MANILA, Philippines - Each one of us is different but we are all capable of one thing: having a dream. These dreams allow us to achieve life-long happiness and contentment. Allowing one's self to dream is a manifestation of a person’s drive and passion to succeed. Setting one's self to go beyond the norm and achieve shows utmost will to have a meaningful life.
But these dreams are not easy to reach. There will be challenges that will determine one's desire to reach a goal. These challenges will either make you weak to the point that you’re about to lose the battle or make you even stronger. You choose.
In my case, these challenges made me the latter; strong enough to handle all the pressures.
One of my challenges was when my dad suffered a mild stroke. Despite his condition, what I admired most was the words he uttered. He said, “E kayu migaganaka.” (Don't worry.) We are very lucky that today, he is in a good condition and is very healthy. Having to overcome this challenge, however, turned everything around. My father had to rest and we need to stop the operation of our business. This enabled us to have a different set up, way different from what we had before.
At that time, I told myself, “Gusto ko nang sumuko.” But I looked at my parents, still smiling with pride and joy despite having such difficulties. This has inspired me to do better in order to have a brighter future and to fulfill the dreams that I have for them.
A lot of opportunities knocked on my door upon entering college, one of which was the 100 percent scholarship. This really motivated me to study hard because it made me realize that there is no reason for me to quit. Through this blessing, I saw how God has provided me with wonderful ways to stay.
Something else that motivates me is the talk my parents always had. I can still remember the time when my parents always say something about having our own house because for 11 years we have been renting an apartment. I looked at my mom’s sad eyes for she believes that it will take a long time before having our own house. This became my drive to work hard after graduation. I made a promise that the first thing that I will do is to chase the dreams that I have built not just for myself but for my parents.
Now, I’m already a graduate. I talked to my friend who is an architect to help me start sketching the dream house that I want my parents to live in. For me, it’s time to give back everything that they have done for me. My dreams would remain in its lowest if not for their love and unending support.
When I was in high school, I wasn’t like this. I’m just focused mainly on my academics, nothing more and nothing less. I was just doing it for the sake of being on top of the class. But one day I woke up and realized that it is not just this stagnant goal that I am supposed to reach, but something far greater. I reminded myself to dream big, to know my priorities in life, and to focus my attention to my loving parents who worked really hard just to send us to good schools.
Most importantly, I asked myself everyday why not make them proud? Why not build dreams for them? Why not make them the happiest people on earth? From these “why nots,” I was actually inspired to do better and now even my best.
From the different competitions, seminars, and trainings that I attended, I was molded from a "no one" to "someone." I didn’t expect that I will reach this far. I am so blessed that there were people who kept on motivating me and telling me that being me is the best version of myself. God is really good because He gave me people that played a huge part in my life whenever I’m tested in the battle field of competitions.
I am lucky enough that I was chosen to represent our school in different competitions. I really felt everyone’s trust and support, and in return I make it a point that I am always inculcating excellence in everything that I do. From those competitions, I was able to gain a lot of things. One of the greatest achievements that I had was when we won the mini-company award (champion) organized by the Junior Achievement of the Philippines, Inc. (JAPI).
From the said competition, I gained enough confidence which I could use as a weapon once I’m already in the real world. It was never an easy task for us especially for me who acted as the president of our group. I need to check all the activities and strategies set by the different departments for they should all be beneficial to the success of the company. I came to a point that I got disheartened because some of our plans were ineffective. At that time, I really felt that I am not an effective leader as I began questioning my skills and decisions. But I reminded myself of everything I have went through. These are just challenges and we need to reach our main goal, our dreams, which is to win and bring home the big trophy.
So I told my members, we need to double our effort in order to reach our goal because at the end of the day all we want is to be rewarded with what we have offered. Moreover, I reminded myself to be a great leader and to share my skills which I gained through various programs.
I am glad and proud to say, we won majority of the awards and the feeling was totally different. I even won the President of the Year award which made me realize that with determination and perseverance, nothing is impossible.
All the blessings that I have right now magnify how good God is. That no matter what happens, He is always there to give us everything that we deserve. All we need to do is to be thankful and live a life according to what is right. Don’t stop chasing your dreams because you will feel the real happiness once you reached the end of the line.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
