Disclaimer*: The articles shared under 'Your Voice' section are sent to us by contributors and we neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of any facts stated below. Parhlo PInk will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the website. Read our disclaimer.

December 22nd, 2016-December 22nd, 2017;

Today marks exactly a year since I graduated with a degree in Journalism and achieved my dream! It wasn’t your regular 4 years of university (read below for the original post I wrote a year ago!). I cannot be more thankful to all my professors and my brilliant university The the American University of Sharjah for making me the Journalist I am today.

Within a year, Allah has already blessed me from my writing going viral on the internet to starting social media trends to interviewing exceptional celebrities to having my work covered as a story to write for popular online magazines to freelancing for Pakistan’s number one entertainment channel HUM TV! I always share my struggles in life to let everyone around me clearly realize that just because you see someone venturing onto the road of success doesn’t mean that there weren’t brutal battles that had to be conquered along the way. The key to is first and foremost getting your relationship right with Allah and doing all that is in your power to achieve your dreams and be patient; because there is a moment when your dreams are destined to come true.

Original graduation post was written on December 22nd, 2016;

“I never thought this day would come.

Especially not when as an 11-year old I was fighting for my life and every single morning would simply walk to my room’s window and watch my friends go to school like normal healthy children during elementary-school.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when I would miss out my class pictures during middle-school because I had been admitted into hospitals and would spend the same day in tears while my classmates would be happily smiling at cameras to mark the end of their school year.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when there would be ambulances that would have to rush to pick me up from school while the rest of my classmates would be on their way home in school-buses that rang with childish laughter.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially not when my high-school teachers told me I would most definitely fail my IGCSE exams due to poor attendance as a result of my severe ailments that’ll lead to me never getting accepted into a good university as a result of my severe ailments.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when my Father told me with his head hung low that due to a family financial crisis I had to drop out of AUS, the university I grew to adore after 2 years of being a student there.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when the very same year I had dropped out of AUS and started fresh at Middlesex University but once again, had to be pulled out again due to a lack of financial funds.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when I packed all my belongings, said goodbye to my loved ones in Dubai and chose to move to Pakistan in search of a more affordable University in chase of my dream of becoming an official Journalist.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially after struggling alone in a strange city, having to deal with pathetic Government educational offices and officers and at the end of it all, getting rejected by every single university in Pakistan that I had applied to.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when I had to see all my friends move forward in life academically as I sat at home with crushed dreams of earning a Journalism degree and making a name for myself in the media world.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially after I had miraculously returned to AUS, but was diagnosed with Dyscalculia, a Math learning disability that severely hindered in my graduation process which didn’t allow me to successfully pass my Math and Statistics courses.

I never thought this day would come.

Especially when after my final semester I flew off miles away to Canada and certain serious issues came up regarding whether or not I’d be able to return to the UAE to attend my commencement.

But better days came.

Days when I proved all my school-teachers wrong and scored the most promising grades in my IGCSE exams.

Days when I was divinely blessed with Allah’s mercy of ample health that was no longer a hurdle in my life.

Days when I easily got accepted into my first choice of university, The American University of Sharjah.

Days when I was able to return to AUS after dropping out due to financial reasons.

Days when I was hired by KAY2TV as a Journalist to host live TV shows, interviewed uncountable celebrities and important personalities for three brilliant years to kickstart my Journalism career.

Days when I became President and Chief Editor of The American University of Sharjah’s Leopards Newsletter, truly a dream come true.

Days when I was hired to work for Pakistan’s leading news organization, Dawn News as a Journalist.

Days when I regained my self-confidence and overcame my Dyscalculia disability bypassing my Statistics course.

Days when I became Vice President of The Pakistani Cultural Club of The American University of Sharjah and won several awards.

Better days came, but today was the best of them all. Today I stood as an official AUS graduate of Mass Communication, Journalism.

How was it possible? By never losing Faith in my Rabb that He’d not let my dreams shatter. By being blessed by my Rabb with an ultimately loyal clan of best friends who always believed in me and a family who never gave up on me, were my anchor, and made me the person I am today. It was a painful journey, but I made it!

Alhamdulillah, this is Hira Hyder signing in as an AUS Alumni.”