I feel like a superwoman – do you?

There is no doubt that being a researcher is the big challenge of my life. My journey in scientific research started when I got my master's degree, and then continued into my PhD. It was a stage where I learned how to search for information, how to write research papers, and how to discuss and interpret the obtained results. That period coincided with my marriage and pregnancy. It was a very difficult stage in my life. I had to manage my studies along with my parenting responsibilities. I felt I was drowning, and needed someone to save me. My family, especially my father turned out to be the hero of my story; he provided me with help, support and encouragement to fulfill my dream and taught me to never lose hope. My children and husband also endured hard times and are partners in this success of mine. Of course, there are hard times in all our lives but we need to have belief, patience, and persistence to overcome obstacles and reach our goals.

My father died two years ago, leaving me to work with diligence and take care of my children. He will always remain with me in spirit. Now, I am at a new stage of work, and have found that research has its advantages and disadvantages.

This new stage is crowded and filled with responsibilities towards my home, family, children, and research.

Research needs to go through several steps to be qualified for publication. Researchers need a lot of money and time to read and think, so that they can come up with an idea that would contribute to advancement in their subject area. Moreover, they need to plan their work, conduct lab experiments, and have the patience and flexibility to accept any good or bad results. In addition, they need to prepare good manuscripts (with clear sections and accurate details), choose a suitable journal for publication, submit their manuscripts, and finally await the journal’s response (which may make them cheerful or frustrated).

Furthermore, I also have to fulfill my responsibility towards my children who need my attention, love, care, help, and support to grow up and become good human beings. Along with all these responsibilities, I also need to take care of myself. 

Finally, I will end this by saying that being a researcher who needs to take care of her family and balance the nuances of research work is really tough - one needs to be a super woman to be able to do it all.

So here’s what I am trying to say, I guess: Despite the challenges, despite the ups and downs, despite additional responsibilities…I feel like a superwoman – do you?