Meet Naqeeyah Karachiwala, Alumni of the Calgary Flames Grade 6 YMCA Membership and current Leadership Student at YMCA Calgary. Now in Grade 9, Naqeeyah continues to volunteer at the YMCA as part of our Alumni Leadership Program, where she learns about our pillars of respect, honesty, caring and responsibility. In February, Naqeeyah and her peers in Leadership were asked to submit an essay on what it means to be a leader. We were all so inspired by her words that we wanted to share them for our community to read, too!
My name is Naqeeyah Karachiwala and I am proud and privileged to be an Alumni of the YMCA Leadership program.
What does it mean to be a leader? We were asked this question every year on the first day of the program. Is it something you’re born with? Something you learn? The YMCA taught us that it breaks down into 4 parts; Belonging, Growing, Thriving, and Leading. I like to think of these parts like building a puzzle.
Let's start off with Belonging. I learned that Belonging in the YMCA not only means feeling accepted, but the act of helping others to feel accepted as well. In my first year, I was excited to meet new people and get to know them through games, activities, and leadership workshops.
Every week, no matter how far into the year we were, we would always play an Icebreaker game to settle into the meeting. For the first few meetings they were name games and following that it would be an opening game to our topic. These simple games helped loosen the tension in the room, and we found ways to laugh and make jokes throughout the meeting, strengthening our bond. We learned unique things about each other every week, and through everyone’s effort, a sense of belonging was created in our group, which slowly deepened. I learned that the easiest way to start a conversation with somebody is finding common ground. Personally, I am a competitive athlete, so sports are usually my go-to topic— Go Lakers!
Even within our leadership group, I formed a smaller circle with a few friends that I became close with. Before Leadership started, we would meet in the Youth Room, and play against each other in Foosball. Mind you even though my friendships and sense of belonging grew through competition, unfortunately my Foosball skills did not. I still lose to my friends.
But Belonging taught me something extremely valuable to my leadership skills. It taught me that every piece of a puzzle is different, yet it fits together perfectly anyway. It's the act of recognizing the differences and beauties of each and every unique piece. Sometimes it takes a few tries, and adjustments, but in the end, it’ll fit together. Putting it together is the tricky part.
Let's move on to building the actual puzzle. This is where we begin to grow. While we continue to learn about each piece, we must move on to fitting them together. Assembling the corners first, dividing them into groups, or even just straight up going for it. Question is, what do we do? How do we know what strategy is the best? The truth is, we don’t. No matter where you start or how you attack the challenge, you will always hit bumps in the road, but in the end, through perseverance, a picture will form. It is up to you if you will let giving up become your obstacle. Don’t compare your strategy to anyone else's. Your thinking may be different, but it is not wrong. The biggest growth I have gone through in the program was learning to give “out of the box ideas” a chance. Taking a completely different approach to the puzzle can not only leave you successful but open your mindset to undiscovered potential. This allows you to build the puzzle in multiple different ways, until you figure out what is best for you, and what makes the most sense with the pieces that you have.
Once you’ve fallen into a rhythm, you’ll know how to efficiently use the pieces to complete the puzzle. You'll know which pieces are the most difficult to place, and which ones to connect immediately. This is the art of thriving. Now even if you hit a bump or curve in the road, your growth will help you push over it, encouraging you to find a solution. You’ll learn how to avoid getting stuck on fitting certain pieces together, and even if you do, the connected pieces can help guide you.
Finally, we have reached Leadership. I’d like to express this point through the creation of my own puzzle. When I started this program, I entered with a few pieces; sports, confidence, and a passion for learning. Over the years, many pieces have been added, not only surrounding leadership, but to my identity. I earned pieces, such as a Volunteer, Coach, and at last, Leader. The biggest piece that I worked to add to my puzzle was inspiration. I learned that having the ability to inspire others, means that you must have inspiration from within yourself. Inspiration shines through in each piece of my puzzle, and it completes my picture.
So, what does it mean to be a Leader? It means recognizing that the puzzle is never complete, but adding more pieces only creates a more beautiful picture. It means persevering to achieve the pieces that you desire.
Thank you Naqeeyah for this amazing guest essay on what leadership means to you!