“I’ve always been an excellent student & I was the head girl of my school. Honestly, I hadn’t had a taste of failure before. At an early age, I wanted to be a doctor. Out of the lakhs of students giving their NEET exams, I believed I’d get into my dream university. But I didn’t... I was embarrassed that I couldn’t meet my expectations & hurt my self-worth. I believed, ‘You aren’t good enough.’ But when I was at my lowest, my family encouraged me, ‘You had a bad exam, you haven’t failed at life.’ I’d seen Papa go through his lows in his business, but I’d admire his resilience. And when he said, ‘I’m here to help you stand up again,’ I decided to work harder towards my goal. And in the process, my attitude changed too– I focused on giving my best rather than worrying about the result. And because I did, I pulled through the 2nd time I gave my exams! My parents were ecstatic; they’d believed in me more than myself. And so, I wanted to repay their faith in me by becoming a doctor. Before leaving for Ukraine, Papa wrote me a ‘to-do’ list. Number 1 was; ‘No getting distracted & making a boyfriend.’ For the 1st time in my life, I was away from family. But I knew the next 6 years were meant to shape me into becoming an independent woman. And while I kept my head in my books, Papa tackled comments by society— ‘Khushboo will get spoilt abroad!’ Papa would write letters to me, keeping a check on my mental health & stress levels. He’d write excitedly, ‘A few more semesters & I’ll be hugging a doctor!’ He’d motivate me to cross the finish line & that made me push myself. And fortunately for me, Papa was beside me towards the end of my course. Because of the war, I gave my last few exams from home. And when we received my final result that certified me as a doctor, my family was overjoyed! During my graduation ceremony this year, they teared up. And when Papa said, ‘I always believed in you!’ I hugged him; he molded my spirit to believe in myself, to give my dream another shot! That day, I was no longer that 19-year-old who was broken after a single failure, I was a 25-year-old doctor with an undefeatable spirit, ready to make her mark on the world!”