I can say without a moment’s hesitation, that the last year of my life has been, by far, the best. On my profile I responded to the question ‘Who are you?’ by saying that ‘I am the summation of all the events in my life’. I can honestly say that although this may seem rather general and broad, the last 12 or so months have defined me as a person and have changed who I am…

During my final year of college, I was approached by my teacher about a scheme called the Prime Minister’s Global Fellowship. It appeared to be a pretty cool program which sent 100 6th Form leavers to either Brazil, China or India, to spend 6 weeks in one of these rapidly developing economies. It was a free trip and despite what seemed on paper like a fantastic opportunity; which would see me spent 2 weeks learning the native language and getting a cultural experience, 2 weeks staying with a family and teaching English, and the final 2 weeks as the host of a global company, my demeanour was lethargic and such opportunities did not ignite the same spark that they do now one year later.

I reluctantly filled out an application form and got through to the interview stages. From there I was somehow successful in making it onto the scheme and not a day goes by that I don’t thank God that I did. It was a life changing experience, and one thing I can distinctly remember from the trip is the day in Sao Paulo that were given the chance to hear 5 youths talk about their lives. They were all of similar age to us, yet instead of simply being at university, they all used to work in the daytime to support their families and attended university at night. The sad reality is that despite working 10 times harder than we do, they will spend their lives struggling to escape poverty. At that point, I realised how blessed we are in the UK. We are presented with an abundance of opportunities, yet we so readily pass them up. From that day, I made a promise to myself to never again pass up an opportunity and to make the most of my time….

Now, looking back on the promise I made to myself, I can honestly say that I am nowhere near as productive as I should be; but this gap year has been a chance for me to chase my dreams. I am in a position where anything I want is achievable, if I put in the effort.

If you had told me 12 months ago that in one short year I would attend a spiritual retreat in Morocco, where the tea I must say was the best I have ever had, go to the cultural vacuum of the world that you may know as Dubai, attempt to enter Gaza with an aid convoy via Egypt, swim with dolphins in Zanzibar (a must for all of you!), go to the shrine of Imam Hussein at the same time as 13 million other pilgrims, have my dignity handed to me on a plate by a 6ft 2inch Chinese kick-boxer, see the Pyramids of Giza by camel-back, play football in a favela in Rio di Janeiro, meet Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf, see the sun rise from the top of a mountain 2000m above sea level in Switzerland, witness the pre-Iranian election hype first hand, climb the Great Wall of China, try deep-sea fishing for the first time, watch Slumdog Millionaire in a private press screening 2 months before the official release, and meet the Prime Minister…twice, I would have laughed in your face.

In fact I would have laughed every time I talked to you. No, I would have laughed even just thinking about you, but the reality is that somehow I managed to do all of those things. Those of you that know me will know that frankly, I am a bit of a bum, and yet I managed to achieve so much in just one year, in just twelve short months. My gap year has proved to me, as I hope it will for others, that with the right motivation, there is no limit to what you can do, how far you can go and who you can become.

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