This newsletter shares peer stories that may touch on sensitive themes. While we hope these stories offer inspiration and connection, please remember that the Little Light Community Collective is not a mental health or crisis service.
Our content is based on personal lived experience and isn't a substitute for professional medical advice. Please take care of yourself as you read, and if you need professional support, we encourage you to reach out to a qualified provider or your local crisis service.
Quote
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” - Albert Einstein
Opening Note
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the ninth edition of the Little Light Newsletter! It means more than words can express to have you here 💛
Sometimes, our greatest strengths are found in the places we least expect. What we once saw as a weakness can become something that makes us uniquely who we are. We each bring different experiences, perspectives, and gifts to the table, and there is something beautiful about that. Accepting ourselves as we are today doesn’t mean letting go of our ambitions; it means allowing ourselves to grow while remembering that we are already enough.
Recently, during a conversation about healing with an inspiring group of individuals, something really resonated with me: there is this pressure sometimes of being a human doing rather than a human being. We can take this as a gentle reminder that we are more than our productivity, our outputs, or the constant race to achieve. Of course, meaningful action and building things we care about still matter deeply; it’s about shifting away from the frantic need to constantly prove our worth through output alone and instead remembering that we can simply be.
And when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, perhaps we can lean into curiosity rather than rush to find the answers. We can allow ourselves to wonder, ask questions, and trust that not everything needs to make sense right away. After all, mistakes, unexpected turns, and moments of uncertainty can teach us so much, sometimes bringing us closer to our most authentic selves in ways we cannot yet see.
In this edition, we explore the compass of curiosity alongside our eighth Little Light of the Month, Sohaib Syed Mohammad, an incredible human who brings so much goodness to those around him.
I still remember meeting Sohaib through our shared involvement in an Enactus program centred on mental well-being (more on Enactus below!). His passion, intention, and dedication were immediately apparent. I felt inspired not only by what he was doing but also by who he was and the genuine care he brought into the spaces he occupied. I’m so grateful we’ve had the chance to connect and collaborate in this new way.
About Sohaib Syed Mohammad
Sohaib is a Manager, Programs and Social Innovation Lead at Enactus Canada, where he works at the intersection of design thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship, and social impact. Passionate about harnessing the power of business as a force for good, he designs impactful programs, coaches early-stage entrepreneurs, and supports emerging leaders in transforming ideas into practical solutions that address real-world challenges.
Through his journey with Enactus, Sohaib has led initiatives, built and scaled teams, and championed social impact and innovation, driven by the belief that entrepreneurship can create meaningful change in society. His leadership and contributions have earned him both regional and national recognitions.
Sohaib is committed to empowering the next generation of changemakers to create measurable social, environmental, and economic impact. He believes that when innovation is guided by purpose and supported by action, business can become a powerful tool for building a more inclusive, sustainable, and better world for all.
Thank you very much for sharing your little light with us, Sohaib.
Readers, I hope this edition offers you some space to pause, reflect, and meet yourself with kindness, wherever you are on your journey.
Kindly,
Lily Baker
Founder & Collective Lead
Little Light of the Month—Finding Purpose in the Detours: How Curiosity Taught Me to Heal, Sohaib Syed Mohammad
Growing up in a small city in India, my mind was always moving faster than the world around me. Curiosity wasn't just an interest; it was a sanctuary. I threw myself into everything: soccer, photography, running film workshops, coordinating cultural fests, theatre, and joining debating teams. In childhood, that open-ended energy is often celebrated as passion. But as adulthood creeps in, society's expectations can narrow drastically. Suddenly, everyone around me seemed to possess a clear, unshakable blueprint for their lives, while I stood in the centre of a crowded room, holding a dozen wildly different puzzle pieces and wondering why none of them seemed to fit.
The first major fracture came when I chose not to pursue a traditional academic path. Medicine and engineering had long been seen as two of the most respected and sought-after career paths in my community, and in a family where such professions were already familiar, choosing differently felt like breaking an unwritten contract, leaving an oppressive weight of disappointment sitting heavy in my chest. Even while studying economics and jumping between my media venture and community work, the background noise was constant. Friends and family would offer well-meaning jokes about my "shifting focus." They were meant to be lighthearted, but each joke landed like a subtle confirmation of my deepest fear: I was failing to figure myself out. The anxiety began to manifest physically through restless nights spent staring at the ceiling, spiralling through questions of worth and identity.
