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Abstract

ppen.I grew up considering having rice to eat every day as a grand blessing. Having new clothing or a second pair of shoes is a luxury. Hence, aside from becoming a teacher, my 2 other grander dreams are: to live in a <a href="https://oliviamarlene.medium.com/i-hate-the-rain-when-i-was-a-child-87409ed06714">simple house with no leaking roofs</a> and to have Php 10,000 ( $200) savings in the bank.As a child, I promised that I will escape the chains of poverty. I made ways to earn my own money by scavenging bottles and plastics, selling candies, cleaning classrooms, and even joining singing contests. Do you know how much I earn during that time?$ 0.5 to $1. Those amounts would sustain my weekly school allowance 30 years ago.With much focus on my goal of becoming a teacher, I studied hard during my elementary and high school days so I can get a scholarship in college. I got it but I was accepted into the BS Biology course instead of the teaching course that I wanted. Still, I grabbed the opportunity and I studied at the University of the Philippines for free with allowances. Back then I can see the future of me as a professor of biology.BS Biology is not easy. You have to be well-rounded. You need to be good at memorizing because you have taxonomy and physiology to name a few. You have to dissect animals and memorize their muscles and body parts. You have to be good in math as you have chemistry and you have to compute how many ml or grams of a chemical you need to mix in the laboratory. You need to climb mountains and swim in the oceans for your ecology classes. You have to take care of mice and fruit flies for projects.Sleepless nights of studying molded me into someone who can identify cells, tissues, and even bacteria under an electron microscope. I can tell the scientific names of plants that I encounter while walking outside. Combined with my natural talent in teaching, I was confident to face the world as a biology teacher right after graduation.I’m intelligent, hard-working, and with a passion for teaching. I thought my qualifications and my sincere desire to serve my country as a teacher are enough. But I wasn’t warned that the outside world is harsh. Once again, I was reminded that of my lowly place on earth. Being poor with no connections still haunted me. My job applications were set aside because I don’t have connections with the hiring authoritie

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s.I cried blood for that failure but I can’t give up as I need to earn to help my family. Armed with my talent for teaching, I became a private tutor instead. I tutored kids from rich families. I was paid more than I expected. Little did I know that I’ll get the biggest break of my life from this lowly job. One of the parents of my tutees encouraged me to apply to the organization where he belongs.<h2 id="6d53">The Birth of an Opportunity and the Death of a Dream</h2>Landing a permanent job in a prestigious organization made me believe in myself again. They trained me, built my potentials, and supported me until I became a lawyer. This organization made me and I’m still with them after 17 years.I’ve grown and I’ve flourished but it entailed the death of my ultimate dream to become an esteemed biology professor. The years of hardships in studying science and working in laboratories have to be set aside. How could I use my knowledge in parasitism or use of an electron microscope as a lawyer? As much as I love to keep my past, they were put in a box, sealed, and never to be used again.The universe was harsh in giving me series of tests and hurdles in a confusing fashion. I wanted to become a high school teacher but it gave me the opportunity to become a biology professor. I did the hard work to become the best biology professor but came the day I thought I’ll be, the universe didn’t give it to me. Then it tested me again by challenging me to take a career in law which is on the opposite of the pole of where I am supposed to be. I have nothing to lose so I took the challenge and as usual, I gave my best shot.Finally, the universe runs out of tests and finally gave me my accumulated prizes. Now, it rains and it pours but all to my reward. I have all the best things in life. I have a good family, good health, good finances with no traces of my poverty-stricken past.<h2 id="a149">The Lesson:</h2>Take life challenges head-on and never give up. If plan A doesn’t work, there’s still plan B to Z. Go with the flow. Attainment of a perfectly crafted plan is not a scorecard for success. When dreams wilt and die, grieve if you must but bury them as part of your past. Stand up, fight again, and be willing to explore unfamiliar areas. Always tell yourself to have one more try. Success comes when you least expect it. I know, I experienced it first hand.</article></body>

How I Responded to the Tricks of the Universe

A true story of giving up a dream but not giving up on life

March 18, 2014, was the day the universe gave up on its merry-go-round trick with me and finally gave me the permission to set the direction of my life. At noon on that day, my world stopped for several minutes.

The claps from my work colleagues, the phones that don’t stop ringing with people wanting to talk to me, and the heartbeat of friends hugging me still echo in my mind until now. On that day, my name was printed on the list of new lawyers issued by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The Philippine Bar Examination is regarded as the hardest and most celebrated licensure examination in the Philippines. It is a “month-long” examination where hopeful law graduates take the examination on 4 Sundays. The passing percentage is generally low. In the 2013 bar examination where I took part, only 1174 examinees out of 5292 passed or merely 22% passing rate.

