Heya!
Thanks for taking interest in knowing a little more about me... You are my bestie now.
Below is a fun read about my journey so far.
I am Gazala!
I promise I’m very interesting... Let me take you on a ride through my childhood starting with school. If you came to my class, you’d have seen a girl chatting away on the last bench, not answering any questions, and labeled the ‘class nuisance’.
That was not me. I was far across from the last bench- Yes, the first bencher, teachers’ pet, you name it, I had it. I also made it to the newspapers for scoring high in tenth grade. Sorry for sounding like a prick but that was my life- I was happy to be studying, happy to be a nerd, and my parents were proud of me.
Here 's the Twist
Enter 11th grade, I decided to pursue a medical degree and started preparing for the pre-medical entrance exam. Early on, I realized it was not even close to what we were taught in school and I had a hard time managing the endless classes with self-studies.
But I was ready to do whatever it takes, even if that meant commuting 7 km on my scooter at 5 am to attend a botany class. Finally, after all the hardships, in 2014, I secured a rank that got me a scholarship to attend the most renowned medical college in my hometown.
​
I know by this time you are thinking “Wow, she really made it. What a topper.” Well, all that glitters is not gold. In medical school, I decided to write USMLE and during my preparation, I wrote a self-assessment and scored low.
For someone, who had always weighed herself with scores, it felt like I lost my identity (I’m not being dramatic, it’s true. I have an abstract memory of the day when I sat on the bathroom floor and wept like a child.)
The Turning Point
Since that day, with the support of my friends and family who believed in me, I started working on my study techniques, and researched the methods of learning that give results, analyzed my mistakes, and was finally able to better myself. From a “just pass”, I went up by 32 points in my 3-digit scores. Quite literally, rags to riches. And it all happened because I realized studying blindly will only get you halfway.
In 2017, when I embarked on my USMLE journey, it was nowhere close to simple…
​
Self-doubt - Yes
Imposter Syndrome - Yes
Feeling stuck - Yes
Didn’t know where to start - Yes
​
I could check all these boxes and more without blinking an eye.
But one of my best strengths is resilience, something that helped me put in the work to bounce back stronger. I know that I am not the only person who has done this, there are many before me that have had powerful comebacks. In fact, that was my motivation to push myself - I am not the only person going through this. If they can, why can’t I?
What happened next?
Going through all that mess, I recognized how emotionally draining those times were-where the only solution that seemed to fit was quitting. I would not lie, I felt like quitting too but my mentor pushed me, he had immense faith in me and my potential. This became a turning point for me. I won’t let any of you fall back on the idea of quitting, and that’s how Steps to Steth was born.
From my experience, I want to ensure that every student can maximize their learning, and liberate themselves from the constant self-doubt of if they can ever score better. I don’t want anyone to go through an emotional breakdown and spend months and months studying without seeing any progress. It took me months of trials and errors to finally understand what exactly has the potential to bring a transformational change in learning. Yes, you guessed right. It was magic. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. There isn’t a magic trick to it. You need to master the art of learning.
The Rise
Apart from all the detrimental losses that everyone faced during the pandemic, the one thing that happened for good was that I started taking out time to personally work with students. In 2021, I started working closely with over 50 students. And over the span of 1 year, I took personal classes, and group sessions hosted workshops and masterclasses, and finally launched a course. All of this is to help my students achieve their dream scores.
This is possible not just by giving them an easy-to-cook recipe but also by ensuring they are implementing it. My experience helps me to walk you from the start to the finish line. I can relate to the stress, the anxiety, and the lost feeling. If you are ready to break the limitations of your scores, you have come to the right place.
Fun facts about me!
I am on a quest to find the best pizza