Life lessons for girls – Anastasia’s story

For me, as a female, this is a very important date, because girls need special care, attention and protection.

Unfortunately, a woman may not always be heard. She cannot always count on help and support. Her parents will not always be alive, she may not always have the chance to get married successfully or have a reliable spouse nearby. Everything can collapse in one moment, and she must be ready to be strong and take it on the chin. Then, these life lessons will serve as a test of endurance for the girl and lay a solid foundation.

My parents supported my choice of future profession; I clearly knew where I was going and what I wanted to do.

I was brought up in a traditional family. My mom is a teacher, and Dad is a doctor. My family values were traditional: getting a higher education; marriage, childbirth, career growth.

My parents supported my choice of future profession; I clearly knew where I was going and what I wanted to do. Back in my school years, my chemistry teacher made me fall in love with their subject, this powerful science, which is embedded in our most necessary vital resources and processes. In pursuit of my goal, I entered the Academic Lyceum, where I could prepare to enter university to study for a degree in oil and gas processing.

I got married at 21. However, after the birth of my son, for some reason, my family broke up. This can happen in a woman's life. It was the fall of 2017, a crucial time, when I was graduating from the Tashkent Institute of Chemical Technology. During that difficult period for me, the dearest and most understanding person in my life, my mother, stood by me. She took all the material and moral difficulties on her shoulders. I remember nights when I stood with my notes on oil refining in one hand, holding my son and breastfeeding him with the other one.

It was getting a higher education that prevented me from breaking down during this difficult time. My notes were followed by presentations, term papers, engineering drawings, a graduation qualification thesis, preparation for entrance examinations for a master's degree and then obtaining that degree.

However, my interests were not limited to the study of chemistry. I have always tried to learn something new. With the support of my mother, from the age of 10, I was a junior reporter for the national children's newspaper “Klass!”, and from the age of 12, I participated in various projects run by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). This is what contributed to my development as a person.

One of those projects was related to photography. I was fortunate enough to meet the Italian photographer Giacomo Pirozzi, who taught children from Uzbekistan the basics of photography. Thanks to this fateful meeting, I made good friends from around the world.

Over the years my hobby of photography has grown into a serious occupation. I was admitted to a professional school, a studio at the Tashkent House of Photography. Photography has become a means of self-expression for me.

I am very glad that I’ve had the opportunity to share my story with girls around the world! I want to repeat once again that being educated means being self-confident, of interest to those around you and to your family and lets you pass on the knowledge you’ve gained to the younger generation.