Few years back, Alexandra Friedman saw a T-shirt which said “be the doctor your mother always wanted you to marry” and Alexandra accepted this as a challenge. Not only did she accept this unsaid challenge, she has now set the precedent for all women out there.
The journey of becoming a doctor was not normal for Alexandra, just like it is for others. Being a member of an orthodox social class of Hasidic Judaism residing in Monsey, NewYork, being married, being a mother of 10 children and above all being a woman, it was definitely not an easy task for her to become a doctor.
Hasidic women normally live a plain and simple life. Their life is all about getting married at an early age, bearing children, taking care of their families and conforming to the traditions of the society.
But the story of Alexandra is different than other normal Hasidic women. She managed to break the stereotypes and did not conform to the orthodox traditions, which are doing more harm than good to the people, especially to women.
Last year, despite all the obstacles, she graduated as a doctor. Along with that, she gained a residency in pedriatics. She is one of the exceptional case, as Dr. Knoll says “it’s unusual for medical students to have any children, let alone 10 children”. Alexandra’s youngest son is just 8 month old, and her eldest daughter is a 21 year old young girl.
Dr. Knoll says that for the circumstances which surround Alexandra, it takes a lot of courage and commitment to be able to study as hard as a medical student.
Even Alexandra’s friends doubted her and sharing the same biosphere they thought it was next to impossible for her to study for medical. But Alexandra proved everyone wrong and not only did she manage her studies, she also maintained a balance between her educational and personal life. She looked after her children like all normal mothers. She told media, that she had to skip her studies on Jewish holidays as well as on Fridays and Saturdays, which shows that she was as committed to her family as she was to her career.
What makes her more extra ordinary is the fact that during her academic years she gave birth to three children, but this did not impact her grades, and she was able to secure her graduation on time.
This story is a motivation for all those who think it’s too late to achieve something.
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