Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother.
She is really my superhero.
That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives, and emotions about life.
Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle
with their mental health. But when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women
share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of
They will feel. It is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique
beauty and to feel their self-worth. And they will connect with the sisterhood of rare
girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast
is all about.
My guest today is Jacqueline Suleyman Chambeau.
Jacqueline is a 25 years old living in Arusha, Tanzania.
Jacqueline is the last child out of five amazing women.
She completed her bachelor degree in pharmacy last year
in 2022 at Jinzu Medical University in China,
And she is now doing her internship at Mount Meru Hospital.
Other than healthcare, her hobbies are crocheting, music, reading, journaling, and meditating.
Jacqueline has a great interest in psychology and learning human behavior.
Jacqueline, how are you today?
I'm very fine. I'm doing okay. How are you?
I'm happy to have you here. I'm really excited to know much more about you.
So I'll begin with this nice first question, which is Jacqueline,
if your friends and family and the people who know you best
could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
I think for the most people that are really close to me,
they would describe me as empathetic
and they would mostly say that I would make a good leader.
Also, I'm very transparent, but also, some would also say that I'm funny, some would think that I'm funny,
and I really know how to work in, I really know how to, what's the best way to describe this,
I really know how to work with people. Yeah, I think that's the best way they would describe me.
Thank you. So people seem to be an important part of your reality and in life for you.
Have you been someone who has been fascinated with human beings for a long, long time? I mean,
you even have finished your pharmacy bachelor's degree, so that's a humanistic kind of endeavor.
Did you feel that human beings are a source of knowledge, a source of emotions,
miracles that are to be discovered or how was that for you? How was your experience and perspective
and relation with other people when it comes to them being such an important part of your life?
Well, absolutely. That's a great question. That's a very broad question. I would say
I have really been able to see humans in different perspectives. You know,
Given the fact that I have lived with different people
in different areas,
I went to a very big school with many students
and I would really see the difference in itch
and build perspective on how humans in general
just think about life and how we work together
or as an individual to get where we want to get.
So it is really interesting how humans get to think.
I think humans are really intelligent,
most of them, we are really intelligent and how we get to work or try to cope with life in general.
It is really interesting if you observe it on another perspective. And so it has really
been a good experience for me so far. And given the fact now that I'm all grown up and I have
all the awareness to understand how humans get to think or how other people get to see me
itself. So it's really, really, really interesting.
Thank you. So is this related to your love for psychology and
human behavior? And if so, why did you choose pharmacy rather
than directly become like a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or
human behavior studier?
My interest in healthcare started way before my interest in
So I remember back then, I think I was nine years old and my father had a heart problem.
He fell sick. And from that point, I just had this vision that someday I'm just going to help him get through, you know, with all the sickness and whatever and helping other members of my family.
And I just had this great vision of becoming a medical care worker at any point, whether
it was a medical doctor or a pharmacist.
So I just ended up pursuing what I liked at first.
But the moment I reached, I think, my very early 20s, I just grew more interest in
psychology because of how I had, I just got the awareness to see, I just had the
to see how other people think and I would mix myself around people and I
would question so much why people act the way they act and I'm a lover of
documentaries. I like watching and listening to documentaries and there
that's where the interest in psychology just started because I was so
interested in thinking why do people act the way they act and also because
it's because of the normal life experiences that I've had so far. The
points where I've gotten hurt by people or by friends,
point where I've experienced abundance of happiness
from my family members or my friends.
From that point, I just get to question so much
about the human mind and why do we behave
the way we behave.
And also because of the things that I watch
or the people that I listen to,
I listen to this very famous clinical psychologist
called Jordan Peterson.
And he also has played part in inspiring me.
So that is that.
Yes. You have to make your bed and your room every day, every morning.
Yes. Yes, exactly.
Yes. And how is this related to your interest and in leadership and your leadership traits?
You mentioned in the beginning that people can describe you as a leader,
someone with leadership traits, because so far the way you spoke,
some people might understand it,
that you're curious about human psychology and behavior,
but if you add to that leadership,
it means you're doing something with it.
