Twenty-one, newly graduated, and completely unprepared for what was coming.

I still remember the feeling I had that day when everyone arrived for registration and check-in, and nothing was organised. Every element was there, but it was missing that final touch that would put everything together nicely. I was surrounded by frustrated guests who were expecting to receive their badges and room keys, but apparently, someone hadn’t prepared well for for what was about to happen.

For that moment, that person was me! 🙁 The event manager!

In order to give you the full picture, let me mention some important details.

I was 21 years old, a fresh grad who had started his first job just two months after graduation. I was a hard-working young man who wanted to learn very quickly.

It is not always a very good thing, by the way.

There was no one to properly shadow for enough time to learn the job properly. And possibly, I was a bit shy to ask for help when needed. Possibly, I also couldn’t figure out the right questions that needed to be asked, with the right attitude, at the right time!

The event was a medical event organised under the name of a distinguished female physician, who was a very decent and well-mannered person. Not, of course, at the time when the chaos happened at the event. 😊

Going back to the day of the event, I was full of sweat and somehow panicked, swamped with people from every angle, unable to control the crowd, attending to every request, jumping from one person to another. People were not moving, but time was flying fast.

Allah only knows how that day passed.

And how this well-mannered doctor didn’t throw me out of the window. Possibly because the chaos was taking place on the ground floor!

Thank God, I have never had such a bad feeling at an event after that. I don’t mean I have never had failures after that. I have. They may have even been worse, I’m not sure. Maybe the first ones just taste different.

But, like anything that happens to us in life, there are blessings disguised as lessons and reflections that help us become better.

I made sure to plan better for each event in advance, especially registration and guest arrival. I don’t recall facing any similar issue at another event after that.

The most important thing I learned is never to let people jump into the sea on their own when they aren’t fully ready to swim on their own. Sometimes, this might be perceived as overprotection or micromanagement, and I have been working over the years on finding that fine thread that separates the two.

I also learned that I shouldn’t feel shy to ask for help or say, “I don’t know.”

Lastly, I learned over the years to be kinder to myself, accept that I will make mistakes, and admit them when they happen. More importantly, I learned to reflect on them properly, so I can take the right precautions and hopefully prevent the same fire from happening again. After all, there is no smoke without fire, and sometimes the best way to have a smoke-free event is to make sure the fire never starts in the first place.

Here’s to the screw-ups that made me better.