Diary Entry
The Bridge Between Two Worlds: A Young Diplomat’s Diary
It’s 2am again. I’m not writing from a grand podium or polished conference hall, but from the soft glow of my desk lamp, surrounded by scattered notes, open tabs, and endless applications. This small corner of chaos has become my sanctuary, a place where ambition meets exhaustion, and where the vision of tomorrow keeps me awake long after the world has gone quiet.
Sometimes I marvel at how surreal this journey feels. To see my work, whether on climate, diplomacy, or humanitarian relief, featured in global publications was disorienting at first. For so long, I was focused on the next challenge, the next step forward, that I didn’t pause to recognize how far I had come. It took the eyes of others to make me realize that youth leadership is no longer something to be dismissed; it is a force that can no longer be ignored.
The Youngest in the Room, People often ask me what it feels like to be “the youngest” in rooms filled with seasoned policymakers and world leaders. The truth? It is humbling, yet empowering. When I delivered my keynote at the Global Knowledge Hub Forum as the only director under 30, I wasn’t simply representing myself, I was carrying the aspirations of every young person ever told they were too inexperienced to lead.
And what I’ve learned is this: youth is not a weakness. It’s our superpower. Where others see obstacles, we see possibilities. Where traditional diplomacy moves slowly, bound by protocol, we act with urgency, speaking in human stories that cut through red tape.
From Embassy Halls to Alpine Summits. This path has taken me from the quiet embassy halls of Canberra, where I learned diplomacy not from textbooks but through late-night conversations, to international summits in Switzerland, where I suddenly found myself in dialogue with presidents and entrepreneurs. Each setting was different, but the lesson was the same: it is never about the venue or the title, but about the people, the ideas, and the willingness to imagine something bigger than ourselves.
The Weight of Expectations - Every scholarship, fellowship, and appointment has been both an opportunity and a responsibility. Representing institutions like Cambridge, Oxford, and the European Academy of Diplomacy is not just about personal achievement, it is about showing other young people that their voices matter, their ideas have power, and their solutions can win on global stages. Visibility, I have realized, is a privilege, but it is also a duty: to lift others as we climb, to prove that transformation is possible.
Turning Pain into Power - Let me be honest: this journey has not been without its shadows. I know the sting of bullying, of being told my ambitions were unrealistic, of being doubted for dreaming too big. Those moments could have broken me. Instead, they became fuel. Every speech delivered, every paper published, every policy influenced carries with it a quiet defiance, a reminder to myself and to the world that adversity can sharpen resolve rather than diminish it.
So if you are reading this and facing doubt, whether from others or from within, let me say this: don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait for perfect credentials or perfect platforms. Begin where you are. Resilience is not built in the absence of struggle; it is forged in the fire of it.
Building Something from Nothing - Creating a startup on my own has been overwhelming, at times brutally so. The weight of responsibility, the uncertainty of resources, the constant balancing act between ambition and reality, these are not easy burdens to carry. Yet I’ve discovered that you don’t need the support of the entire world to keep moving forward.
Sometimes, three friends who believe in you when no one else does are enough. Sometimes, a family who supports your “impossible” dream is enough. And maybe that’s the point. Change has never started with everyone believing, it has always started with a few who dared to.
Belonging Beyond Borders - With every fellowship, every conference, every new collaboration, I feel a little less bound by the geography of my birth and more at home in the purpose I have chosen. My sense of belonging is no longer tied to a single place but to a shared vision, to the community of changemakers who refuse to accept the world as it is.
So tonight, as I set down my pen and prepare for another day, I remind myself of this truth: we don’t need to wait for the world’s approval to build bridges between who we are and who we dream to become. Sometimes, it begins at 2am, in the quiet glow of determination.
Nurhan Raihan