Kids with purpose

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Kids with purpose
At 13, Shahad Al Kabi is an aspiring entrepreneur

They're only in their early teens, but these youngsters already know what they want to do in life - and are working towards professional success

by

Karen Ann Monsy

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Published: Thu 5 Jan 2017, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Fri 6 Jan 2017, 1:00 AM

It used to be that if you asked kids what they wanted to be when they grew up, you'd listen to their firefighter-doctor-teacher responses with an indulgent smile on your face, knowing fully well those answers would be subject to change with every passing year. Well, apparently, there's a new breed of youngsters in town - and they're nothing like I was as a kid, that's for sure.
Incredibly driven, these bright sparks have known exactly what they've wanted to do with their lives since they were very little (some as young as four and six!) and are now steadily working towards those goals - juggling studies and 'extra studies', and wiping silly smiles off adult faces in the process. At six years old, I didn't even know what I wanted for dinner, so interacting with these kids has made me inadvertently pull that now-famous, multiple meme-spawning, 'Not Bad' face by Obama several times in the last week alone (Google it, you'll know what I mean). Meet some of the city's most ambitious kids - and maybe take a lesson or two on keeping your eyes on the ball.

Spirit of an entrepreneur
Thirteen-year-old Shahad Al Kabi's interest in business first began in grade three. "My dad works as a businessman, and he used to take me around with him when I was about eight years old," says the Emirati teenager, who dreams of running her own company someday. Shahad is already taking the extra business classes they offer in her school every Saturday and expressing a keen interest in the marketing side of things.
Recently, she completed the Young Entrepreneurship Business Camp, hosted by the Growing Leaders Foundation at the Sharjah Ladies Club, a fortnight-long boot camp for kids aged 8-13 that promotes 21st century skills such as critical thinking and financial literacy. The workshop even had a session where kids presented their prototypes to a group of investors on the last day; for her part, Shahad presented two working prototypes: a personalised vending machine for kids, and a refrigerator that could suggest recipes for you based on the ingredients it contained.
"You have to think of something that doesn't already exist and try to make that work," says the youngster, when asked how she plans to stand out in an already saturated marketplace. "It will be challenging, but you have to work hard, because no business will run itself." Her entrepreneurial spirit shines through when she adds, "Everyone has their own ideas, but you can't depend on others or copy their ideas. You have to take the lead and do things by yourself, if you want to succeed."
She wishes there were more business leadership courses available to kids her age, not just for adults, as more youngsters would probably find an interest in business if that were so. For now, she intends to take up Commerce as her preferred stream in school next year.
What does she consider the best part of running her own show? "Being busy," Shahad replies. "I don't like sitting in one place, so getting into business would be perfect for me. I plan to work pretty hard!"

Music for the soul
Pakistani expat Mustafa Khan's confidence belies his age. An aspiring recording artist, the 13-year-old has already amassed some 1.8 million viewers on YouTube, with his cover of Sanam Re garnering over two million views at the time of going to press. Although he's been singing since he was about six years old, Mustafa says he only started pursuing music "seriously" about six months ago, after a teacher made a video of him practising for a talent day show and sent it to his dad. Mustafa's dad showed the video to Mumbai-based singer Ali Quli Mirza, who then helped the budding star record his first song. The rest, as they say, is history.
"I can't describe the feeling of making music," says Mustafa of his chosen profession. "It's the only thing I want to do, so I'm really happy that my songs are doing so well." Though he doesn't have any formal training, the musically gifted youngster is counting on his age to give him an edge in a tough industry. Already, he has the support of quite a few stars - from Adnan Sami and Yo Yo Honey Singh to R Madhavan and Deep Money - who've retweeted his songs, which he categories as "Hindi soul music".
Mustafa says he finds it fairly easy to balance his studies, by finishing off all homework during the week and leaving the weekend for "recordings and shoots". He often gets requests to perform at events too, recently performing in front of a 500-strong crowd at the 2016 Indian Princess beauty pageant show. "The first time I went on stage, I was a little nervous, but then everyone started shouting and cheering, and all my fear went out the window. Now I'm just excited to perform on stage. No fear at all."
Does he have any advice for his peers who are still trying to figure out their lot in life? "Look inside yourselves," he says, sagely. "You need to find what makes you happy and do that."
In five years, Mustafa says, he's hoping to be "at least where [Bengali playback singer] Arijit Singh is", and his dream would be to perform at the Wembley Arena in London. "It's one of the biggest stages in the world - but even that one doesn't scare me now," he quips.

