Immigration is one of the most common features of our times – the global village has never been this global. Whether seeking a better life or refuge, countries worldwide have opened their doors to immigrants from diverse backgrounds. However, the transition is scarcely as easy. Aytakin (lka) Aliyeva faced many obstacles in her early years in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Yet she had other plans for herself – higher education, better living prospects, and stable financial standing. With her parents’ support, she went on to achieve her dreams one after the other.

Growing up in an environment where girls were never encouraged to pursue their dreams and were expected to marry early, Aytakin’s parents would undoubtedly be seen as radical thinkers. They supported their daughter and her dreams of becoming more than just a girl from a war-torn country.

Aytakin was 30 when she moved to the US for a graduate degree in social media and communications. She left behind the world she had known her entire life, a well-paying job at an oil company, and her family to try and make something of herself in the New World.