The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success.

Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did
you learn from the experience.

I finished school and high school in Iran. My family had a weak economy. My father was working
hard to support us. During the summers I was working in a sewing workshop to help my father.
Although many Afghan families could not afford their children to educate, my father persisted that
my sibling and I continue educating. After finishing high school, I was interested in studying further,
but after a year the Iranian government announced that foreigners were not allowed to study at
Iranian universities, and that was a severe blow to my morale. Therefore I did not give up and
decided to return to Afghanistan to continue my studies.

It has been about 11 years since the beginning of the rule of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The
situation in Afghanistan was promising, however, my first year of living in Afghanistan was very
difficult. It was the first time I was living alone and away from my family. Despite my homesickness
and distance from my parents and poor economy, I never forgot my main goal, which was to get to
university. I could find a part-time job in a sewing workshop to cover my expenses. Finally, in 2012, I
managed to get to Kabul University.

Going to university was an interesting experience for me. A completely scientific environment where
many students were studying in different fields. However, one of my main problems was my place of
residence. Because it was far from the university and I had to walk a long distance to get to it. Going
to university and working part-time and studying at night was very exhausting and difficult, but I
wanted to study so that I could be successful in my life in the future. After finishing the first
semester, I could get to the dormitory of Kabul University. This was a great privilege because I had
not to walk a long distance every day and many expenses were taken away from me.

Four years later, in 2015, I was graduated and was looking for a suitable job. Fortunately, I had the
opportunity to take the Administrative Reform Commission exam, which was held every two years.
This test was very important for me. For 3 months, I studied hard for this exam. One month later the
results were announced and I was succeeded out of thousands of people. After completing the
administrative steps, I was finally hired by the relevant department.

Life is never free of obstacles and difficulties, and we must struggle with these problems to achieve
our goals. These problems prepare us for the next challenges. Today, I am very different from the
person who was inexperienced and had returned to his homeland to build his future years ago. In
fact, the problems I faced nurtured in me the decisiveness, diligence and perseverance, and made
me a confident and successful person. As a result, these hardships and challenges taught me that
behind every hardship will be comfort and convenience.