Work ethic on pointe
Charlotte Rose first started ballet when she was four years old, because "most little girls took ballet classes at that age". Over the years, the German-American student noted a gradual decline in the number of kids who continued training faithfully. "That's because of the dedication and discipline involved in ballet," says the now 15-year-old. "You miss out on a lot of other social activities that you'd normally enjoy during your school years; you don't get to hang out with your friends as much, because you have to 'go to class' almost every day."
It was tough, but Charlotte works hard to maintain a good work ethic. "About 2-3 years ago, I decided to pursue ballet professionally, so I taught myself to stay on top of my schoolwork and balance my activities in order to have good grades and still be able to train for about two-and-a-half hours on school days."
It's a highly competitive field, so Charlotte is under no delusions about how hard she needs to work in order to pull off her dream of becoming a professional ballerina someday. She got her first taste of that competition when she attended a summer intensive course at the Princess Grace Dance Academy in Monaco, attended by dancers from around the world. "Just about everyone is a really good dancer, so you have to bring a different quality, something really unique, in order to stand out. It's almost like training for the Olympics," she notes.
Whenever she can, Charlotte says she's constantly looking up ballet videos as well as different ballet schools and companies on YouTube in a bid to learn more. Some of her favourite ballerinas are Sylvie Guillem, Sarah Lamb, Svetlana Zakharova and Hannah O'Neill, who is in town with the Paris Opera this weekend. Currently training with the Dubai Dance Academy, Charlotte recently had the opportunity to make waves of her own in a pas de deux (dance duet) with Paul Marque from the Paris Opera Ballet for the academy's annual show - an experience she described as "amazing".
"It does feel odd to be as dedicated as I am," she admits. "Sometimes, some of my friends don't understand why I can't hang out with them or miss a class. I guess that's a 'consequence' of the field I'm trying to get into. But when you love what you do, it's not that difficult to stay disciplined."

Making the cut
Maiesha Umair loves the 'Fundamentals of Cuisine' course that she's currently doing at the School of Culinary and Finishing Arts (SCAFA) in Dubai - even though she's the youngest in class. "Everybody else is definitely 20 years old and above," laughs the 13-year-old. "I'm the youngest one there." The three-month course covers everything from knife techniques to cooking with pastas, red meats and fish, and whipping up desserts. The age factor only comes into play where basic skills are concerned, feels the Pakistani student. "There are skills I'm still trying to get the hang of that the others are already familiar with. But other than that, I think it's going pretty well!"
An aspiring chef, Maiesha traces her love for working with food to her childhood, when she'd always want to help her mum out in the kitchen. "I started baking at home around the age of eight or nine; if we had a party at home, Mum would ask me to make dessert." But more than anything else, she says, it has to do with her love for food itself. "There's so much you can do with food," she gushes. "It's so versatile!"
What does she imagine the life of a chef would be like? "Very hard, for sure, because you'll have to do things really fast and really well. But I also think it would be a lot of fun, especially if you have a passion for it. I'm okay with the job being hard - I'd love to do it."
It was while she was doing a cake decorating course at Wilton in Dubai that her teacher, noticing Maiesha's keen interest, suggested signing up for a professional course at SCAFA. The young enthusiast took up the challenge, believing it would serve well in her journey to "perhaps opening up a little café of her own someday". Of the lessons she's done so far, she found knife techniques quite useful ("although they've got some very French names I can't pronounce!") and cooking with fish and shellfish. quite the experience. "We had to work with squid - it was huge," she says, with a little shudder. "I'm quite squeamish, so that was quite something. Having done that though, I think I can handle most things now!"
Doing the course has taught her to manage her time as well. "I used to leave all my homework for the day before they were due. Not anymore - I try to do them as soon as I get them now, so they don't pile up and stress me out."
Interestingly, Maiesha's greatest inspiration doesn't come from the usual culinary heavyweights (sorry, Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver) but from award-winning food writer and TV personality Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman, whose cooking show she watches almost religiously on the Food Network. "I know the culinary industry is a male-dominated one," she says. "But I also know that it won't matter as long as I'm as good as them. So, that's what I intend to be!"
karen@khaleejtimes.com


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