Tawsif's Thrifty Thoughts
Key Insights I learned in September
Wow. September was pretty crazy. It’s the first time I came to realize that school sucks. Let me explain…
This month, I joined The Knowledge Society (TKS): an organization that trains teenagers to start thinking about solutions to big problems in the world. From only being in this program for one month, I met some of the coolest and ambitious teens who share the same mindset as me.
Unlike school, TKS challenges us to seek discomfort, think outside of the box, and take an unconventional path to become the next Bill Gates or Mark Cuban. It’s going to be a tough road… but challenges are what makes life exciting. I am super excited to be sharing my journey towards becoming an unconventional thinker with you guys!
Oh and by the way, I am Tawsif Kamal. No it’s not Taa-sif or Tao-seef; no it’s not Camel. If you pronounce my name wrong, it’s ok I forgive you.
I am a 17 year old who likes to think out side of the box. I am passionate about social justice, math, and tech.
Desikraft
Few months ago, I was accepted into the WE Youth Incubation Hub: an incubator that helps youth to innovate their own business ideas about social issues that they are passionate about. For me, I was heart broken about the situation in Bangladesh (my nationality) where artisan workers were being paid less than a $1 day for the work that they produced.
This problem motivated me to innovate my business idea Desikraft: a social enterprise that will sell handcrafted products made by female artisan workers in Bangladesh on the online market
. My pitch presentation at the WE Global Learning Centre
Key Insights I learned In September:
Machine Learning
I started learning about Machine Learning this month because I was fascinated how YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram curated ads specifically designed for me. I search up fitness videos on YouTube, change apps to Instagram, and next thing you know I get a dozen exercise ads. Like what? How do you know computer!?
Anyways, I’m loving this field so far, especially because a lot of math is involved. Stay
tuned for projects I will build in the upcoming months!
The Importance Of Like-Minded Friends
From March to August, all of my good habits slowly degraded and I fell into the quarantine slump. I was sleeping at 2am and waking up at 11am or 12pm, scrolling mindlessly through my phone, and eating junk. But, after meeting and being around people in TKS who also want to be the best version of themselves, I started improving my habits and becoming more productive again. Interesting how the people you surround yourself with impacts your behaviour huh?
So, I came to the conclusion that if I want to achieve a goal, I must surround myself with people who share the same goal as mine.
Don’t Be Afraid To Speak Up
This month, I read Malcom X’s biography. I’ll be honest, I almost cried reading his book. He was a man who sacrificed his life for the truth. Plain, straight up truth. He did not care of what people thought. And this trait of his inspired me so much.
Sometimes, I get nervous if I am asked to speak on stage or share my opinions on something in a large group setting. But I realized, Malcom X fearlessly opposed society and voiced his opinions loud and clear, while I am here stressing about presenting my history project to my classmates… Unacceptable!
Malcom inspired me to believe in myself, speak up, and not care of what people will think (within limits of course).
Anyways… that will do for this month. Hope you enjoyed! But actually, plz share😬😌