A Lady Among Men

One afternoon fifteen years ago, I was asked by someone, What do you want to be when you grow up? Without a doubt, the 6-year-old me answered, “I want to be a kwek-kwek vendor”. Whenever I remember that day I would smile because of that silly answer. Back then I wanted to be a kwek-kwek vendor because I saw how they make money when I’m buying in which lots of kids pay them for what they sell.

          In the present, guess how my dream has changed. I am studying Civil Engineering for four years now and hopefully will graduate by next school year in Gods will.  Studying through online classes has been so hard for me because of some situations due to the pandemic. However, I am trying my very best to comply and understand the lessons in every subject for the reason that I have such a huge dream despite of my lacking.

  The flame of my motivation is sometimes so huge and most of the times almost burns out. And I know that it is part of the journey to achieving our dreams. Some times I feel like it is not meant for me, and I don’t know if this is still the course that I want to pursue.

It has been tough to concentrate lately with all the happenings around us. I am afraid to graduate without enough knowledge that future Engineers should have; I am afraid to be an incompetent engineer; and I am afraid not to pass the board exam in just one take. All of that is because I don’t want to disappoint those who believe in me. I wanted to make everyone proud, but maybe I should focus more on what will make me proud than on anyone else.

          My ultimate dream? I want to be a successful registered Engineer someday, a female Engineer who can work on construction sites like men. I dream to break what’s traditional; many people have been telling me that Engineering is for men and women will just do office work. I aim to prove them wrong and show them that even if I am a girl, I am still capable. Working abroad after gaining experience here in the Philippines is also one of my plans in order to have a variety of experiences locally and internationally.

After saving money, I will invest in businesses so that my money won’t sit still and will eventually work for me. I’m going to provide properties and businesses for my family before I move out and have a family of my own. I want my relatives and my loved ones to be the proudest when the time comes that I get that License. I want to witness the joy in their faces when they hear the news that I passed the board exam. How happy can I possibly be after hearing the words ‘I am so proud of you ’. After giving back to my family, especially my mother, who sacrificed the most for me, I’d love to achieve my dreams with the person that God has given me to be my partner for life.

Being a Licensed Civil Engineer is a dream come true, but beyond that, I also dream to live my life with a purpose and to finally find the happiness that I deserve. In God's perfect timing I hope that I will achieve my goals and dreams in life. During the process, I am hoping that I find the real happiness for which I’ve been longing. The phase is not important as long as I enjoy the process, and eventually, I will get to where I want to be.

Dreaming means hard work, and today I will strive to be the best that I can be and I will accomplish all those ultimate dreams of mine.