Life in the Swat Valley was not peaceful for Malala after the Taliban takeover and the enforcement of Sharia law. The Taliban began closing and even blowing up girls' schools, as they didn’t believe girls should be learning or receiving any kind of academic education.

For Malala, the Khushal School—which was founded by her father, Ziauddin—provided shelter. It was a place where she could focus on other issues besides her perilous, violent environment. As Malala writes, “Our school was a haven from the outside.”

Malala also viewed her school as a source of motivation. “It was school that kept me going in those dark days,” she says. Malala viewed her school as something to look forward to and as something to get excited about.

In addition, Malala viewed school as a place of competition. She was quite competitive with the other girls. She expected to finish first in the examinations and mentions that she didn't. However, Malala makes it clear that these rivalries with her fellow students were “friendly.”

Finally, Malala and her friends viewed school as something that one should dedicate oneself to. The girls were committed and devoted to learning. When they used henna for special occasions, they decorated their hands not with the traditional butterflies and flowers, but with chemistry and calculus formulas.