Seeking a complete escape from the quiet judgment, I packed my life into a couple of bags and moved to Canada for postgraduate studies, taking a solitary leap into the unknown. But when the initial adrenaline of arrival wore off, the silence of a foreign winter set in. The cold felt sharp, the streets unfamiliar, and the abrupt loss of my home community left me completely disoriented. The isolation was deafening. I felt smaller than I ever had, drifting in a place where no one knew my name or my backstory.
In that deep solitude, when self-doubt was at its highest, the only tool left in my hands was the very thing I had once blamed for my instability: my raw curiosity. The same curiosity that made me appear "indecisive" gave me the quiet courage to knock on a door I felt I had no formal right to open, stepping directly into a college director's office just to ask how I could contribute to the local community. That single, terrifying step led me to Enactus - an international organization that brings together student, academic, and business leaders through entrepreneurial action to create a better, more sustainable world through hands-on social enterprises.
Joining Enactus wasn't about building a resume; it was about finding a lost sense of purpose. Pouring myself into youth empowerment and community projects slowly pulled me out of my own head and helped me become more present in the moment. For the first time, all those disconnected threads of my past - media, storytelling, strategy, business acumen, and social advocacy - slapped together with startling clarity. Before I knew it, I had poured 1,400 volunteering hours into a single year, won multiple Entrepreneurship Challenges, and was named Student Leader of the Year for all of Canada, which was pretty cool. But if you ask me what my favourite Enactus experience was, it wasn't the trophies or the titles. It was making a tangible difference for the people we served through our projects, alongside the incredible people standing right beside me. The countless awards, scholarships, and recognitions that followed were gentle reminders that my fragmented journey had meaning. My path was never meant to be a straight line. It was meant to build empathy.
That deep immersion on the ground eventually opened a door I never expected. Falling in love with the mission of student-led community impact transformed my participation into a calling. What began as student leadership grew into a career supporting the very network that gave me meaning.
Today, looking back bridges the distance in the most surreal way. The family and friends who once worriedly joked about my wandering path now look on with unreserved, vocal pride. The people who loved me through the confusion are now my loudest champions, marvelling at how every seemingly erratic detour led me exactly where I needed to be.
Working as a Manager of Programs for Enactus Canada, a job a boy from a small city in India, standing in a dark room with puzzles in hand, didn’t even know existed, I look back at those sleepless, anxious years with profound gratitude. The terrifying uncertainty that once kept me awake wasn't proof that I was broken; it was the precise process teaching me resilience, adaptability, and compassion.
If you are currently sitting in the middle of your own uncertain detour, feeling out of place or behind schedule, please know this: you do not need to have every answer today. You do not need a rigid blueprint to be worthy of progress. Trust your internal compass, honour your unique path, and keep walking. From what I’ve learned, everything has a way of falling into place, and if it hasn't yet, your story is simply still being written.
~Sohaib Syed Mohammad
Reflection
What expectations or pressures can you gently set aside today to make room for wonder?
If you’d like to share, we would love to hear from you. You can submit your reflection here. (Note: With your consent, we may feature your reflection in an upcoming issue to share your voice with the community.)
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Closing & A Little Light From You
Thank you for being here and for reading our ninth issue. We’re deeply grateful for your support and for everyone who has helped make this little community what it is.
We’ll be taking a little time to step back, reflect, and thoughtfully consider what comes next for the LLCC. We look forward to reconnecting with you when the time is right ☺️
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Before you go, we’d love to hear from you 💛
Was there something in this issue that resonated with you? Is there something you’d love to see more of in a future newsletter? Or is there a thought you’d like to share?
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Your voice matters, and it helps shape what we create together 🌱
Thank you for reading, for sharing in these stories, and for being part of this circle of light.
Until next time,
Keep your little light burning.
✨Little Light Community Collective✨
