Be proud of yourself, and who you will become.

Like many Iranian lawyers of my generation, I was inspired to become a lawyer because of Shirin Ebadi, an incredibly brave human rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. 

So when I had the opportunity to meet her at the New York University School of Law in 2011, I could not wait to hear what she had to say. 

But it was nothing she said that day that made an impact on me. I don’t even remember what her speech was about. 

What did make a huge impact on me is the very first word she uttered, and the way she uttered it: “I I I I I I I, ….” 

She started her speech with a sentence about herself; but the way she said “I,” with such unwavering confidence - confidence of a person proud of who they were - waving her left fist in the air, letting the sound of that proud “I” ring in the four corners of NYU’s hallways — I still hear it to this day. 

That day, more than anything, she taught me to be proud of who I am, and was going to continue becoming.