I consider myself extremely fortunate growing up in High Wycombe. It’s given me a truly valuable insight into the importance of sharing culture & diversity. I remember both my primary and secondary school to be extremely open and varied, fostering a terrific blend of cultures and ethnicities.

One of my fondest memories of primary school was being asked, together with fellow Pakistani pupils, to perform a show for the whole school, describing Ramadan and celebrating Eid.

Between the ages of eight and nine, I recall my friends and I wore special outfits called (Lehnaga) made especially for the occasion to celebrate Eid. We practiced our dance moves for weeks before the big day. And I remember being so nervous until the music came on from some Indian Movie, when we then began to dance and sway until we finished. It wasn’t until a huge applause erupted form the parents invited to see the show than I could relax and enjoy the occasion. We were also interviewed by the Bucks Free Press, which appeared in the local paper!  

Growing up, I had a fairly mixed group of friends I learned about their family lives and got to understand and appreciate the differences. But perhaps more importantly the similarities between our families. I’ve always thought how important it was to experience different cultures and to get to know people from different backgrounds. Understanding from an early age, the more you learn and talk about cultures, the easier it is to enjoy the differences and similarities.  

I like to think my early years have shaped how I enjoy spending my free time now, among colleagues and friends from different backgrounds, learning as much as possible about each and every person I come into contact with. And it reminds me how important I’ve always found it to learn, understand, respect and even cherish those unique characteristics.

Secondary school was a continuation for me. Surrounded by friends and peers who shared my interest in culture. Many friends would be fascinated and truly surprised to find out that every weekday I learnt Arabic for an hour after school, on the insistence of my mother to retain a keen interest in understanding Islam. Looking back now, I’m so pleased my mum encouraged me to learn Arabic, which I hope to share with my two children, even if I can ever get them off their phones.  

I remember in secondary school my parents saying “you have to put your head down and study”, while at the same time I also remember groups starting to form across the  separate ethnicities. While it was something I completely disagreed with and went against everything I was taught, I also understood the need for some to feel a belonging and grow a deeper connection to their roots.  

It was throughout secondary school, that I grew a keen interest in travelling. I would often go to the local library with my mum to look through books from different countries and cultures. I think this is where my love of travel began which would shape my life for the next few years.

In college I decided to study Travel & Tourism. Not only did I learn a great deal about the world but I grew in confidence and started to find my independence. My course took me to field trips in Bristol, Torquay, Devon and Scotland, as well as overseas trips to the Canary Islands (all work of course, no time to play).

During school holidays, I leapt upon the chance to travel with my family during holidays, mainly to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, I was fortunate to travel to parts of the world which at the time were not well travelled by UK tourists, opening my eyes even further to a varied and diverse world.  

My first trip away without parents was a real eye opener. A coach trip to Tenerife via France and Spain. This made for some interesting times with my fellow students, but definitely taught me resilience and showed a new way to explore the world from simply jumping on a plane and opened up so many more possibilities than I’d ever encountered before.

But it was these experiences and many others like them, that ensured I knew I was on the right path completing my BA in Travel and Tourism, which has ultimately led me here to CSSC, where I’m keen to share my love of culture and diversity with all our members, volunteers and staff.  

Travelling with 2 children its always a challenge. But the good thing is they are old enough to carry their own belongings and let me have a well deserved nap on the flight while they entertain themselves.

We are travelling to Dubai! A destination very close to my heart, I have been travelling there every year for the last 14 years. Why Dubai you may ask? Why not? Sun,sand,sea energetic atmosphere crime rate near enough to 0 and also safe and multicultural.

Although this year my experience will slightly differ as I will be travelling during Ramadan!

This will not stop me from having fun and I think it will be an enlightening adventure.

Dubai as destination is one of if not the safest places to travel in the world! I feel so safe and secure here because there is no crime rate. The weather is always amazing the people are friendly and it is very multicultural I always meet so many people from the UK.