My Story
Challenges
I was born in a rural, underdeveloped area near Daska, Sialkot, Pakistan. Our village had only one girls’ school, and it offered education only up to the 8th grade. The condition of the school was very poor.
My father was a farmer, and he had a close friendship with the teachers at the boys’ school because our farmland was located right next to it. During his free time, he would often spend time with the students. Since I spent most of my childhood with my father, my early education took place at that boys’ school. Growing up, I was much like the boys—I climbed trees, played outdoors, and after school, I would take our goats to graze in the fields with my cousins.
After completing the 8th grade, I stopped attending school regularly and continued my studies through an academy.
I was born 18 years after my parents got married, so there was a significant age gap between us. My parents wanted to see me settled through marriage as soon as possible, but I wanted something different. I had bigger dreams. I didn’t want to live the same life as many women around me, who were unaware of their own rights and constantly sacrificed their happiness under the pressure of society and family.
One thing that has always remained constant in my life is my faith in prayer. I firmly believe in the power of dua. By the grace of Allah, whenever I sincerely ask Him for something with complete conviction, He opens a way for me.
Relations
When I became old enough to understand life, I realized that all my relationships already existed before I had any choice in them.
As children, we accept people with pure hearts without questioning who they really are.
We are too innocent to analyze behavior or understand personalities.
Realization
As time passed, Allah made me realize that I was fundamentally different from many of those people.
It is incredibly painful to distance yourself from those you once intended to care for forever simply because your values no longer align.
Since my parents had always protected me with immense love and I had never been away from them, facing the outside world was far more difficult than I had ever imagined.
Motivational Spark
Financial Challenges
My father lost his eyesight in an accident caused by severe burns. Most of the skin on his body was badly damaged, which limited his ability to work. As a result, our family faced serious financial challenges.
After completing my intermediate education, university tuition was beyond what my father could comfortably afford, despite his constant efforts to manage all our household responsibilities. I decided to take a break from my studies. During that time, I completed a diploma from a government institute and started an internship.
Fortunately, after some time, I secured a well-paying position with an international company. That opportunity allowed me to resume my university education.
Toughest Time
Later, due to personal circumstances, we had to leave our home for some time. My mother’s relatives welcomed us into their home, but after only two or three days, their attitude towards us completely changed. It is one of life’s hardest moments when the people you have always stood beside during their difficult times leave you alone when you need them the most.
Thankfully, I had saved some money from my salary for my future business. With those savings, I searched on Google for a property dealer. By Allah’s grace, he had a house available. We finalized the deal overnight and moved in immediately. We owned almost nothing inside that house. It was the middle of June.
My mother and I bought only the basic necessities and began building our lives again from scratch.
Around the same time, the international company I was working for temporarily shut down its operations, and I lost my job. That period became one of the toughest phases of my life.
Weakness
Eventually, I fell into depression. Treatment required money that I simply didn’t have. There were days when my mother needed something, but instead of telling her that I had no money, I would tell her there was a problem with my bank card and that it would take a few days to resolve. Somehow, I always managed to arrange the money without letting her worry.
During that period, I once again witnessed people changing their attitudes toward me and quietly walking away from my life.
For a long time, I carried one complaint in my heart: I had never been given the opportunity to choose the people in my life. Every relationship had simply come with life itself.
Then came a time when almost everyone had left. I felt that Allah had finally given me the freedom to choose the people I wanted around me.
I chose someone as my friend, someone else as my role model, and I allowed certain people to become very close to me.
With time, I discovered that the friend I trusted had taken advantage of my blind faith. The people I considered close eventually started comparing themselves with me. The person I had admired the most gradually filled me with self-doubt.
My greatest weakness was that I became emotionally attached very easily. I invested myself wholeheartedly in people. I constantly prioritized others’ happiness while sacrificing my own.
Started Business
Over time, I learned that if you truly want to preserve relationships and keep good people in your life, you first need to become emotionally and mentally strong yourself.
I no longer wanted to continue living that way.
I made the decision to build my own brand.
Although my official job required only four working hours, I voluntarily worked eight hours every day because I wanted to learn as much as possible. I requested permission from my employer to work two hours on-site and two hours remotely for six months so I could better manage my time.
At the same time, I took on a third job to strengthen my financial situation. I was juggling three jobs, building my own business in every spare moment, and continuously learning new skills. I barely had any time left for myself.
By the grace of Allah and with my mother’s prayers, within six months I successfully launched my own skincare brand, Alphaalady.com. My first product was the Saffron Brightening Monster Serum.
Gradually, life began to stabilize.
Once again, I became valuable in the eyes of friends. Today, I am an inspiration to many of my relatives’ children. Even those who had once turned away eventually apologized to my mother.
Today, we have returned to our own home and are living peacefully once again.But this is not the destination.It is only the beginning of my journey.
Abraham