WHAT I HAVE GAINED FROM “NOTHING”!

Some people say, “self dedication and the will to learn is the most important thing.” I completely agree with the saying. However, I would say the place, the surrounding people and the teachers must also be taken into consideration.

I have lived the past four years of my life in a place where not everybody has had the opportunity to be. I have lived in a place where all members are proud of being at Melkonian, proud of how they have lived and what they have achieved. Melkonian is not merely the name of an ordinary school, but a lighthouse for those who have lived the Melkoniantsi life. These people have developed such strong and impenetrable characters that others can do nothing but admire and envy.

If we look at previous publications about Melkonian we can see just how proud everyone is of Melkonian and all the nice things they have written, not just to get their articles published but simply because that is what has come from the bottom of their hearts. When any Melkoniantsi is asked to write about their school, only words coming from their heart go on the paper, words which they have experienced and lived through, words which are unique and understandable for every Melkoniantsi.

This may be the reason as to why the AGBU has come to their decision for the closure of the school, as they’ve never had the opportunity to experience what all Melkoniantsis have had and see as to why we hold it so close to our hearts. After reading the passage from AGBU’s Central Board decision letter claiming that neither the school nor the teachers are fulfilling their mission, it gives the impression that the teachers are doing nothing and all their effort, contribution and dedication is a void, meaningless act. If this is true, what have we learned from nothing? What could we learn from a school, which does not fulfill its mission? I can only give one answer to this, “WE HAVE LEARNED THE LESSONS OF LIFE”, we have learned how to be role models for any society, and we were trained and led to the highest level of academic and social life. Well if this is considered to be nothing I would like to advise everyone to go wherever there is nothing, in our case, I invite them to Melkonian.

Once again, I would like to thank my teachers for everything they have given me. They have given much more than anyone else would, they have dedicated part of their life to the Melkoniantsis and I will be forever grateful and proud to be a Melkoniantsi!

Armen Ayvazian, alumnus of 2004 (Iran)