Journey to Self: Going back to TFN after 9 years

Teach For Nepal (TFN) 9th Learning Institute is already over and I guess all the selected fellows are gearing themselves up amid this crisis to move ahead in an adventurous journey.

It already has been a month and a half that I am back from Chitwan after conducting a nine-day-long session ‘Journey to Self’ for them. This session holds particular significance for me as here it was for the first time, I was introduced to the world of critical self-reflection and journaling, which became a part of my life. The session was powerful because it had Swastika didi as our facilitator. I don’t know how my life would have turned if I hadn’t opted to be a part of the fellowship because it was TFN where I started my steps to understanding myself and my emotions besides deep diving into their rigorous sessions on content and teaching. Glad, we were expected of that rigor and also believed that we would meet that expectation.

When I had joined TFN in 2013 as its first cohort, I didn’t know what lies ahead with the identity of a fellow. But as I look back, the whole journey in itself feels like ‘home’. And when we say home, there’s always something nostalgic about it. For me, TFN is that home, the starting place of questioning my identity, finding my inner strength, and learning to become more empathetic for myself and others.

The beautiful thing about this home is that it felt good to leave as I had so much to offer to society after the fellowship, and now it felt even better to come back as I had something to offer to the TFN community itself. Though I have been receiving this chance now and then, this time it really was different as this time I was sharing the course that we had put on our heart and soul for a couple of years. The sense of being in that moment for that one and half hour early in the morning is something that I will cherish. More than that to see a considerable number of people believing in the cause and giving the best they can amid this crisis was powerful.

Thanks to TFN that I will never look at the education system the same way again like a broken vessel. Amid this crisis, TFN gives me hope, the fellows provide me meaning that as an alumnus I have to contribute so that they can also realize how the journey of transformation continues.