Being the only kid of my parents I always missed out on the fun of having a sibling. I always wondered what if I had a younger brother or sister. By the time I was done with university life, I started my career and engaged with many youth platforms. I engaged with a bunch of young people while co-founding Torun. And within those people, I found the siblings’ love.
And out of those people, Rafeed was one of them. From success stories to frustrating tales, we shared so many things. We had a few common interests - giving something back to society, making a change. I can recall that when I co-founded Torun, I gave him the responsibility to take care of the platform. Even when there are disappointing issues, I try to give him other interesting projects to work on, so that after a bad day, we have something exciting to discuss.
The interesting thing about the bonding isn’t just the fun parts, it’s also about the struggles we have faced together.
We have written two books together, and we also conducted multiple sessions at different universities and skill-development platforms together.
In this society, a youth individual always has a limited space when it comes to having a senior, a guide. But in our case, we were always very open and frank. We have an age gap of more than 10 years, but we worked like friends. The connection was embedded with values, but we are more like friends.
Sometimes when I’m frustrated about some things, he sends me memes and suggests TV shows and movies to binge watch. That’s something a friend does when you’re not having a good day.
He sought my advice during business competitions, about making career choices, and so many other things. But interestingly enough, I was seeking advice from him about my career.
Since it’s his birthday, I pray he changes society, helps people, becomes less aggressive on social media and becomes the best version of himself. I also wish he takes care of his parents and his siblings all the time, which amazes me.
Happy Birthday, Rafeed.