I was happy for having hurdled the exam but that’s it. No further superlatives. Why? Because becoming a lawyer was never my dream. If I may say, it was a destiny insisted on by the universe. It was a birth of a new life for me but signaled the death of the life that I have planned.

Life is unpredictable. It is full of tricks and challenges. I went with the flow, danced with whatever music, took every challenge, and the final destination got me surprised.

My Life

Who would have expected that a poverty-stricken girl who dreamed to become a high school teacher will instead become a lawyer? Not even my family envisioned it to happen.

I grew up considering having rice to eat every day as a grand blessing. Having new clothing or a second pair of shoes is a luxury. Hence, aside from becoming a teacher, my 2 other grander dreams are: to live in a simple house with no leaking roofs and to have Php 10,000 ($200) savings in the bank.

As a child, I promised that I will escape the chains of poverty. I made ways to earn my own money by scavenging bottles and plastics, selling candies, cleaning classrooms, and even joining singing contests. Do you know how much I earn during that time? $0.5 to $1. Those amounts would sustain my weekly school allowance 30 years ago.

With much focus on my goal of becoming a teacher, I studied hard during my elementary and high school days so I can get a scholarship in college. I got it but I was accepted into the BS Biology course instead of the teaching course that I wanted. Still, I grabbed the opportunity and I studied at the University of the Philippines for free with allowances. Back then I can see the future of me as a professor of biology.

BS Biology is not easy. You have to be well-rounded. You need to be good at memorizing because you have taxonomy and physiology to name a few. You have to dissect animals and memorize their muscles and body parts. You have to be good in math as you have chemistry and you have to compute how many ml or grams of a chemical you need to mix in the laboratory. You need to climb mountains and swim in the oceans for your ecology classes. You have to take care of mice and fruit flies for projects.

Sleepless nights of studying molded me into someone who can identify cells, tissues, and even bacteria under an electron microscope. I can tell the scientific names of plants that I encounter while walking outside. Combined with my natural talent in teaching, I was confident to face the world as a biology teacher right after graduation.

I’m intelligent, hard-working, and with a passion for teaching. I thought my qualifications and my sincere desire to serve my country as a teacher are enough. But I wasn’t warned that the outside world is harsh. Once again, I was reminded that of my lowly place on earth. Being poor with no connections still haunted me. My job applications were set aside because I don’t have connections with the hiring authorities.

I cried blood for that failure but I can’t give up as I need to earn to help my family. Armed with my talent for teaching, I became a private tutor instead. I tutored kids from rich families. I was paid more than I expected. Little did I know that I’ll get the biggest break of my life from this lowly job. One of the parents of my tutees encouraged me to apply to the organization where he belongs.

The Birth of an Opportunity and the Death of a Dream

Landing a permanent job in a prestigious organization made me believe in myself again. They trained me, built my potentials, and supported me until I became a lawyer. This organization made me and I’m still with them after 17 years.

I’ve grown and I’ve flourished but it entailed the death of my ultimate dream to become an esteemed biology professor. The years of hardships in studying science and working in laboratories have to be set aside. How could I use my knowledge in parasitism or use of an electron microscope as a lawyer? As much as I love to keep my past, they were put in a box, sealed, and never to be used again.

The universe was harsh in giving me series of tests and hurdles in a confusing fashion. I wanted to become a high school teacher but it gave me the opportunity to become a biology professor. I did the hard work to become the best biology professor but came the day I thought I’ll be, the universe didn’t give it to me. Then it tested me again by challenging me to take a career in law which is on the opposite of the pole of where I am supposed to be. I have nothing to lose so I took the challenge and as usual, I gave my best shot.

Finally, the universe runs out of tests and finally gave me my accumulated prizes. Now, it rains and it pours but all to my reward. I have all the best things in life. I have a good family, good health, good finances with no traces of my poverty-stricken past.

The Lesson:

Take life challenges head-on and never give up. If plan A doesn’t work, there’s still plan B to Z. Go with the flow. Attainment of a perfectly crafted plan is not a scorecard for success. When dreams wilt and die, grieve if you must but bury them as part of your past. Stand up, fight again, and be willing to explore unfamiliar areas. Always tell yourself to have one more try. Success comes when you least expect it. I know, I experienced it first hand.