“Mom, I have to work for us not to famish, I will make sure to bring food.” Schooling, enjoying my childhood days, playing with friends, eating nutritious food, and being loved by my parents. None of these things were experienced by me. I was 13 years old when I started working in the smokey mountains, it was a great opportunity for me to feed my family.
I was too young to know that the foods I am serving my family are spoiled, I let them drink stained water, and there are days where I could not find anything to feed them so we would just sleep with rumbling stomachs. It is an unfortunate sight to see, witnessing my family go to sleep with empty stomachs especially my mom who is diagnosed with Malaria. As a second child in a family of five composed of three siblings, with a young age, I am aware that I have the responsibility to provide for my poor family.
One day my father arrived and he was drunk, he was furious and he was holding a knife. He was in a rage that is why I decided to keep my siblings away from him to assure that they will not get hurt. I was busy making sure that they are safe that I forgot to look for my own safety. As I turned to my father, everything happened in a blink of an eye. He did not mean it but the knife already struck my shoulders. I am bleeding, lots of blood was coming out of my body, I was looking for someone to help me but no words are coming out of my mouth. I found my mother; I saw the worried look on her face but what made my heart broke is that we did not have enough money to send me to a hospital.
As I glance back at this event of my life it always sends an ache in my heart. but it toughens me up and I even made this experience a motivation to make sure that I will never let any of my siblings experience the same things I did. The trauma didn’t stop there, I can still remember the night when my father arrived home drunk, he looked for me. I know to myself that this will be like those other days where I have to face a demon, with full courage I faced him, and without any explanations, a slap landed on my face. I ran towards my mother but she turned me aside, I know that she is afraid of the monsters as well.
It was a normal day for me, I was working in the smokey mountains when a woman wearing a white cloth approached me. She is unusual and at first, I was scared to look at her face, she asked me “Do you want to study?” I did not reply. I was too scared to talk with the strange woman. “Do you want to take an entrance exam, this could change your life” upon hearing those words my heart skipped a beat, and without hesitations, I immediately agreed. I took the exam, luckily, I passed.
Upon entering the institution, I was amazed by the surrounding, this is the first time I have seen a place with a wide area to play and clean air to breathe. Sisters of Mary changed me as a person, it molded me to become the better version of myself. From a young girl without a purpose in life that is scared to death, I become a person who is well-driven and motivated in life. I have found a purpose to keep on fighting and striving for more, everything is new to me that is why I was too scared to face everyone, I could not blend in. In my four years of staying inside the institution, I was able to find the love I was yearning for, a family that helped me push beyond myself, friends that supported and helped me surpass all the challenges I have faced, I am no longer alone. I persevered and dedicated my stay here in my studies, with the sleepless nights and unending reviews, and patiently sitting inside the class while listening to my teachers I have earned my first achievement in life. I became an honor student; it was the fruit of my labor. Being able to experience this event made a big impact on my life. I am not just focusing on myself but I want to help my family with the best of my might.
Being wise and skilled are not the only factors, but the lives of different persons are on the line, and so my dream is to be a doctor. I am to pursue this dream because I only believe that I will be able to restore the lives of many people not only those who are suffering from diseases but also those who are penniless, poverty-stricken. Practically speaking being a doctor’s priority is money, but money will never replace or restore one’s life. My unending gratefulness to Venerable Aloysius Schwartz and the Sisters of Mary School and of course to the Almighty God, who made all these things possible for without Him, I will not be able to enter this remarkable school.
I may have a tortured life, but I believe that with God’s grace I will have a prosperous future.