My Path

Who knew that one action of disobeying my parents could be the wisest and lucky choice of my life. My favorite career path was constantly changing through my teenage life. One day, I would want to be a performer, next surgeon neurologist, and following four months, I would be passionate about being an artist. A kid is never afraid to try new things and develop physical and academic possibilities. I had experience in vocal, dance, martial arts, modeling, and even academic Olympics at age 12. I can call myself an all-rounder; it gives me confidence but reduces my number of friends.

While preparing for the colleges and universities, I studied hard for a biology entrance exam in Europe and trained on my vocal to become a trainee in an entertainment company. I tried to shoot two rabbits with one bullet but sarcastically missed both. The biology entrance exam for medical university in Budapest, Hungary, was an in-person exam, and I needed to be present to pass at least the first round. But traveling from our country to Europe has been too expensive for our family. So I have dropped the idea of going to that university.

My audition for the company was online, and since I was too tired, I could not catch the attention of the juries. I have drastically failed the first round. It was hard to accept and painful to see others pass. But collected me back and moved forward. I have sent many applications to medical institutions in Turkey, but since they are expensive, I have applied to governmental scholarships. Even though many universities accepted me, the government group of scholars did not choose me as their sponsor student. Another failure made me believe that maybe I was not worth any help. Then one of my friends told me that it is easy to get a scholarship as a Kazakh student in Chinese universities. I have applied for a biology and environmental science undergraduate degree. But after one week, I have received feedback from the universities in China. Still, remember how I was hopeful to see an acceptance letter that will state, "Dear Miss Zhansaya Ingkarbek: Congratulations! You have been accepted to our university. Welcome!" but luck was not on my side. Another rejection, another hit on my confidence.

Constant rejections were raising tension between my parents and me. They thought, "why a daughter with straight A's is getting rejected?". I was questioning what was missing and what I should do? But I could do nothing but hope that something would work out. The arguments between my parents and me have become a common thing. They have been pushing my sister and me to apply for college programs in Canada. But we did not want to go too far from our place. One night, the fight with my parents extended too far. In the fire of anger, I applied to colleges in Canada in the urge of anger. After two weeks, I received a reply from all applied institutions, but my hopes were not too high. When I opened the email, I saw what I did not expect, and it was congratulations letters from all applied institutions. My parents were happy, but I did not feel anything or was disappointed. The sad thing was that all programs I used were Law and psychology. I am zero at such subjects.

We have taken the road that I did not expect to be welcoming with fear and unwillingness. I landed in a country that I knew nothing about with no place to leave. The first week of living in Canada, I have spent listening to non-stop rejections from rental companies and feeling notes of racism in every excuse they confronted. Eventually, I have found one student residence that was available for rent. Then the first week of college started, and classes orientation was the most depressing and disappointing point in my life. The course that I have chosen was Law. Yes, I missed the shot once again. It felt like a chain of unluckiness. I felt like dying inside a whole week, and events tore my soul to pieces.

A feeling of being a white raven in the crowd started to annoy me. I did not understand assignments and rules, even easy ones.

But one day, I collected my thoughts and decided to change because I hate struggling myself. I went to adviser and adjusted my program into Food Science. The biology and chemistry in one cup were just perfect for me. My parents were upset with me for my choice. But I know why they were upset only because they were worried will I be able to finance myself with this career path.

My parents ignored me for two months, but everything went to normal after accepting my decision. The confidence has returned to me after I started studying in the food science program. Since I have skipped orientation, breaking the ice between me and co-students was my next challenge. But it did not last long because I found friends, professional connections and created memories.

After a few times, I was recommended by one of my professors to apply for the Food Science Research Assistant position in Innovation Center under our college. I used and did not expect anything since other applicants were more experienced than I was at that time. But I was accepted, and my first work at Innovation Center have started at age 18. I was the first international and youngest among all the assistance in the history of the Innovation Center. It opened a variety of doors with fantastic opportunities for me.

Working there allowed me to grow faster and catch every moment of the day. Since then, I have been a straight-A student with constant work and a wide range of professional opportunities. I worked with the leaders of Canadian Food Safety officials and helped leaders of food businesses to achieve the desired commercialization of their products. Suppose I could ask myself in high school that I would be working in Food Industry and discovering food science in Canada, I would never believe. At the age of 20, I have completed more than 15 professional projects for big and small companies and more academic projects. I feel like I am very successful and happy with what I am doing for young adults. So do not be afraid to take intelligent risks and focus on what you are strong. Open up, and do not be scared. We are all different, and you should be unique too. You will find your path sooner or later. Just believe in yourself, you can do it!