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Raeesa Khan

Raeesa Khan happened into my life in no particularly eventful way.  We had a mutual ‘real life’ friend through whom we got to know each other via Facebook chats and emails over the course of a few years.

 

At least, that’s how I remember it.  While chatting with her for this interview I learned that we’d actually met years earlier through a different friend…the way Raeesa tells it, our first meeting was a great time…

 

The Raeesa I’ve come to know is in every sense of the phrase a real ‘mover & shaker’.  What she does and how she does it, full steam and original, is exactly what these stories are about.  Born to Pakistani immigrants, she is the first and only member in her family born in the United States.  Following a military coup in their native land, Raeesa’s parents moved the family to north eastern Pennsylvania in 1977 to take teaching posts at Bloomsburg University.  With academic parents and family on both sides of the planet, travel and life experience are very large parts of what make Raeesa the person she is.

 

Planted in a small town and cultivated globally, Raeesa Khan is an exceptional example of how taking charge of your own situation, coupled with an iron will, can let you make your life what you want of it.  Being from a small town has never hindered her drive for adventure.  Growing up, her parents extolled in her the value of travel and the importance of diversity in life.  After high school, Raeesa enrolled in Bloomsburg University and utilized her time there to develop her own purpose in life.

 

Two years ago I started noticing posts by Raeesa about an upcoming trip to Pakistan to make a movie.  Right away this piqued my interest.  As someone that spends time producing things for other people to see, the idea of someone local making a movie was too much to not pay attention to.  While in Pakistan Raeesa was dutiful about updating her online profiles with what she was doing while there.  It kept me waiting to hear more and excited for the end product.

 

In the spring of 2011 I ran across an image on her Facebook profile called ‘Pakistan’s Cave’.  It was obvious to me that she had completed her movie and what I was looking at was the artwork for her project.  Excited to see it for myself I asked when and where it was showing next.  Raeesa told me she was actually looking for a place, away from campus where her first two premiers were, to show it.  It was too easy…my studio is left unused unless I’m there shooting.  I asked if she’d be interested in doing a showing there and received an enthusiastic yes!  It was through this that I was finally able to meet with Raeesa and hear her story first hand.

 

If you or anyone you know is interested in meeting with Raeesa or viewing her movie ‘Pakistan’s Cave’, stop by the studio tomorrow, Tuesday May 24th at 6pm.  Directly following the showing we’ll be having a short Q&A with both Raeesa and her father.  It’s a great chance to diversify your own experiences.

 

Whether she’s face down in the books, zipping away to some exotic land or volunteering her time for human rights awareness Raeesa Khan really does live life.  She understands self discipline and hard work and uses both to blaze her own trail in the world.  Thank you Raeesa for being part of this and sharing your story with me.

 

Thoughts & Whatnots: Raeesa Khan

When I grow up I wanna be “a little bit of everything – a true renaissance woman.”

Rainy days make me “lazy.”

To me, success is a “happy mom and dad.”

The best feeling in the world is “cozying up next to my bird, Mr. Lahey, and dog, Miss daisy.”

When I was 8, my favorite cereal was “Coooooookie Crisp.”

Today my favorite cereal is “Kashi cereals, preferably the one with the wild blueberry clusters.”

If I could live anywhere in the world, it would definitely NOT be “anywhere cold, which, for me, is any location where temperatures dip below 70 degrees.”

My favorite food is “Falafel! It’s even fun to say!”

My first car was a “1996 pearl white Toyota Avalon named Ava.”

I would never tell my grandmother “about my agnosticism. As if I were not already the black sheep in my family. Haha.”

Number of times in my life I’ve driven over 100mph – “I plead the 5th!”

The first thing I’d do with a million dollars is “find a good, humanitarian cause to invest in.”

The 2nd thing is “travel, travel, travel.”

Everyone needs a “towel” in their life.

The best piece of advise I can give is “not my own, but a saying that I tell myself often (mostly to justify my laziness). “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.””

 

When I meet people that make life what they want I’m reminded that any of my own dreams and desires that aren’t yet fulfilled will ONLY be so when I choose to make it that way.  Like all of us, Raeesa has a lot left to offer the world…and I’m excited to see what she does with it.