Nothing seemed to be going well. We were 1 in rush-hour traffic. My 3-year-old son was singing along with Phil Collins from his seat. But I was not in the 2 to sing. My manager had just told me that, despite my 3 performance, he did not foresee giving me more responsibilities in the near future. The message really 4 me.
His decision planted a seed of5 . But I reminded myself that I'd already6 I could be, as a working mother, an7 scientist on a tight schedule. The past7 years had witnessed, as a part-time university8 , I'd made full use of every minute and won all my colleagues' respect. My work never9 the research team.
With little expectation, I10 the three senior managers. One did not respond. One had nothing to offer. The third invited me to chat. He11 listened to my story, and then told me I was12 to join him in building a vaccine research unit. I answered in13 that I knew nothing about vaccines. He said, "You will learn. You will make it."
A few 14 nights later, I decided to take a chance on the 15 . The worst thing to happen was that I would fail. But I already felt like a failure, so why not 16 ?
I soon discovered a new passion. My career path with the unit17 . I took on more18 , developed new skills, and led fantastic projects-all because of a19 that I'd felt forced on me. It20 me out of my comfort zone and further than I was willing to go.
