It was 22 years ago my father was hit by a bus in Manila, Philippines. I was just 7 years old. From what little memory I have of my father he was a hard working man and tried so hard to just feed and clothe us. Doing so in a poor impoverished country such as the Philippines is not always an easy task.
When I say "us" I mean myself, my sister, my brother and of course my mother by the way.
My father's untimely passing was the spark that lite up my imagination and dreams as a young girl growing up in a poor country. I often found myself daydreaming of what #life was like on the other side of the world.
It was only in some outdated books from school that I could see some reality of what life over there was like, or if I was lucky enough to get a quick glance on a neighbor's TV as I walked by.
In school, I tried very hard to master the English language the best I could. You see English isn't my native tongue, but I knew through my dreams and imagination that someday I would go to that other world, and I needed to master English.
As I sit here typing this #introduceyourself for #steemit I can say I am proud of myself. Is my English perfect? No, of course not, but I am thrilled I can share my life's story and introduce myself to all of you from the other side of the world.
Wait .. I am getting ahead of myself here. Back to growing up as a child. This is the very first time I am sharing my story with other people other than my "asawa" (hubby). Like so many other children in the world, my childhood too was filled with what seemed to be endless days of feeling hopeless and helpless. I often experienced what true hunger feels like. But I never gave up, my dreams told me it will get better and it eventually did.
A spoonful of rice often was all the food my body would consume as a child. One spoonful per day, that is. I didn't have a roof over my head or walls around me to protect me, at least not how many know it on this side of the world. My home was a hut made of bamboo and banana leaves. As I sit here today on the other side far away from this home in the picture below ..... oooh how I miss it. I yearn to go back. Life was so hard there but so much easier at the same time, how can that be?
Often times on this side of the world we forget about important things in life, such as family, friends, nature and even our country. We are often entrenched in our daily routine of going to work, making sure we have enough to pay the bills leaving little to no extra time for many important things. I think that is why I yearn to go back to that bamboo hut.
to be continued ......
Hi, I'm Jenelyn. I was born and grew up in the Philippines. Seven years ago I married my wonderful hubby and left everything I knew in the Philippines. I am a mother of two boys, a wife, and a freelance writer. I hope you enjoyed my introductory story of my life. There is much more to my story and I hope to share it if you all wish to hear more! ♥♥♥
If you want to hear more of my story and help me full fill our families dream of moving back to the Philippines in that bamboo hut please give me a upvote! ♥♥♥
❣ Jen ❣
P.S. I am completely new to this and need to learn how this all works.