Tenacity - Do I have it?
I was born in an average socio-economic class here in my country and I am grateful because at early age, I learned to be tenacious. When I was young, I was thought that some things were not easy to get. As the elderly will always tell, "kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga" translated as, "when there is patience, there you may have your stew" - and when you dig deeper to this phrase, it just means that you have to be patient when you really want something. Your hard work will always pay off when you don't give up on something you want to achieve.
While growing up, I see how life gets harder day by day. I experienced eating incomplete meals, sometime, my siblings and I shared one piece of egg, and even made coffee as soup with rice every breakfast. When I go to school in my elementary days, my allowance is only ten to fifteen pesos, or 0.18 to 0.27 in USD. For me and to my other siblings that's already a huge amount, enough for us to buy one sandwich and one cup of juice. With the strict guidance of my father and mother, we learned to save money. I also got a chance to learn how to earn money at the age of nine by selling plastic bottles, unused papers and newspapers at the junk shop. I also got a sideline to my grannies house where I help with household chores and helping my granny pulling out some of her white hairs. I earned coins by doing this and that helps me to sustain some of my educational needs. Witnessing how hard our lives is during my younger years, I learned to keep working and to find ways just to be alive and to succeed.
Up to this day, I still face some obstacles and honestly there are still times that I want to quit.. But as I think about the family that I want to lifted out to poverty, I remain persistent, and every hard work made me more stronger. And I realized how persistent I become because of these trying times that I passed. I realized that being tenacious helps me more independent and successful. The goals and my ambitions are the inspirations behind my determination to keep going in life. And I am thankful to those people who showed what is the reality of life; that life is not a fairy tale, rather a series of adventures, challenges and an overflowing of different emotions.
I am an observant. As I carry on my life every single day, I know that many people are trying their very best to keep alive. Some people also carrying their heavy baggages but still able to smile and be positive. I feel their determination as well. As a Filipino citizen, I really do admire my fellow men because we are really tenacious even life gets harder and harder. And I know that made us more unique and unwavering. This kind of characteristic is what we want to pass on to the next generations.