#IAmASurvivor are stories from women of all walks of life, telling their stories of survival. Everybody is a survivor and all stories deserve to be told. These stories are all in their own words.
Making things happen while pursuing a college degree
Growing up in a Filipino Traditional family, I have not been exposed to the possibility of pursuing my passion because many believed it cannot fill someone’s stomach. Thus, I decided to take technical courses instead. The first course that I took was Electronics Engineering Technology, an associate degree, where I got most of the basic of Electronics Engineering even though it wasn’t really what I want. It was a good experience for me though I am not really into it but the people who supported me who are mostly my teachers and classmates made my stay in my first college memorable.
Since it is an associate degree, my parents encouraged me to enroll into a Bachelor’s degree in another University. I took up Electrical Engineering as my second course and this is where my struggles and difficulty started. The new environment was too much for me to adjust. I had become a loner and my studies were greatly affected to the point where I lost interest in it. That is when I realized that it is really easy to give up on something you never love in the first place.
However, I really never had a choice because my parents had put too much effort in sending me to school and I didn’t want to disappoint them either, but I also want to be free and do the things that I want. That is the reason why I decided to pursue both of it. I really like fashion and crafts for a long time as well as writing so I made my move.
I only had my allowance from my parents to sustain me so I didn’t really have enough money to fund my hobbies. Thus, I started doing some micro tasks and a part-time job until I saved enough to get me started. This all happened while I was studying my second course.
It was so hard for me but I keep on telling myself to endure and it will pass.
After saving enough, I then started learning some tutorials on how to make accessories (earrings, bracelets and other crafts) from Youtube and other sources. I was able to put up a good start and now I am co-signing in one of the stalls inside the Robinson’s Galleria mall, here in Cebu City.
At that moment I already started writing as well in some platforms for I did quite a few gigs as well. The journey wasn’t easy since I almost fail in our undergraduate thesis because it was a group project and the other members were unmotivated. This is when I decided to just do almost all the work especially in making the whole thesis book, I was criticized and got into a fight with other members but I still did my best to push the project through because I already set a goal in my mind.
It was one of the my darkest times in college.
I can’t think straight and I am not getting enough sleep. My anxiety and depression is showing up again and I am gaining weight because I resort to eating every time I get stressed out. The worst part is I am starting to lose hope in graduating on time and I don’t want to let go of my craft business either because it means so much to me. I keep blaming and beating myself up for the things that are happening to me at that time. Most of my group mates are men so it is a bit hard to show my point to them because I feel like they’re kinda looking down at me because I am a woman.
Fortunately, I am surrounded by great friends and love ones that I was able to pull through from that.
Their support made a great impact in my life and it made me realize that I am capable of doing something and that I can do better. I started sorting things out again and listing up my priorities. I picked all the pieces of me that were shattered and started making plans. I am still affected by the things that are going on around me but I know that I am love and that my family believes in me no matter what others say.
I also started reading self help books and listening to videos. This is one of the greatest thing that I have done in my life which made me the person I am right now. It helped me a lot not only in my studies but also in all aspect of my life decisions. I was able to handle my problems well and finally submitted the project on time. One thing that made me upset after that was me getting a lower grade than my other group mates who have contributed very little. However, I still handle it well and had let it pass for which I have been really proud of myself.
Graduation came and finally, I was able to make it through. My craft business is also doing great and now I am at the point of exploring more of what the outside world can offer. Two months before my graduation, I finally started to make my blogging hobby serious and plan to monetize it. That is when I bought the hosting and domain from the money I saved and started writing.
I may not be that close to my dreams and goals as for the moment for I just started in doing the things I love.
However, I already set my mind to it as I am working hard and smart in pursuing this career path. I now own a small craft business and also chasing my blogging career for which I thought was impossible in the first place.
So for everyone out there who are still figuring out what they wanna do in life, just believe in yourself and one day you’ll be able to find your passion and can start working on it.
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