What’s going on guys! WOW this is so weird

Hey Everyone, my name is Humza but some of you may know me as Insendi, and I am here to tell you about a special project I am working on and how you can help me out. 

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 22 year old based in Georgia. Some of my hobbies include Boxing, Reading, Guitar, and of course Filmmaking. I haven’t touched YouTube and Filmmaking in nearly 7 years and I don’t think a day has passed by since my last video where I wanted to pick up the camera and record something. For those of you who’ve stuck around, Thank you for your continued support. For those of you who are new, thank you for stopping by and welcome to my channel. Let’s get Started.

The ongoing attacks ravaging Palestine have been bothersome for me for quite some time and I think with the current climate those worries have accelerated into an action step which is where the title of this fundraiser comes from. It's not not a Muslim thing, It's a Humanity thing. I want to preface this by saying I am not a runner by any means. Whenever I run I think I’m hearing applauding but it’s really just my calzones of thighs cheering me on. Stupid jokes aside, I wanted to challenge myself with something that I may have thought in my life to be something not for me, and that is running 26.2 miles.

I will be running this marathon as part of the bank of america marathon on October 10th in the great city of Chicago. In Coordination with PCRF and Team Palestine, runners from all over the world are getting ready for this event, and I hope that through this process, through this documentary, I will be able to share some of their stories with you too

Now the biggest thing, and arguably the most important thing. Why am I doing this?

The truth is, Post Graduation I didn’t have direction in my life. When we’re in school it’s almost like life is a video game and every year is another level. But once you graduate you’re in an open-world scenario where you have the freedom to do anything and everything. I’m not a person who enjoys that because I’ve been conditioned by my family to always work toward something, and have a clear picture of where you want to end up in life. By this time I had applied to medical school, but ask anyone who’s done the process, it is by no means a guarantee to Medical School Acceptance.

The anxious nights and fear of having to wait another year brings upon a level of stress I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, and it’s something every pre-med goes through. As the months went on I hadn’t heard back from many schools, and the ones I did hear back from put me on their waitlist. With schools starting in July, I could theoretically be contacted the last week of June with an acceptance, and have to rush to get ready. The thought of that quick adjustment bothered me to no end, and I hoped to get an acceptance sooner.

The pressure of not hearing from schools compiled with personal life struggles resulted in an unhappy mental psyche, and loads of imposter syndrome. I was truly lost. It wasn’t until Early March when I was faced with a big personal hurdle in which everything came crashing down. I was lost. And that feeling made me sick. There were many sleepless nights and many long days. I had to do something and had to do something fast. I had been trying to lose the weight I gained studying for the Medical School Admissions test, for nearly 2 years, so I knew I wanted to do something of a physical challenge. I always found myself to be happy and set on something when I set a goal and worked toward it. Whether it be to learn boxing, pick up the six string, or learn to cook. I knew I wanted to do something but I didn’t know what.

Fast forward to Mid May, While I was brainstorming an idea, I was immediately interrupted by news articles flooding my screen of a bombing occurring in Masjid Al-Aqsa. I won’t display the photos or videos as I don’t think I can stomach it again, but it hurt. Seeing a holy site like that being desecrated didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to do something but I didn’t know what I could do individually. We often hear that individual effort is such a microscale effort but I didn’t want to believe that. I couldn’t believe that. It was at that moment when I began to realize that something could be done. 

I decided that I would run a marathon for palestine. It’s something I could train for, something I have never done, and will give me the opportunity to talk and learn from people more experienced in this area. What I didn’t expect was that 2 weeks after coming on this idea, I would find out that I would be beginning medical school in August. Rejoiced to be able to follow my dream, I was ecstatic. I had always wanted to become a physician for as long as I remember. I remember telling my parents the news and after all the congratulations, the question on everyone’s mind was, What about the marathon? I paused for a second and said. What about the marathon? Getting into medical school helped me make my dream into a reality. But this marathon? This isn’t for me. This is for my plaestinain brothers and sisters wishing they could switch places with me, even when I was at my worst. This is for the mother wishing her son was with her as she escaped her bombed home, the family leaving all their belongings to seek asylum, the people of palestine. This is going to be a difficult path but I cannot and will not give up, because this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Finally, and this is where you the audience comes in. I want to make this a community project. This isn’t just me, this is you too. Through our collaborative efforts, let’s make a lasting impact on palestine. I am teaming up with PCRF and Running with Team Palestine to raise money to help palestinian refugees currently seeking refuge in Tripoli, Lebanon. All the money will go directly toward providing aid to these refugees. 

I want to thank you for sticking around to the end. So what now? I will be uploading a series of videos documenting my journey for this mission. I will be talking with experienced runners, Visiting local businesses and Masjids to team up with the local community, and of course Documenting the entire process for you guys to watch. Please share the videos and spread awareness. I am trying to raise $10,000 dollars for Palestine, but I want that number to go from a goal to a milestone. See you soon!