REACH YOUR IMPOSSIBLE DREAM!

A story: DREAM AND RESEARCH PAPER

How to get accepted by a high-quality international journal  in one month or less, according to my personal experience

By: Elie Molly*

Five months ago, I cried on my bed all day, thinking about my unsuccessful research papers. At that time I have spent more than 3 years studying for my Ph.D. degree in my campus USTB Beijing, I had conducted a series of research and written some papers accordingly, but nothing of my papers were accepted for publication. I didn't know that Ph.D. life would be that hard. Some universities in China apply easier requirements for doctoral graduation, but my campus is rigorous; I should get at least three papers published in high-quality international journals before writing my doctoral thesis/dissertation. It had been three years, I only published one conference paper. I needed to publish two more journal papers, and my time was very short; only around seven months left, otherwise, I would not graduate on time in June 2021. Tears of fear fell down my cheek, I didn't know what to do.

I got so many rejections, maybe around 30 times. My paper who was accepted in a journal suddenly was rejected after one year of revision; my confidence was broken. And if you know how it is like to be rejected by a journal, it is like being rejected by your first love. The heartbreak is unbearable. 30 times of rejection is the same as rejected by 30 first lovers. Heehee..., sorry if it sounds bombastic, but that's what I was feeling. I didn't have any experience as a researcher before, I only a popular book author, writing journal papers was a new experience for me, that's why I faced so many difficulties.

However, I believed that nothing lasts forever; including difficulty itself. I read the holy book where God says: "With every difficulty, there is ease."

One day in September 2020, I remembered the story of a professor that I wrote in my book entitled "Dare to Dream". I asked him how he could become a professor.  "It was a long journey," he said. "It was not easy to become a professor, but I did not give up on my dream. As a Muslim, I pray Tahajjud (night prayer). I said to God in my prayer, 'Oh Allah, I know I am not the brightest student in my class; in fact, maybe I am the dumbest pupil of all. However, I believe in Your power to change my dream into a reality; I want to be a professor." And his dream had come true.

Inspired by the professor's story, I started to do what he told me. Because I am a Muslim too, I started praying Tahajjud and made the same dua: "Oh Allah, I know I am not the smartest Ph.D. students on my campus; in fact, I may be the dumbest one of all because my English was so bad that many journals rejected my papers for this reason. But Allah, only to You I worship, and only to You I ask for help; I want to get my papers published and graduate on time."

And Allah is the best answerer of prayer.

I sent a paper to a journal indexed by EI Compendex (Elsevier Engineering Index). The paper was rejected, but the editor in chief said I can use the reviewers' comments to improve my paper. The main reason for rejection was my poor English; there were so many grammatical errors; thus, I announced in the Wechat group "whoever can help me improve the English in my paper, I will put him/her as my co-author." I was so happy because many students wanted to be my co-authors, but I should only choose one or two. Anitha, my Ph.D. friend, and roommate from the Maldives helped me improve my English. The paper was still rejected due to lack of literature review, but I used one of her strategies for another paper: "Try to use simplest English words."

October 2020, I wrote a new paper for the journal that rejected me. Two weeks later, I got the result of peer review in which I should make some revisions, and one week later, my paper got accepted for publication!

Mashaa Allah, I was so happy like a child winning a toy! Allah helped me through my friend's suggestions. And with Allah's help, my paper was accepted in only THREE WEEKS! It is less than a month! Four months later (January 2021), the paper was published online. So the total time from submission to publication is less than five months. It was a miracle because many other journals need at least 7 months or even a year to publish a paper. My prayer has saved the time.

Okay, then I needed one more paper to get published as a graduation requirement. I wrote a new paper and submitted it to the same journal. I got the result of peer review in around a month. The reviewer suggested a very minor revision: I only have to change few words due to incorrect tenses. I spent few hours revising it and resubmitted the revision on the same day. The next day, the journal announced that my paper was accepted! I was so happy, my paper got accepted only in a total time of ONE MONTH! Alhamdulillah, thank you, Allah.

Now I have fulfilled the graduation requirements; my 3 papers have been accepted. I just need to write a dissertation / Ph.D. thesis to complete my study. Allah has lifted the burden from my shoulder.

Patience and prayers need to be done in pursuing a dream. By believing in Allah, miracles happen. May Allah give strength to everyone who is in the same situation as mine. Ameen ya Rabb.

Note:

My Colombian friend told me that her ex-boyfriend had been studying for his Ph.D. for ten years in China and still unsure when he will graduate. Imagine, ten years! When she was saying that, I laughed, especially because she also said, "Glad that we broke up." Hehehe. Now I understand why he needs ten years or maybe more to finish his doctoral degree. For people who take a Ph.D. in China as a 'side job', not as the main work, it will be undoubtedly challenging to reach graduation dream. Especially if English is not our first language, and if our background is not a researcher. However, we can not take this as an excuse. We can still work harder and pray to solve the problem. My seniors in my campus have graduated successfully, they become my motivations. Sometimes I feel I go too slowly. But I remember that Confucious said, "It is better to go slowly than to stop". It is true. The real failure is not when we fail; it is when we stop trying. Six months ago I cried like a baby when I got rejections from journals, but now I'm stronger by time and experiences. Being strong is the energy to continue the pursuit of a dream. Inshaa Allah.  Put your trust in God, and everything will be ok. []

*Elie Molly is the author of books "Dare to Dream" and "Reach Your Impossible Dream!"