By: Neil Urian Secretaria Mabulay
(Originally written on March 30, 2016)
How do we define success? For me, success is when you reach your dreams. But right now, I may be halfway there but I still have a long way to reach it. Life has always been hard for me. I was a product of a broken family. I grew up in a desolate place, and neither of my parents supported me. But when I was a kid, I had big dreams. I always wanted to be an astronomer. Every night I used to stare at the night sky wondering about my future. Back then, I thought going to college was impossible. But impossible as it may seem, I was able to graduate college and got a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
The entrance exam alone was hard. There were more than 5,000 examinees all over the country and they will only get 100 people. After the exam I never thought that I could pass, but luckily, I was able to pass and joined the training. The result was unexpected, so I immediately took a plane ticket to Manila. I knew it was a start of a new beginning and I had my hopes up. But little did I know that the training itself was way harder than the entrance exam. It was harder than anyone could ever imagine. It was, I think, the hardest one I had. I could still remember the first day, on one side of the room were highly intelligent people, and on the other side were sons and daughters of influential people. Then there was me; I was the weakest of them all. But I didn’t flinch. My reason to go on was bigger than my reason to back out. As a guy who used to live in the streets, I had nothing to lose. I needed the job more than anyone in that room.
The training lasted for ten months. It was the longest ten months of my life. As days went by, people were kicked out one by one - from a hundred, down to forty, from forty down to thirty, and from thirty, down to twenty-four. There were times that I was terrified but I kept telling myself that I can do it and that I have a higher sense of purpose than of those who were kicked out. There were days that I doubted myself, but I knew I had to fight those devils in my head. Ten months finally passed and I managed to finish the training. I did it.
I’m not sure if it was luck that made me survive the training or it was something else. Maybe it was or maybe it wasn’t. All I know is, I learned a lot from it. In all the challenges that I faced in my life, I learned a lot from them. It was all worth it.
Right now, I still can’t consider myself as successful. There’s still a lot of things that I need to learn but I know I’m halfway there and it’s only a matter of time. I think, the most important thing that a person should have in order to succeed is “composure and perseverance”. These two words animate your spirit to fight. Whenever I want something, I strive. “Come what may” has always been my line. I don’t know why I have these but I’m glad I do. Challenges may break you, either emotionally, mentally, or physically. People may break your heart, your mind, or your body. But never let them break your spirit, because it’s what you need to succeed.