Can you share more
and how that interest in leadership developed?
As I was saying that most of my friends,
some of my friends would describe me as a good leader
because I think I would say it,
I would describe it as a gift
because it just happens wherever I go
and wherever people see me,
they just have that interest to listen
and just adhere to what I have to say.
And this just didn't happen recently.
It's something that I grew up with.
When I was at my primary school,
I was once a leader and I went to secondary school
and I became a leader at a certain point,
just a leader of a club.
And it would just bring this interest in me,
okay fine people do really understand me and people do really want to listen to what I have to say
and my dad would always describe me as a leader he would always say that I have that impact on
people and so believing in something you know you create enough energy for it to happen so
that's how all this came to life but I have not really been a leader so far in anything
for a long time, but I act like one, I would say, yeah.
Thank you. I understand, and I like that, and it seems like your father, your family,
have been so supportive for you. What are some things within yourself that motivate
you to go after your goals, to do something like move from Tanzania to China, thousands
and thousands of kilometers to study, which to some women, they might worry, oh, I'll
far from my family. If something happens, it's dangerous. I'm too secluded, too
disconnected. What gives you the motivation, confidence, and courage to go
out of your comfort zone? And how can other women be inspired by that even
more? What gives me confidence? A lot of things do give me confidence to
just step out of my comfort zone and do the most for myself. One
them being the fact that you know growing up in an African family you would think that since I'm
the last born most people would would pursue that they would think that I you know last borns are
mostly spoiled they do not really have their their life together they just mostly dependent
you know and I remember growing up they I would try to prove people wrong like I know what I'm
Other than that, I actually think it all comes down to how you vision yourself.
If you have purpose, if you believe that you have purpose, there is nothing that is going to stop you from doing what you've always wanted to do.
I remember telling my father that I've always wanted to study abroad.
I just want to change my environment.
I want to be elsewhere where I could be myself more and meet new people and just change the whole, you know, get more exposure and change my culture in one way or another and just learn about people.
And I remember the moment I got the opportunity to do so, it really transformed me.
It really changed me because being in an environment where you're not at your comfort.
It really just brings out another version of you, a version that you may or you may not
like.
But as for me, it did really turn out well because I think I became my best version
when I stepped out of that comfort zone.
So for most women who might be skeptical about making big choices in life, like going to
another country or just doing things out of their comfort zone, I think it's best
that they just do it anyways.
because the more you think positive about yourself, the more you think that you can do something,
the more you give it energy for it to happen and it will happen in the best way possible.
It never fails. It just happens like that and nature just supports it to happen.
So a lot of things do inspire me. I look at a lot of women who have done so many things in
life and I'm just like, I just want to be like them. I just want to be like them or do
So the moment I just do so, I find myself doing things.
That's how it happens.
I love that. I agree with it 100%.
And I want you to define more purpose.
You said having purpose is an essential ingredient of having the courage.
Well, there are many people and women who say,
I don't really know for sure what is my purpose.
I don't know whether something is my purpose.
maybe someday I think something, the next day I have a different mood.
So for you, how do you find your purpose? How do you define it?
And how do you get that energy and charge to think,
yes, this is what I'm going after, without succumbing to the doubt?
Well, I think, I just think like times change.
At a particular time, you might vision yourself to be someone
and at a particular time you just find yourself to be someone else. We are humans, we change,
we have different versions. I believe the person that I was two years ago is not the person that
I am today because I have already attained new experiences. I got to meet new people. So it
all depends on your vision, on yourself. I don't believe that everybody is just ordinary.
If you start by believing that you're not just ordinary and that you were put in this world to accomplish or at least pursue something, I think that's where your purpose begins.
Once you believe that you're not just ordinary, because as much as we like to be humble and believe like, yes, I'm just going to finish school.
I'm going to do, I'm just going to get a job and I'm just going to support my family and
support myself and my my kids maybe. But at the end of the day, I don't think if that's
all you want to do, I think there is just so much that the world has to offer. So
you shouldn't really be thinking ordinary, you should really be optimistic. And as
much as sometimes you might be not motivated, because there are those days, there are
days where you wake up and you don't feel like doing anything. There are those days where you wake
up and you just don't want to chase your dreams anymore. You could be depressed for three months
or so, but at the end of the day, once you get back on your feet, you remember your purpose.
