Inspiration

Lately, I had been feeling skeptic about migrating to another country. I was fearful that I won’t be able to land a job in the IT industry which translates to not getting a high paying job.

It was because of this that I felt the need to reconnect to people from my past. You see, I have not joined any social networks that everyone seems to be in right now like Facebook, hence, I know nothing of my friends’ life except for those that I have in Yahoo! Messenger. Looking back, I must have been probably ashamed to have them know that I have not yet accomplished anything while I have this notion that they are somewhere out in the world with thriving careers and bountiful life. It’s not unlikely that I was feeling miserable with my life back then that I had hidden myself from the world.

Last night, I decided to chat up with a college batchmate whom I know had been living in the US since after we graduated. It was then that I learned that her immigration to the US was not at all an easy ride as what I imagined it to be. I had always thought that her entire family immigrated so she has full support of her parents in whatever she wants to pursue in the new country they are in. And besides, she was one of the smartest and always been a go-getter at school. So, I thought life has not been hard on her. Pero sabi nga nila, madalas mali ang mga akala.

It turned out that she went to the US by herself a few months after their family’s petition was granted. Her parents decided to forgo the opportunity saying they’re already too old to start all over again. You might think since they were petitioned, they have relatives that could assist in settling in. But in her case, her relatives did not want to have anything to do with her. Sad, right? But that didn’t sway her. She stayed with a friend and got a job as a cashier in a pizza parlor across their apartment. She tried to live through her savings from her short stint working  in Pinas. She then found a job as a customer sales rep in an insurance company and kept the cashier job as part time. Stayed there for 3 years then moved to a small IT company (who wouldn’t want to use what they have studied in college for n years, right?), then went back again to the insurance company and became a Project Manager/Business Analyst.

I never imagined I would be inspired by her story. Let alone make me think back and change my perspective. It takes a great deal of courage and broken pride to be able to get through what she faced in that part of her life. Although I know many of you may be saying that it’s nothing compared to the everyday life the poor in Manila are experiencing each day, yeah, I’ve thought of that too. I know I’m lucky in so many ways.

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I’ve written this roughly about a month ago and it amazes me how time quickly flies and washes away all my negativity! Now, I’m feeling more content than ever and determined to cherish every step to wherever life takes me.