By Oussama Jamal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kareem stood in the middle of the field when it hit him. He looked toward the stands and saw fathers cheering, calling out their children\u2019s names, laughter cutting through the air. A faint smile tugged at his lips. How beautiful it is to have a father, he thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2012, Kareem was trying to understand what it meant that his father was never coming back. His father had been his only male role model. When Kareem lost him, his world shrank into something quieter, emptier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had no one to look up to. No one to tell me how to be,\u201d Kareem told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In school, Kareem held it together. Good grades, polite smiles. But beneath the surface, he was drifting. He never spoke about his father; instead, he joked his way through conversations, using humour as a shield for insecurities he couldn\u2019t name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At home, the silence was thick. He drowned it out with loud music and endless gaming. His mother, left to raise him and his younger sister alone, watched him spend hours in his room. By 18, Kareem confessed, \u201cI had no hobbies, no goals. Just\u2026 nothing special about me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the summer of 2022. Who would\u2019ve thought a room could change a person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kareem\u2019s childhood friend Hamza, the same one he spent hours gaming with, had a father worried about his son wasting summer indoors. So, he signed Hamza up for a membership at a gym inside Sahara Centre Mall. Hamza agreed on one condition: Kareem had to join him. Kareem\u2019s mother didn\u2019t hesitate; she welcomed anything that got her son moving and paid for a three-month membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was just to hang out,\u201d Kareem said. \u201cWe\u2019d train a bit, then laugh around, grab some drinks after. Honestly, I didn\u2019t think it would turn into the start of a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon, he noticed the shift. His rhythm, his energy, his reason to get out of bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish I could explain it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s something about walking into an empty gym in the morning that feels like the world belongs only to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new kind of world greeted him, the clang of weights, the mirrors stretching across the walls and the smell of iron and sweat. For the first time in years, his days had structure: wake up, gym with Hamza and then come home sore but satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMan, it sounds dumb,\u201d Kareem laughed, \u201cbut I\u2019d come home after lifting and feel like I actually achieved something real for once, not some digital trophy or flashing lights. The calluses, the sore arms. That was proof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, nothing changed. Kareem struggled with the barbell, shoulders trembling as Hamza shouted encouragement. But then, the small things came; his arms grew tighter and his shirts fitted differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when it clicked,\u201d Kareem said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t just hanging out anymore. I started to like the grind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And progress gave him something else he hadn\u2019t felt in years, confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI used to be so insecure,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t even want to talk in class or meet new people. But the gym\u2026 it gave me skin I could finally live in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gym also became something symbolic. \u201cYou know, I didn\u2019t have a male role model after my dad,\u201d Kareem said, \u201cso the gym kind of became that. The guys there, big, disciplined, focused. They gave me an image of who I wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of his membership, Kareem changed. The physical gains were obvious, and his once-slouched shoulders now squared when he walked. But the deeper shifts showed in how he carried himself. He started waking up earlier, paying attention to his studies and even helping his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years on, Kareem still trains, but mostly on his own. The gym isn\u2019t just a pastime. It\u2019s his anchor, the force that reshaped him after years of drifting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just felt different,\u201d he said. \u201cLike I wasn\u2019t that lazy, insecure kid anymore. I had control. And for the first time since my dad died, I felt \u2026 strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kareem paused, then added softly, \u201cpeople pay to lose weight, sweat, change their moods; I paid for my life back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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