How I Made It Through

“Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.” – Charles Lindbergh

I can think of some people who are epitome of success, people who may have failed or have had trying experiences but never backed down: Bill Gates who failed on his first business, Albert Einstein who didn’t speak until he was four years old, Benjamin Franklin who dropped out of school at age ten, Oprah Winfrey who gave birth at age 14 and lost her child, Franklin Roosevelt who became paralyzed at age 39. But you see, these are just some of the many people who fought their way to success by hard work, perseverance and determination in spite of their circumstances.

If I am to base success on the quote above and on those people, then I might as well consider myself successful. Although not very rich or a very famous one, at age 23 I am already employed with a permanent job, is financially supporting my younger sister in her College education (she is currently a 2nd year BSED student), working my way towards reuniting my family and now publishing my own story.

Life is good I must say but it wasn’t always like these eleven years ago. My parents separated and our family had to go through difficult times. It was a complete turn-around of our lives. Barely 12 years old at the time, I could not understand why it has to be that way. I and my three siblings went on living with our mother who was unemployed at the province while our father lived in Manila. He was sending us money for financial support religiously at first. But as the months and years passed, it came seldom and more seldom until a point when he just stopped giving the support. Our communication with him eventually stopped as well.

My graduation day in elementary school came by. There was no sign of a father though. I did well in school, graduated with flying colors in fact, but he couldn't be there to be proud of me. Life goes on, I had to. I continued my high school studies at a school three kilometers away from us. My brother, who is a school-year ahead of me and I walked along that distance from home to school in the morning and afternoon. During the weekends, I did some errands for our neighbor, washing the plates, helping them in their laundry and other small chores. Whatever money I make I gave to my mother to aid for our daily expenses or allowances in school. When I reached senior year, I was beginning to think how my mother would be able to finance my college education.

In that same year, my problem was answered. My best friend (a working student at a nun’s convent at our parish), was made an instrument by God. One day she just told me that Sr. Ana, the nun she was with, was looking for another working student to accompany her at the convent. I immediately agreed on the idea and had high hopes for my future education. By October, I came to live with them. We had our daily routine: Morning Prayer with the nuns and doing the household chores before going to school, cooking for lunch and having the meal with them at lunchtime, and doing other household chores again in the afternoon upon arriving from school. Living with them made me see things in newer perspective and taught me priceless values I have carried with me. I learned to be patient, to appreciate the little things in life we often fail to notice, to be humble, to always keep in mind that everything happens for a purpose and that I should always have a relationship with God and praise Him in whatever situation I am in. Months passed and graduation day came. Still no sign of my father. I envied my fellow graduates who had their father to hold, to hug, who cheers for them and applauds for them. But then I had to accept the situation, maybe he had his own reasons after all.

When I was about to enter College, a problem arose when the nuns we were living with were reassigned to another Mission House. I would have been left hanging if not for the Parish priest who accepted the responsibility of assisting me financially in my studies. Although I took the entrance exam of the course Bachelor of Science in Nursing and availed of the Academic Scholarship Program at Colegio de Sta. Lourdes of Leyte Foundation, Inc. (CSLLFI), I still needed added support for my monthly allowance, projects, and miscellaneous expenses.

Entering College brought about more challenges. My brother was also a student at the school; he was already on his second year. When I entered in first year, he had to stop because our eldest sister who was financing his studies discontinued giving him support due to financial difficulties. I tried to cover him with my allowance, but it just wouldn’t do considering that our course was financially demanding. He decided to stop after finishing second year and transferred instead to our local college at Biliran to take up Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with our high school teachers to finance him. I was not up to the idea of him discontinuing his studies at our school and transferring to another but he had made up his mind. So I still continued my studies at CSLLFI and became even more determined to pursue it.

I had the chance to finally see my father after six years when I was in second year. It was just a short meeting since he was on his way back to Manila from his hometown. He was asking for apology and told me he always prayed that we, his children may someday be able to forgive and understand him for everything that’s happened. Seeing him was enough for me to understand him. He’s still my father after all.

On my third year I had the opportunity to do private tutorial on grade school pupils as a part-time job since we had no summer classes. I used the money I earn for enrolling in the next semester. Senior year was quite more challenging since we had to finish our Research papers, complete the number of Hospital Cases we are required to have (Newborn delivery, Newborn care, etc.) among other tasks. I was also the President of our Student Council at the time so I had to balance my time with my studies and school activities that I had to manage. Despite all that, I was able to complete my course and graduated by April of 2012. By December of that same year, I took the Nursing Licensure Examination and passed as the results came a month after. I felt so ecstatic. I actually made it. I am already a Registered Nurse. All those hardships and difficulties were repaid with blessings a hundredfold more.

The famous quote “When it rains, it pours” was indeed true. Six months after passing the Licensure Exam, I was hired at the Bureau of Fire Protection as Fire Officer I. And now I am about to finish the 6-month training on Fire Basic Recruit Course with 610 other trainees from around the Philippines.

With all these things I have achieved, I know I made my family proud and served as an inspiration to them. I could still remember my mother telling me when I was young that I am an angel in the family. Maybe I had really lived for that purpose. Although we are not living together physically (my mother and 2 younger sisters are the only ones living with me), we now have a constant communication with our father; my brother still resides with our high school teacher but we often see each other.

Inspiring others aside from my family could be one of my greatest accomplishments as well. Writing or telling your own story could stir happy and sad memories. Others may not bother to read it or maybe they wouldn’t even be able to remember your name but if we could inspire even just a single person, then at least we have left an impact to the world. Steve Maraboli said, “Once you start recognizing the truth of your story, finish the story. It happened but you’re still here, you’re still capable, powerful, you’re not your circumstance. It happened and you made it through. You’re still fully equipped with every single tool you need to fulfill your purpose.”

The value of life we live, the way we handle our circumstances, and the legacy we leave always depends on us. That is the true meaning of success. Now I urge you to make your own story. A famous Harley Davidson ad carried a great subhead: “You say you want to ride. Now say you will. It’s time to start something.”

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*Names were changed for purposes of privacy.