Today we’d like to introduce you to Nazrin Guliyeva.
Nazrin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Life has thrown at me so many chances to move out of my country – Azerbaijan, but the timing was never right, until a few years ago when I & my husband won a green card in a diversity lottery. Since then, our life has changed 180 degrees. We left our family, friends, beloved ones, jobs, house and everything behind to start our journey from the beginning. It was only us – I, him and our little two years old daughter Janel.
We moved to the United States in August 2017, just two weeks before the hurricane Harvey came. Should I describe my feelings? It was like in the movie. I have never ever experienced natural disasters in my life before and Harvey was kind of a bad welcome joke from the USA. I never could imagine myself watching weather programs for hours and hours, or being evacuated by volunteers from a flooded apartment or being hosted by a nice lady at her house, who became a very good friend of mine by now. But all of this has happened to me.
Do I regret having this experience? Not a single second! I was amazed by how many kind people are there around in this country, who were helping just because it could happen to anyone and anytime. I define myself as a complete optimist because during this terrible hurricane I had a chance to meet and know many great people. And I probably wouldn’t have this chance if Harvey never happened. So… Harvey, thank you!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The immigration process was never easy. Moving away from your family and friends, leaving behind your job, house and comfort zone has so many different challenges, that sometimes you start feeling lonely, helpless and hopeless.
In Azerbaijan, I used to work as the head of the marketing department @ Coca-Cola. I had a job I like, a family I love and my friends who always were there for me. When I moved to the USA, I lost all of them in a day. I got nothing and no one here. Do I regret? Never! Even though it has been two years since I moved, I still feel that I am at the beginning of my journey. And like everything in this life, my road has ups and downs, which I accept as is.
I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. America became my life battle, the chance to prove myself that all borders, distances, language barriers, cultural differences are just in our minds. And I will never let them limit myself.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a marketer to the core and I love everything about Marketing. It took me four months to get a job as a Global Marketing Coordinator in the USA and I am in deep love with what I am doing.
Before moving to a new country, I have read tons of information and articles to be prepared for a new life. But still, I am discovering so many new and different things in this country that I decided to start a blog.
I am sharing my experience, knowledge, failures and wins with people who are at the edge of making a decision – should they move or not? The blog has helped me to go through the stage of adaptation in a new environment, and since then I never felt alone because around 6K people on Instagram were doing those baby steps into a new life together with me.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I have so many thoughts and plans in my mind so it is always hard to put them all together on a white sheet.
The most important among all of them – I am planning to be the happiest version of me!
Contact Info:
- Email: nazulka@gmail.com
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