The last three years have been very challenging for me, as I faced the biggest loss of my life. The things I used to love, the dreams I had and the confidence I had in myself, all seemed to end. I used to think that I would not be able to survive this loss and that sooner or later I would give up.

But I was wrong. Not only did I survive, but I also turned that loss into my biggest strength. I learnt how to live with the loss, and today I am proud that I did not give up on myself. Instead, I made myself stronger and capable of making my family happy and proud of me.

My name is Raiha. Three years ago, I lost my father in a car accident. That day was the darkest day of my life, and I don’t think any other day will ever be worse than that. The moment I heard the news of my father’s death, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It felt like a cruel joke.

How could my father leave me alone? What about the plans we had? What about the dreams he had for me?

Then all the time we had spent together started flashing before my eyes, like an infinite number of stars scattered across the sky. That was the day I almost gave up on my dreams. Why should I keep chasing dreams when the person who had always chased them with me was no longer there? So, I let them go.

My father’s dream for me was to become a doctor. I was only a few steps away from achieving that dream when he left me. So what was the point of continuing? That year, I not only gave up my dream but also lost hope, love and my smile. I isolated myself in my room. I stopped talking to my family and friends because I was completely broken by that loss — until my teacher came to meet me at our house.

Miss Hina was one of my college teachers. She was very dear to me and she loved me like a mother because she was also an old friend of my mother. When all my hopes were lost, she came like a ray of light.

She told me that although my father had left this world too early, his hopes were still alive, breathing within me. At that moment, I realised that my family still needed me, my mother and my siblings. I also realised that I still had to fulfil my father’s wish of me becoming a doctor. He would see me in a white coat through my eyes.

I made up my mind to work hard and now I am officially a doctor. I still feel the void of losing my father, but I am grateful that I did not give up, even though I almost squandered one precious year. The realisation dawned on me just in time. Now I feel relieved that I have lived up to my father’s dream and that I can see my family happy and proud of me.

This world is full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, loss and gain. But the one who can withstand difficulties with strength is the one who truly grows, because after every hardship there is ease. We must believe in these words and transform our difficulties into strength and motivation.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 19th, 2026