Power: a great word that could make or break a person, start or end a war and something that has become what young Emiratis have been earning and creating for themselves. The UAE has created a platform for youth and opened new portals as it developed, thus giving us all a better chance at education and following our hopes and dreams.
We are becoming writers, artists, successful entrepreneurs and much more. An example of a young 19 year-old photographer is Mohammad Al Mehairi, who started on social media, capturing moments and sharing them with the world. They’re becoming young inventors and successful entrepreneurs such as Anas Bukhash. Women in the UAE are opening doors that have never been opened before, making people understand that they can and will do what they want.
Women now fight for what they believe as evident in a movement that was started by a 21 year-old Emirati girl called ‘Feminists in UAE’. We are the world in a person, we are the future and we have the potential to do something amazing. We do have the will and we have the urge but sometimes, we just need the support.
I became a published author at the age of 15 and when people ask me where I’m from, I stand up proud and say that I am an Emirati author. This country offers us a lot of things but we don’t always take advantage of it. Education has contributed a lot to anyone who has become successful. Without education, we probably wouldn’t be able to think the way we do now, become a writer, or be able to change anything.
Don’t stop if you have a dream, an idea or a thought because you’re not too young; don’t listen to those that say that you’re not smart enough or not strong enough. You are the youth of today, you are tomorrow’s generation and possible leaders. You are the future so keep fighting for what you believe in, but never forget where you come from and why you started in the first place.
— The reader is an Emirati student based in Sharjah
