Eight years ago, I tried to come here for the first time. I failed, then I tried again, and failed again. There were many moments when turning back would have been easier, but somehow, I never did. I kept moving forward, even when I had no clear idea where the road would lead me. Now, from 2018 to 2026, I find myself near the end of another chapter, and today I am standing exactly where I once dreamed of being. Before anything else, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Almighty. I believe that He created me for this institution and guided me throughout the last eight years of my journey. Over these years, many people have entered my life. Some walked beside me, some supported me, some stayed for a while, and some eventually disappeared from the journey. Thousands have come and gone, but I remained. I remained the same stubborn human being who refused to give up on his dream. No expression of gratitude can ever be enough for the Almighty. Again and again, I find myself saying the same thing: I am a person who rose from almost nothing, and I am still alive, still dreaming, and still trying because of what I once imagined for myself. Throughout this journey, the one constant source of help has been the Creator. I cannot say that I always had my family, relatives, friends, respected people, or well-wishers physically beside me. There were times when I had to walk alone. But today, I want to thank them too. Perhaps if they had always come forward to make everything easier for me, I would never have learned so much. Perhaps I would not have developed the strength, patience, and understanding that brought me this far. So, even for their absence, I am grateful. At the same time, I believe that they have always prayed for me in their own way. And perhaps this is where the dreams I saw as a child begin to come true—the dreams that once seemed distant, the dreams that many of us carry quietly for years, and the dreams that we hope will one day become our reality. Not everyone gets to experience that long-awaited moment in life, and I feel fortunate that I have reached this point. The Almighty has never deceived me. He has given me everything I asked for when it was meant for me, and He did not give me those things that were never meant for me. Today, I understand that both are blessings. Sometimes, what we receive is a blessing, and sometimes, what we do not receive is an even greater blessing. So, after eight years of trying, failing, learning, falling, standing again, and continuing forward, I have only one thing to say: Alhamdulillah. The journey is not over. Perhaps this is only the beginning of the dreams I saw as a child.
Md Roman Sarkar
From an Urban Village to Harbin Institute of Technology