No, I’m not that millennial who quit her job to travel the world because let’s be honest – I can’t do that as I have responsibilities at home. I am also not the girl who her parents gave tons of money so she can go find herself nor am I the one who has a foreigner for a boyfriend to finance her.
I am just a too-ambitious-for-her-own-good 21-year-old single female from West Rembo, Makati City (which a Presidential candidate claimed to be the poorest part of the city – he’s not wrong, though!)
BREAKING NEWS: I AM NOT RICH NOR AM I PRIVILEGED, BUT I MADE MY DREAMS COME TRUE
I live in the slums, am a product of public schools, and it took me 3 years to fix my gender error in my birth certificate so I couldn’t get a passport, I have had countless of rejections in my life, I’ve been bullied and my college professors told me that I wouldn’t get anywhere in life and that I wouldn’t be successful, but none of that stopped me from chasing my dreams to travel.
You might think that this isn’t much of a big deal since I’ve just traveled Europe, but for me, it is a big deal because I made it without depending on anyone.
Success is relative and I consider myself successful because I used every rock life has thrown at me to build a castle. I didn’t feel bad about myself or blame other people for my misery. Instead, I worked and prayed hard to live the life that I wanted.
Whatever or wherever you want to be, whether it’s getting that job that you want or starting a business, it is possible if you put your heart and mind to it.
Don’t be too hard on yourself because you were born in a different circumstance where it’s difficult to achieve your dreams. It doesn’t matter if you were born poor. What matters now is your action to remain as you are or to change your life completely.
You look at a person living the life that you want and you feel bad for yourself and then you ask “How come they easily get the things that I want?”, but always remember that even if you don’t have the same amount of resources and connections that they have, you have the same amount of hours to live and work per day. Wisely use those 24 hours a day to make good decisions, work your ass off, and pursue your goals.
It’s never about what you don’t have; it’s about what you do with what you have. If you want something badly, then you’ll have to do everything to make it happen.
As Dr. Seuss said: “And will you succeed? YES! You will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed!)”
Good luck in chasing your dreams! 🙂
A week after I came back from Europe, I posted this video to share with my friends. Surprisingly, in less than 2 months, it was viewed 245K+ times, commented on 1,000+ times, and shared 850+ times.
I want to be all humble and pabebe and ask why a lot of people seemed to be interested in that video. However, I know why. There are thousands of Filipinas even younger than me who traveled around the world, but I know that unlike them, my story is different, which made it more interesting.
Looking at my videos and pictures, people have been commenting “Yayamanin naman ni Ate!” but heck no.
I came from nothing, but I turned my life and dreams into something.
I’m just a 21-year-old girl from the slums of West Rembo with dreams and ambitions and I didn’t let my own economic status stop me. It has always been my dream to travel Europe, but I knew even back then that I would have to face challenges to achieve it. It’s true what they say, “Luha, pawis, at dugo ang puhunan” to get what you want and I’m more than proud that despite of all of the bodily fluids I’ve shed (lol), I did it!
I shared that video because I am proud of what I accomplished considering what I’ve been through. However, my main reason is to prove the naysayers and all the pessimists that you can do whatever you want in life if you just put your heart and mind to it.
It’s not all fun in the process. I’ve received hatemail on my Facebook and comments on my video blatantly accusing me of having a sugardaddy that finances my trip. It saddens me that just because I’m a young female, I’m automatically assumed to be that type of girl who uses her sexuality to get the things she wants in life. I could’ve done that if I want to get things fast, but I am not like that; I will always want to be known as the “self-made badass chic.” LOL.
In my 65 days in Europe, I have never asked for money from anyone. I financed myself, I applied for the visa myself, booked the tickets myself, and planned the whole trip myself.
Now tell me: what did I have to do this? As I’ve said, I was born poor, I do not have a special talent, nor am I an extraordinary person. All I had with me were my dreams and my faith that I can do it.
Now enough about my Maalaala Mo Kaya drama, let us get to business.
I know that a lot of Filipinos (including myself) want to travel Europe but think that it’s almost impossible because a) it might be super expensive b) it’s hard to get a visa c) it’s a long, long process. Well, all of these are true but it’s not as bad as you are expecting it to be.
Here’s how I did it myself – from saving money, applying for a visa, planning your itinerary, and to actually living the dream!
