"...at no point did I think to myself, coming into NERMAL, that I was an expert or some kind of veteran. I knew I had improved a lot, but being a solo delegation is hard work and that's what I was. So I shrugged my shoulders, took a deep breath, walked into the room with a big smile on my face and my name tag on my blazer and starting playing the role of a world-class delegate (model sims are a great example of "faking it 'til you make it" for those of us with diplomatic aspirations). Ya Allah, khair: it's been a hard semester. The universe has tested me at every turn; it's stretched me thin enough that the figurative perforations were inevitable, shoved me through the emotional wringer and threatened to reverse all the progress I've made over the past couple of years." Getting that little piece of paper handed to me this afternoon meant more than I can articulate. But I tried to articulate it anyway.