I Am a Product of GIO - My GIO Journey
- giochtn
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
Before I learned how to speak confidently, lead or even teach, before I cared about being noticed, appreciated, or applauded, I learned how to think.
How to question myself before questioning the world.
How to choose intention over impulse.
Think.
Comprehend.
Interpret.
Introspect.
Conscientise.
Act.
Retrospect.
This isn’t a quote I like. It’s how I live. When life pushes me to hurry, this slows me down. When emotions take over, this brings me back. It reminds me that not every response needs speed and not every decision needs noise.
My journey with GIO started much earlier than my awareness of it.
When I was a kid, my mother would ask me to go to GIO programs, so I went. Not because I understood anything deep. I was a child. For me, it was fun. We played games, learned nasheeds, made new friends, participated in activities and competitions. There was applause, appreciation and excitement. That’s what drew me in.
At that time, I had no idea what was quietly happening beneath the surface. Little did I know that this organisation was slowly shaping the person I would grow into.
If I think about it now, an organisation in itself is not new. Many organisations exist. They teach, train, help people move ahead in life and serve society. That’s important. But what made GIO different, what truly set it apart, was something deeper.
GIO taught me what school and friends didn’t teach me.
It taught me how to think.
I truly believe the greatest thing you can ever do for someone is not give them answers but teach them how to think. And that is what GIO did for me. It made me think broader, deeper, and differently from others.
As I grew older, GIO stopped being a place I went to and became something I carried. It didn’t train us to blindly follow the majority or move with trends. It trained us to centre our lives around what Allah has said and then to build our choices from there.
And yes, that often makes you look different. But here’s the thing — there was no FOMO. No pressure. No fear of missing out. When we followed the Sunnah and didn’t move with the crowd, we didn’t feel small. We felt sure. We stood out with dignity. We wore our values proudly. That courage to be different without insecurity — GIO gave me that.
GIO also taught me not to limit myself. It pushed me to excel, to aim higher, to be extraordinary not just spiritually, but in every walk of life. It never taught mediocrity. It taught responsibility, excellence, and accountability.
It didn’t remove my weaknesses, but it taught me how to face them. It gave me direction when life felt scattered and stability when things felt overwhelming. Somewhere along the way, GIO became a second home.
Before shaping me into a better Muslimah, GIO shaped me into a better human. It taught me character before confidence. Restraint before exposure. It taught me how to hold onto the Sunnah even when blending in felt easier, and how to stand firm even when standing firm made me look different.
Through collective engagement in GIO, I learned teamwork, conflict resolution, and the value of how collective effort carries barakah. GIO gave me fikr, sharpened my individuality, and made me realise that personal growth is inseparable from community upliftment — we rise from uplifting others.
Today, my choices show that training. My decisions carry weight. My fikr speaks before I do. Even before I open my mouth, I know where I stand.
It is with gratitude and conviction that I state:
I am a product of GIO.
And this journey hasn’t just shaped who I am, but continues to shape who I am becoming.
Author: Khatijatul Kubra V, GIO Chennai Metro Date: 12 February 2026
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