Marwa Rahim, 22
I was born in war, I grew up in war, and I went to school in war.
I used to watch a television series called “Heart Surgeon,” and I dreamed that one day I would be a doctor, and help as many people as possible, especially women.
I worked hard in high school, reading a lot in my free time. During the summers, I took the optional English and math courses. I earned great grades despite the poor facilities and resources for learning in the Afghan education system.
There was no medical school in the province where I was born, so I traveled to another province, five hours away, to study medicine. That province was dangerous, with attacks and bomb threats around us as the war continued. I lived in a dorm, in a small room with 10 other girls. The talking and noise made it difficult to study; there was no library, and, often, no electricity. During the day, I had to study in the hallway. There were very few resources like books, lab equipment and computers.
Later, all the universities closed because of the pandemic, and our classes and even our labs moved online. We did not have lab equipment at home so one teacher suggested we use a magnifying glass in place of a microscope. When we were assigned to study malaria for a lab, the teacher suggested we get the blood from an insect and examine that.
Now that I am in Houston, I want to resume my studies, even if I must start over, to become a great doctor, help people in Afghanistan, and go to other countries where there are victims of the war. I plan to encourage and inspire women with my success, to never give up. I want my family and friends to be proud of me, and to become a useful person for this land that is now home to us all.