Remember that you're not just ordinary. You're not just put here to do ordinary things.
You do have a gift. Everybody has a gift and everybody has a chance to touch each and
lives. So I think from that perspective, that's where I get the idea of, you know,
purpose, meaning that you have a vision. Everybody should have a vision. I don't
believe we're all just ordinary. Exactly. Yeah.
I agree with that so much. And then I wonder because nowadays we live in the
age of social media. Maybe many women compare themselves to Instagram posts
or the lives of other people, they don't feel their self-worth and that makes them think,
I'm just an ordinary girl. And you said no, for you to break free from your comfort zone,
from your limitations, you should see yourself as extraordinary. How can women really understand
their self-worth and not compare themselves to other people, understand their unique beauty,
their real worth and therefore they experience life and get motivated to see themselves as
extraordinary. First of all I think it is such a bummer for some women that have never been
exposed in an environment where they got to feel their most confident and that is really a sad
story because it is majority of the women that do not feel their best self and it all comes
down to the comparison of the social media.
I always ask myself, if social media never existed,
I'm pretty sure we would have been on a different page
right now in this world.
But all has been said and done,
but how do we get that confidence and self-worth?
It all just begins with the people
you surround yourself with
and the things you choose to watch.
That's according to me and what I've been practicing
for the years that I really started to gain my confidence
because I think we do all have that bit of phase
where we feel the least confident
and maybe we all have insecurities.
I've always had some insecurities,
but there was a time that I did have a breakthrough.
I had a very major breakthrough
and it all came down because I had very genuine friends.
I have very genuine friends.
I don't have a lot of friends.
I do have a very small circle,
But the friends that I do have are very genuine, they're very loving.
They have never let me feel that I'm not worth it.
So it all starts with the people you surround yourself with.
People that would make you, or would help you feel empowered.
And these people should always be there, they should always be there for you.
In terms of, you know, we always don't feel our most confident, but I do have
friends who, when I feel like, when I'm at my worst, they would always come up and comfort
me and tell me like, no, you're like this. They would remind me of who I am. So I think
that's really, really important. And the things that we choose to watch. So the things
that we choose to watch do play a very big impact in how we see ourselves. Because
at the end of the day, we're just going to be comparing ourselves with everybody.
You need to have that self-awareness to understand that we're all different.
We're all different. We're all special.
There's always going to be someone who is prettier than you.
There's always going to be someone who is taller than you, who is a little bit, you know,
a little bit skinnier than you, a little bit chubby than you.
It does not really matter because at the end of the day, you are still your unique self.
The person you're comparing yourself with will never be able to do the things that you do.
In this world, everybody, I mean, you get to do what you do as you and nobody else can imitate you.
So if you compare yourself to celebrities or the famous people or influences that we see nowadays on social media,
it's always going to be, it's always going to pierce your heart because you're always going to think that you're not worth anything, but you actually are.
just in a different, you're just in a different separate universe of your own self, which you can
actually make the best out of. And so I don't, I would really encourage a lot of women not to
compare comparison is the killer of joy. You don't need to compare yourself. You don't need
to compare yourself. And I could give a very, very quick advice to what I did to gain my
The confidence that I do have today, which I never had 10 years ago, is the fact that
I did look back to my old traumas and things that trigger me that make me not feel confident.
And I would reverse them and I would try to reverse them into something more positive.
So that worked out for me, might not work out for all, but we all need to find a
through into getting that confidence that we all need to have and feel worth enough, yeah.
Thank you so much Jacqueline. It was my privilege and my honor to have you in this podcast,
to share your voice, your story and everything that you shared had a lot of wisdom in it. I
wish you to finish your internship, to become a leader fully and completely as you're meant to
and to keep inspiring other people and other women.
Thank you for participating.
Thank you very much.
This was amazing.
Thank you.
