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There is a great sense of inspiration that lies in quotes. Someone’s personal saying at a particular point in time and history has the power to influence and empower millions of people across all ages. I have always been fond of collecting quotes that help me in seeing something new and inspire me to look at the big picture. I share the quotes that I love with my closest friends.
Yesterday, my best friend sent me an ancient Korean saying that many people live by. It states: “The middle is the beginning.” Then, my friend added another quote to complete it: “The one who persists until the end wins.” Initially, I had a hard time understanding the general message. Don’t we always start somewhere? So why is the middle considered to be the beginning of the journey?
Well, after she explained the overall concept, I understood that sometimes the middle of our journey is where we truly begin to have an understanding of our dreams and what lies ahead because of all the lessons we learned along the way. The middle is where we find ourselves shielded by the wisdom and knowledge of the past, ready to move to the finish line and the future with the right mindset. That is why, she added the second ancient saying: Because some people stop in the middle, but those who consider it to be their new beginning and persist until the end are the true winners.
Now, how does that apply to our lives? I have been back and settled in �������� for about a month now following my college graduation, and every day I keep seeing new things in our country that make me look into the future with a positive outlook. We are witnessing a journey toward development like no other in the Kingdom’s history. The journey we are experiencing has already been down a long road, with many events that shaped where we are today.
Is this the middle? I would like to think that it is indeed because of the fact that we are taking all the important lessons from our past and from our start, and we are putting all of that to work to become better in the future. The middle is our beginning in the way that we are proud of our past, but we also want to have persistence in our development to reach higher.
��������’s vision can be seen from Al-Ula, where our cultural riches are being valued, to Neom, where we are creating a future that only dreamers can envision; and from Jeddah, where we are reaching new heights with our new international airport, to Al-Ahsa, where tourism is defined by mountains and historical sites, and Riyadh, where our leadership is guiding us with its political wisdom.
As we move into new career paths and opportunities, we will all somehow, in one way or another, have our small little collection of quotes that inspire us and make us reflect on our journeys. Whatever the journey may be, each of us will forever be empowered to keep going and fulfill an even bigger dream.
Here in ��������, the journey keeps going as our leadership guides us to move forward and develop. We are getting ready to witness a future that is shaped by our rich and powerful history. We may be in the middle of the journey, but this is just the beginning for me.
I mentioned earlier the power of quotes and how they inspire us and influence a bigger purpose. Well, here in ��������, we have a saying by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that we have all been living by: “The sky is the limit.” This is a goal for the future, but also a reminder of all our past hopes and dreams of development.

Razan Farhan Alaqil is a political science, international comparative politics and global studies graduate. She is a Saudi youth representative at the United Nations, and a board member of the Saudi Federation of Mass Participation.