A story of struggle and success of a young author
- Bariyah Faisal
- Dec 27, 2017
- 4 min read
“From getting rejected to getting accepted, the road to success is a bumpy one,” said Areesh Fatmee.
Ms Fatmee has tasted a big chunk of success at a young age. From getting a book published to delivering talks at the national television, she has earned awards and accolades in every field she has worked in.
She was just 17 when her book was published. The book has been distributed in over 12 countries earning her nomination for Quaid e Azam award and was given the title of Youth High Achiever at PTV World.
She is also a motivational speaker who got a chance to speak at the TEDx event held at Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad.
Hailing from Sahiwal, bought up in Islamabad and Gilgit, Ms Fatmee describes herself as ‘dedicated’ and ‘patriotic’, who from a young age had wanted to be someone known for greatness.
“Someone like the people we quote,” she said.
She loves to unravel mysteries and is a big fan of thriller and fantasy genres. She grew up reading the crime novels of Ishtiaq Ahmed and the Harry Potter series which ignited the passion for writing in her.
She believes that writing comes in a very sacred way and the process is “more like a spiritual journey.”
Her book, “The Tales of Crucified Blunt” features short stories and free verse poetry.
“Gothic in nature, it is about everyone out there. You, me or any third person who wishes to relate. It's about the fear, power, solace and death,” she said.
She writes poems on different subjects and also focuses on politics in her social genre writings. Her article about peace was recently published in The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF ) publications.
Somewhere in between the story lines and verses of her poetry, she developed a strong sense of patriotism and wants to contribute towards the betterment of her country.
“I work to be someone who is the pride of Pakistan,” she said.
But a significant change does not come from one person and she wants to motivate youth to contribute to the country which has given them freedom.
“I alone cannot make a change in the society, and to ensure that rest of youth is alongside in this journey of success, I had to be a motivational speaker,” she said.
Writing is a major part of her life and even though she loves to weave her way into the dreamy world of literature, she is currently doing her bachelor's in Human nutrition and dietetics from Arid University, Rawalpindi. Choosing that field was her parents’ choice.
“In the start, it was an obligation but now it has become a passion for me,” she said.
Ms Fatmee recently got an award for her project idea related to her field (Human dietetics) in Potohar region. The idea was about cord blood banking.
Cord blood banking involves collecting stem cells from the newborn's umbilical cord and storing them. She claimed that this is more economical and beneficial for the bone marrow transplants.
“If we launch labs for this purpose, we will have a revolution in our medical sector,” she said.
People only see her success and tend to ignore the struggle and hardships that made her into the person she is today. She said that in hard times giving up is always an option but she strongly believes that life is like an empty shell without the struggle.
She shared that she was never a good student in school and her teachers were quite discouraging.
“Once when I was in my 8th grade, there was a debate competition and I was forced to step off the stage because the teachers said I could not compete with the toppers,” she said.
That moment was humiliating for her but she did not bog down and vowed to make her way to the top. She described that moment as the turning point in her life.
“Dejection, rejections are my fuel,” she said.
Talking about the difficulty of finding a good publisher she claimed that she was exploited by her publisher.
“No royalty cheque was paid, there was no copyrights certificate, no proper marketing,” she said.
But even after all this, she did not complain. She let it go because she thinks that getting hooked to past wastes one’s time.
“I got respect and fame for my work on national and international platforms that was enough,” she said, quite satisfied with the way things turned out in the end.
Fatmee is now working with another publishing house “ to stop manipulative people getting stakes of the literary industry.”
The unique aspect of her personality is that she draws inspiration from her own self. She shared that when things get tough her inner soul, her real self inspires her.
“If I have lived through the past burdens, why not this time? That perseverance is my key to success,” Ms Fatmee said.
Regarding her future plans, she shared that she wants to explore new places and do quality work in the field of literature and nutrition.
“And let's see what else lines up in the list in future, I welcome the challenges, ” she said.
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