I came all the way from General Santos City, but I graduated BS Accountancy at a University in Davao City. I just want to share a portion of my life story, maybe to inspire others to keep on dreaming.

Well, my elementary days were fine. I have been known to be very competitive since I entered school because I was very ambitious and I really wanna grow up achieving those dreams. Sa panahon ngayon, uso na talaga ang broken family, and yes, I am one of the victims. My parents got separated when I was still in Grade 6, and I was just 11 years old back then. My father got in something psychological problems and depression I believe. Every Sunday night, he will get drunk, and kaming magkakapatid, pinagsususuntok, pinapalo ng buckle ng belt. He will wake us up at 2am or 3am, at pinaluluhod na lupa sa labas ng bahay namin habang pinapalo without us knowing why. We just cry because we cant do anything about it. If we leave our father and go with our mom, baka di na kami makapag-aral. For years, tiniis ko na ganito ang setup, but I never had a grudge against my father. Years passed and I just kept praying to God that he will change.

My high school life, I became a rebel. I learned to cut and skip classes. I believe, though I'm not sure if I can remember it clearly, I was able to convince the whole honor section where I belong to boycott one afternoon class. When I was almost graduating, I was almost removed from being the Valedictorian, and almost got expelled due to cheating. My intentions that time was just to help my classmates, and that's it. Good thing worst didn't happen and still, I graduated as Valedictorian, though sinasaktan pa din kami ng papa namin.

This (as Valedictorian) was my only hope to enter college because I know, di na ako kayang pag-aralin ng papa ko.

When I entered college, everything ran smooth. Acing the exam was a piece of cake because I was so keen on studying and I can easily absorb things. I even study 8 hours a day after school just to make sure I don't lose my scholarship since we are mandated to maintain an average of 92.5% without a grade below 90, so we can have the full assessment as free.

My mom was also supporting me way back then for my finances for food and shelter since I was living in a boarding house just beside the school. But it all changed when she was deported from Qatar since she experienced sexual harassment from her employer and she did once become TNT (tago ng tago). No one was there to support me, financially, and emotionally. Because of this, I experienced not eating for 1 week dahil wala ng pera. Yung tipong juice at tinapay na lang kinakain mo para lang mabuhay at makapasok sa skwela. I even experienced na pinalayas ako na boarding house ko dahil di na ako makapagbayad for months. I would like to thank my friends for always being there for me. When I have nothing to eat, dinadalhan nila ako ng bigas tsaka noodles at de lata/corned beef/sardinas para lang may makain ako. A friend's mother even donated groceries worth 1500 pesos para lang talaga may makain ako.

When I went on to a third-year college, love came, and it didn't do me good (walang kwentang pag ibig yan. HAHAHA). I lost all the focus in studying and got 78% in Law 1 (ObliCon) and lost the scholarship in the blink of an eye.

Everything changed. This time, I have to be a working student na just to finance EVERYTHING, lahat literally. On the first month of working, I was really adjusting. Come to think of it, I still enrolled FULL LOAD (until I graduated), and that means like this:

9 hours for work7-8 hours for classesand the rest is pahinga and byahe.

Nasanay ako na 2-4 hours lang a day ang tulog ko since kailangan ipagsabay ang trabaho at pag aaral. My schedule was like hell. I have work 8PM - 5AM, and go to class by 7AM - 4:30 PM. Yes, I work graveyard shift since I am a call center agent.

Pasensya na po sa mga professors ko na minsan kong matulugan kasi po pagod po talaga ako. Wala na rin ako minsang panahon mag aral ng lessons and so I tried my very best to listen to class kahit na hilong hilo na ako.

I was even hospitalized for abusing my body, and no one was there to take care of me while I was in the hospital. Para ngang napilitan pa yung papa ko na pumunta ng Davao City from Gensan kasi kailangan ko PHIC niya.

Every night, I feel pressure. Iyak ako ng iyak during exams kasi di ako nakapag-aral. Yung tipong dinadaan na lang lahat sa dasal. There was even one preboard during Audit Theory na muntik akong mag collapse kasi wala pa akong tulog at kain kasi dumiretso ako sa exam galing sa trabaho.

Pre-Rev came and this was one of the most difficult times of my life. Practical Accounting 1 (FAR), eh natulugan ko. After one hour of answering, nakaidlip ako, and pag gising ko 1 hour left na lang din. Dun na naglabasan ang "Bahala na si Lord", "Madala man siguro ni ug C for Christ". And to my expectations, Yes, I failed prerev and nakalusot sa REVALIDATION, but still, I failed to graduate.

My 2nd take of the Pre-Review was very challenging. My scores were drastically improving since I already knew my rhythm. But goodness, gracious! Revalida pa rin ako, but this time it was only for MAS and Audit Prob. MAS was really easy but it's the opposite thing for AP. But still, I was so blessed to be one of the 25 graduates out of the 150 students sa PreRev ng school namin.

Moving forward sa board. The first day was FAR and TAX. Ang far :'( Di ko natapos. 10-15 items were just guessing game. TAX? Wala akong idea anyare sa PEZA. Ewan ko ba. Auditing Theory was very easy. Audit Prob was okay. AFAR came and CRC to the Rescue! HAHAHA It was just fine. RFBT? I failed, I think not because of the new topics, but because of the old ones. MAS was the easiest but I don't know why I still failed on MAS. HAHAHAHA!

Afternoon of Nov 2 (results day). Jusko! Punta agad ako ng simbahan para magsindi ng kandila kahit di ako katoliko. Wala namang mawawala diba? Every misa umiiyak ako kasi milagro na lang talaga na makapasa pa ako dahil sa FAR at TAX. November 1 was my birthday, and I have been asking the Lord to just give the CPA title as a birthday gift. And so He did. I passed.

Grabe iyak ko bes :'( Nag flashback lahat ng paghihirap at luha na dinaanan ko.

The gist of this is that gaano man kahirap ang buhay, wag na wag kang susuko. Im not gonna force you to believe God, but based on my personal experience, He is real. He healed my heart and ni minsan di ako nagalit sa papa ko and he was one of the happiest persons to know na nakapasa ako. For 3 years, nag tiis ako sa call center yet I am very thankful, and I guess this time, panahon naman para ipractice ko ang 5 years na pinaghirapan ko. Being a working student taking up BSA was never easy. Ilang gabi akong iyak ng iyak kay Lord na istrengthen ako at never akong bitawan. And indeed, He is Faithful. Never give up on your dreams. Failure is just a stepping stone, and we must take it as an opportunity.

Shoutout to all the working students out there! I know your pain and sacrifices. :) ♥

Hanggang dito na lang. Hopefully, if may convocation ang university namin for the new CPAs, I'll be able to deliver my speech but I cant promise not to cry while delivering such.

God bless everyone! Excellence through resilience is the key. #TatakUMna CPA

- Studyante sa Umaga, Call boy sa gabi (sa call center)