any details of the event, however our writing should never be monotonous. We mustn’t be grave, yet we must hold a serious tone.

So, when you add competition to this mixture, it’s enough to have one turn on their heels and make a run for it. This is what journalism in a Model UN feels like.

I’m a Grade 11 student, currently studying in New Delhi, India and I recently attended a Model UN which has taught me a lot more in two days than my teachers ever could – it taught me to believe in myself.

It’s enough to have one turn on their heels and make a run for it. This is what journalism in a Model UN feels like

I’ve always had a knack for writing; for in it I found the freedom that years of speaking never gave me. Thus, when it came to debating on issues of both national and international concern, I took to the pen and paper to express my views. I participated in my first ever Model UN in my own school in Grade 9 and from then on, there was no stopping me.

Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology’s Model United Nation (NSIT MUN) was my second ever inter-college Model UN, and would soon become my first ever win and give me the opportunity to publish my article in the Boar. But that’s the good part; let’s rewind a little, to a week before the conference when I was on the fence about going there in the first place.

You see, Model UNs are a two or three day affair (two, in this case), and I try to make sure it’s worth putting my energy into something – by waking up early, dressing up, traveling for hours on in public transport – which I might end up not winning. Yes, winning or not makes a difference and I am not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.

However, I went. Mainly because somewhere, to me, experience counts more than the outcome (I was also extremely bored and not to mention the fact that I had nothing else to do).

When I got there though, things changed. While the people I met were extremely friendly and never led a dull conversation, the same couldn’t be said about the committee I was in, which wouldn’t have been a problem, had we not been briefed regarding our article submissions earlier that day.

Somewhere, to me, experience counts more than the outcome.

So far, I was used to writing one article a day – the same old committee description. At NSIT, I was asked to send in something close to five articles per day for the newsletter, on a hundred different topics, plus more for the blog. I genuinely thought this was a joke and I planned to flee several times throughout the day.

Once I got home, I was panicked, obviously. But I only now realise why. In all the MUNs I had been to, I never took anything as a challenge, so when one was thrust upon me, I didn’t know what to do. I doubted myself, because I had never done this before, and if I couldn’t win when I had to write one article in a day, I could only hope to not be laughed at with this many submissions pending.

This is where my friends come in. All your life, you need to pull your own weight, but in times when you don’t have faith in yourself, it is the people closest to you who tell you that you can. You can do this. You can write three articles in four hours. You can survive the second day of the MUN. You can even win this. You can do the impossible. You can.

I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am to everyone who helped me and believed in me when I didn’t. I owe my success almost wholly to them; frankly, I might not have returned if it weren’t for them.

You can do this. You can survive the second day of the MUN. You can even win this.

But I did, expecting the second day to go worse than the first did yet only to find a new ‘can do’ attitude in myself. I made the required submissions and spent the second half of my day simply enjoying myself. So, when I sat in the auditorium for the closing ceremony, I didn’t not care about the outcome because I had toiled for this. I was, in fact, hopeful – I could win.

And as I said, I did – the Best Journalist in the International Press, it was the stuff of dreams, I daresay. I was the happiest I had been in a long time. I was happier still, when more of my friends from school won different prizes. In fact, my school went on to win the Best School Delegation. It was, indeed, a brilliant day for The Mother’s International School.

And it didn’t stop there – great things happened during NSIT MUN, and great things followed. I was honoured to be given the chance to publish my writings internationally, at the University of Warwick. I made some amazing friends. I learnt loads. It was the adventure of a lifetime. But the one thing that makes everything else sound like background music is that I proved to myself that I can.