So, Ahmed spent a little time in jail. I would like to have recorded what went through his mind those first 30 minutes in jail. Maybe he thought about prejudice against his nationality. His father certainly did in an interview about the arrest. Maybe he thought about how life was tougher than he bargained for and he would give up making things. Maybe he was bitter at the school, especially his English teacher who turned him in, and thought that he wouldn't be able to finish school and accomplish his dreams. Maybe.
All of us are handed such circumstances in life. And we can't see past the dimension of momentary time walls to the next move in Life's game called "our lives." But we can make lemonade from the lemons if we will have patience to let things develop on their own. If left to his own and his family's logic, a discrimination lawsuit would have been filed, publicity about national bias against Islam would have ensued. Ahmed would have served a suspension from the Irving school district. People would have taken sides. All of that was in the works. Instead, what happened was that the white house offered him to visit the president. MIT offered him a scholarship. Twitter and Microsoft both reached out to him. And soon he will enroll in a technology-oriented school where he can further his interests.
That's beautiful, isn't it? With a little patience and time, our paths turn from being sprinkled with lemon juice to being mixed with a little sugar and water. The transformation is amazing.
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