Remembering College Days

      They say High  School Life is the most unforgettable in our life as a student.... for me its different, my high school life did not leave that much spark in my life,  it was kinda boring for me.  At that time, I was still a kid at heart and everything that happened does not seem to be that much memorable for me.
      It is my college life that gave so much in me.  Not only that I had so many unforgettable and happy memories, it is also the point of my life that I have learned how to live independently (partial only, because I still get my allowance from my parents).  Living away from my parents and staying in a dormitory with schoolmates younger and older than I am, was at first very awkward.  It was a big adjustment for me, being a girl raised from a province where everybody in the community is almost family,  because we are staying in a compound where we are all relatives.  My first year is really very sad,  aside from the fact that I am such a loner,  most of the seniors in the dormitory, though they don't intend to, bully the new comers.  Me, being a loner has preferred to live separated from them.  I would go to school during the day, and after my class would go straight to my room and lock myself in while others would go in the balcony and have a nice chat with each other.  Even in the class, I was not able to mingle easily with my classmates,  Just got so lucky that there is one girl in the class who also prefer to be alone.  We became friends and just the two of us until that semester is over.  When the next semester came, I immediately look for her, but found out from her aunt who is working in the registration office, that she has transferred in another University near her place, so she would not be required to stay in the dormitory.  I felt bad at that time, but what can I do, its her choice.  Still I was able to have another friend, but this time this girl is very outgoing and knows almost everybody in our class.  At times I would go with her, but most of the times, I would rather stay inside the room and wait for the next class.  My second year has improved a lot, I became more open to my classmates, I started to mingle with them,  but in small groups only.  But I never had a close friend I could call until I was in the third year.  My group started with just the two of us, then I got close to another girl who also has another close friend.  There were four of us then.  Then there were two boys also, who came along.  That was how our group is formed.  The six of us did not only became friends but also group-mates in our projects, researches and almost every school activities.....
     Now, we are all grown up, we've had our own lives and struggles after we have graduated,  and I never had seen any of them since then.  I was able to land a job in the city, which I left after three years, then got another one, then again left after a year... until my sister has brought me abroad where I now work for almost six years.  In this country is also where I met my husband...

The OFW Story

Ano? naputulan kayo ng internet? Aba’y bakit?  These are the litany of my friend, talking to her sister on the other end of the line…

Her family has not paid their internet bills for the last three months, so it was disconnected… more so, she found out that her son could not take examination because his tuition fee is not paid as well for three months.  But she is sending their allowances regularly.  Whatever is happening out there, she does not know…. very typical story you would here from an OFW… very sad, really very sad.

Our lives here abroad is really difficult, everyday you have to wake up early to go work, most of us do not take day-off because we want to earn as much as we can to have enough to send our family back home.  We have to face difficult supervisors, who knows nothing but to insult us but in reality we are far better than them.  When we get home, tired of the whole day work, we don’t have time to prepare our dinner anymore, so chances would be you’ll eat whatever is leftover in your kitchen or worst you’d rather sleep with an empty stomach.  This is the typical scenery in an OFW’s life. 

Whenever I experience this kind of situation, I would reminisce those days I was still back home working in a small company in my neighborhood.  True, salary is very less, but my life is much easier then. In the morning I would wake up, breakfast is prepared by mother, all my clothes for work as well ironed and even the water in the bathroom is prepared.  Ganitong buhay ang iniwan ko when I decided to try my luck abroad,  nobody forced me to, It was my personal choice dahil gusto kong makatulong sa aking pamilya, hindi man kami yumaman sa aking pag-aabroad, the fact that my earning would be doubled, I’m sure mas maraming needs ang matutustusan…

Pero paano kung ang pamilyang naiwan sa Pilipinas ay hindi marunong magpahalaga sa pinaghirapan ng isang nasa abroad.  Paano kung wala silang iniintindi kundi  ang gastusin ang mga padala ni ate.  Paano kung ang lahat pala ng kinikita ni ate ay ipinapadala niya sa pamilya?  No matter howe long she stay abroad and no matter how hard she works, in the end, uuwi pa rin siya ng halos hindi nagbago ang takbo ng kanilang buhay.

Sana ma-realize ng mga mahal natin sa Pinas na hindi pinupulot ang pera sa abroad, pahalagahan sana nila bawat sentimo ng ipinapadala natin sa kanila dahil hindi man nila alam, ang katumbas ng bawat halagang ito ay sanlibong sakripisyo at milyong beses na pangungulila.  At sa atin naming nasa abroad…. matutunan sana natin na magtabi para sa ating sariling kinabukasan, after all pinaghirapan naman natin ito kaya dapat lang siguro na pakinabangan natin…

Mabuhay ka Kababayan…  

A new day begins...

Each morning brings new hope, builds new dreams, and starts new life...  whatever happened yesterday will be part of memories and may have served lessons.  May all our dreams come true as we start this new day...

If not now, then When?

A lot of us have always been saying we want to change our lives, we want improvement in our ways,  but then we always end doing the same things, being in the same position as we are a year ago, two years ago... wondering what went wrong with our plans.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with our plans, its about the implementing of what we have planned.  In the beginning of each year, people would write their resolutions, things they want to accomplish before that new year ends, things they want to avoid, some would have manage to write hundreds of resolutions, but wonder i at least 1 percent of these will be accomplished. To those who have started and followed their plans, there is big chance, but to most of us, I really can't tell.

I myself have this attitude.  I would plan of doing this and that and so on, but there will always be obstacles along the way, in short, another year is over and here I am still in the same position as I was before. No improvement, there maybe some changes but for sure, these will be failures...

Wonder how I could change my attitude, I really don' know how, but one thing I know I have to do something about this, not tomorrow, no later but definitely NOW!

Happy Valentines

It's Valentine's Day...

And everybody seems to be busy of thinking what gift they could give to their love ones, how fancy they could make this night.  But why only on this day we think of these things, while we can as well make the whole lifetime of our love ones.