In times when you are defined not just by a single life’s work but by several aspects of development, keeping a balance between everything is crucial. Some manage to do it, while others stop and don’t dare to continue. And despite the fact that over the last decades the world has changed by 180 degrees, people want to return to human experience, not to “bright pictures”.
In order to adopt the experience of multitasking and learn the secrets of consistency in work, we talked with the singer YAROMIYA. Exclusively for the International Glossy Magazine Business Woman, she is ready to share her experience of combining seemingly incompatible spheres of life – obtaining a PhD degree, creativity, and motherhood.
Maryana, your creative path was quite thorny at the beginning, given the tight schedule of medical studies. When was the idea of becoming a singer born, and what exactly pushed you to self-expression in the field of music?
Music was never a “parallel” reality for me – it always lived inside. Yes, medical education and a PhD degree are about discipline and achieving a goal. But creativity was that necessary oxygen for me. I started singing because I felt that I had an accumulated internal resource that I was simply obligated to convert into melody and meanings. It wasn’t an instant decision; it was a calling that I finally allowed myself to hear.
You hold a PhD degree in “Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy”. Given your active social life, motherhood, creativity, and blog, you pay a lot of attention to filling yourself with knowledge and skills. Share with us, what helps you see things through to the end?
Only system planning and consistency help to see things through to the end, which, in my opinion, is inherited from scientific work. I am used to the fact that any complex experiment requires clarity and endurance. In my life, creativity is also a kind of experiment. When you perceive a task as part of a grand strategy, rather than just an emotional impulse, it becomes easier to finish what you started. The most important thing is to understand the “why”. When there is deep motivation, discipline becomes not a burden, but a tool. When you clearly define the goal and honestly answer to yourself whether you need it, that’s when discipline is born.
You are a successful mother of two children, fulfilled in various areas of life, to whom you dedicated the song “Son and Daughter” (“Syn i dochka”). How do your children inspire your creativity? What advice to mothers do you consider the most valuable?
Children are my “authenticity detector”. You know, before the birth of my children, I measured my success by achievements, diplomas, and deadlines. But with the appearance of my son and daughter, I realized that true magic is the ability to see the world through the eyes of a child.
When I write music, my children are my very first listeners. They inspire me to be real. When you come home after a performance or from the studio, you cannot “play a role” – children instantly read the fake. This forces me to be honest with myself in every lyric I write. Often mothers ask me how I manage everything. And my answer is always the same: I don’t try to manage everything. I don’t want to be a “robot-mom” who just performs functions. I want to be the one who sets an example for her children that a woman can be fulfilled, happy, and at the same time remain caring. Therefore, the most valuable piece of advice I would give to mothers is to allow themselves not to be perfect.
You pay great attention to the theme of femininity and the uniqueness of every girl in your work. What does being a woman in the 21st century mean to you? What difficulties do you think women still face in these turbulent times?
Being a woman for me means choosing myself every single day. It’s about the strength to be gentle, vulnerable, and at the same time – strong-willed. The main difficulty that modern women face is the pressure of expectations. This is the hardest part for me. When people expect a collective stereotypical image of a woman, but, in reality, they are just communicating with a person who has her own anxieties and problems. We are often forced into an “either-or” role: either you are a careerist, or a caring mom. I want to prove that “both” is possible. Women, in general, are super multitaskers, and this is our advantage.
You have repeatedly mentioned in interviews that each of your songs is a certain message. What do you want to tell your audience in your upcoming tracks? What topics that were previously “uncomfortable” or “closed” would you like to reveal through music in the near future?
For me, music is born when I observe people, their emotions, and sincerity. I want to sing about what makes women happy and energetic. For me, music is not just a set of sounds; it is a way to articulate a reality that we often try to ignore. In my next tracks, I want to move away from superficial topics and delve deeper into what truly shapes the experience of a modern woman.
In such a tight schedule, it is quite difficult to find time for yourself. Have you dealt with burnout from an imbalance in different aspects of life? How do you view failures in a way that avoids falling into conflict with yourself?
Burnout is the price we pay for forgetting about the “regeneration” of our own resource. I am learning to treat failures as negative results in an experiment. It’s not a failure; it’s just data obtained that shows that this path is not suitable. And when I feel that my strength is running out, I just stop. Not forever, but for as long as needed to hear myself again. Conflict with myself arises when I go against my inner manifestations and desires, so I always try to maintain a balance here.
You are an example of how one can fulfill oneself in completely different spheres. What would you advise women who are still putting their own dreams off “for later,” fearing they won’t make it or won’t cope with life’s challenges?
“Later” does not exist. There is only “now”. My experience has taught me that results do not appear on their own. My advice is simple: start with small steps that will later become bigger and bigger. Don’t wait for perfect conditions, because there are no perfect moments. You need to believe in yourself and look for opportunities and moments every day to encourage yourself. Believe in your potential, because you are much stronger than you think.
Photo: from the heroine’s archive