Shivani Sharma

I attribute all of my success to God and to my parents, who are like a godly figure to me. I'm a firm believer in gratitude, and I believe that what you give to nature comes back to you manifold - if you are kind, kindness will come back. There was a time when I was being hard on myself, feeling like I wasn't doing good enough, but I told myself that I should just be grateful to God that I am breathing, that I have two legs, two hands, and I'm able to walk. Without breathing, we're just a dead body, and it's the most necessary thing we need to survive. I'm grateful for every breath I'm having, grateful that I got this opportunity. I have such a supportive family - my husband is so supportive even though he's back home, always helping me in whatever way he can. He pushes me to go for beauty pageants, takes care of everything so I can focus on myself. My brothers, in-laws, everyone is just so amazing. I couldn't have done it without them - it's all because of their support. I'm so grateful to God that I have such amazing people around me who love me for who I am, not for who I will be or for my positions and titles.

The best career advice I received came from my father through a story. He told me about two brothers who both took a level 1 exam - the one who didn't study much cleared it, while the intelligent brother who was teaching him didn't clear it. The intelligent brother was so upset, but two months later they both took a level 2 exam, and the intelligent one cleared it and is now at a deputy manager position, while the other brother is still in that lower level position. My father told me that sometimes if you're trying to aim for a higher mountain or top-level position, you may not get it in the starting - you may fail and feel like everybody's going ahead of you. I'm doing my PhD while all my friends are earning and have 4-5 years of good experience, and I feel like I'm just studying and not doing good enough. But my father tells me that if you're trying to reach a higher level position, it's going to take time, but when you reach there, the view will be different - not everyone will get to see that view. He reminds me that only 1.18% of women do this. The crux of the story is that sometimes it just takes more time than other people. Don't compare your journey with them. Trust your process, and God always has the best for you. It might not be happening today, but it will happen in the future for sure. We just need to have faith, patience, and peace - there's something He's trying to teach us in the path. My mom always says to enjoy the journey. These pieces of advice stay with me every time I feel like I'm not doing good enough - I tell myself I need to enjoy this process because this is one of the blessings I was praying for every day, to get to pursue a PhD.

Don't let anybody tell you you can't do it. And if they tell you you can't do it, just do it and tell them - because that's what I did. I was told I couldn't clear an exam, and I went home and cried like a baby, sobbing that I may quit in my first year. I called my mom and she told me I wouldn't have come this far not to clear that exam, that I was going to clear it. Even though it was a different branch, she said she didn't care - I would clear it. So just surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, not for who you will be. People may love positions, but you should surround yourself with people who love you as a human. Once I started getting positions and titles, I got so many friends just because of my title. But family is the one who loves you for who you are as a person. So just keep them close.