If I were a good artist and had a block of stone, a hammer and chisel, I would carve a beautiful woman.

I enjoyed life in Iran because we had electricity and we did not have to pump the well for ten minutes just to fill a 20-liter barrel. We did not have to carry our clothes to the river to do our laundry.

We had a dog we kept for security and we would feed him bread that fell onto the coals. I remember one day when my youngest brother and I were very hungry and had nothing to eat.

When I was about five years old, my grandmother had a big mulberry tree in her yard. She would sweep the mulberries that already covered the yard in the early mornings.

She saw the wooden doors with their two signs: one heavy and long, about 10 centimeters; the other light and circle shaped. The heavy one was for men to knock, and the light one for women. That way the owner of the house could easily know who was knocking, man or woman, by the sound.signs

As a child, I was always afraid of animals and insects. We didn’t keep animals in the house and I wasn’t used to being around them. Why had God created cats and mice and chickens and cows? I wondered.

I learned that every human being needs another, and we should support others in time of need. I also learned that people have different personalities; some may help you and some may not. I learned that when I am disappointed and it seems all the doors are closed for me, there can be an open door, too.

My brother, who is two years older, always bothered me and said, “Don’t go to class, it is not good for you. You just waste your time and when you marry all of your studying will be useless.” I did not pay any attention him.

On the way to her campus we passed lots of trees and flowers. Everywhere looked green—so very green. There were beautiful flowers in front of the houses. The houses were made of wood and different from Afghan houses, which are made of stone.

“It is all over and we are OK but you are crying on the bus!” she said. She wiped away my tears with her hand, kissed me and said with a warm smile, “Don’t worry, Rahela, we will make our country a better place, inshallah. Don’t be sad, the new generation should not cry, they should be strong.”