The Journey

I forgot a special chapter of my life in my post yesterday. I remember it this morning and I said to myself that I should include it. But instead of editing my post yesterday, I will just write a new post today.

The chapter I’m saying is after graduation of college, I took up a 4 months training as a caregiver in a Japanese retirement home in Laguna wherein I also have 2 months OJT (internship) in that retirement home. Although I experience a lot of confusion, rejection and disappointment, I learned a lot from them. First of all, being in a medical institution was a big transformation for me. I learned a new language (medical language), everything was new, and I learned a lot from my patients. I have a favorite of 3 patients, although all in all, I experience to tend 6 patients. They are my favorite because I learned a lot from them. The first one is a retired military man aged 79, during the first week that I was assigned to him, I really cried a lot but then we became friends and stories he was telling was really wonderful and I learned a lot of things from his experience. The second one was a very beautiful rich woman, which I always pity especially when I met her family. I know she does not deserve to be in a nursing home but I’m still glad that I met her because he reminded me to care for the elders in my family (especially to my own grandmother). The third one was a very nice Japanese woman, which was very kind and funny. She is good in English and she loves teaching me Japanese words. I really miss them and I hope that they are okay even though I’m not sure if they are still alive or not but I’m praying that GOD will take good care of them.

When I remember the things from my past even if it was not a good memory, I always look for a good thing that came up when I experienced those things. Because I know that it was GOD’s will for me to experience it and met lot of people from those experiences. That was HIS GRACE and those people were ANGELS that HE sent for ME, because I will never be the person I am right now if I did not met those people in my past. THANKS GOD! And GOD BLESS those PEOPLE I met and I will meet someday!

–Jennifer R. Natividad

September 23, 2008

The Journey of My Life

I was born in an average family with an average income and average lifestyle. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister which are more beautiful than me. When we were young, they always teased me and I became the center of the jokes in the family. But my parents loved us so much; they did everything to give us a good life (education and basic commodities). They even made sacrifices (like working abroad) just to provide us a better education and lifestyle. My siblings are my best friends, I can tell them everything (even my crushes) although we quarrel; I will still not exchange them to anyone. My two older brothers gave us 4 nieces and 1 nephew and of course 2 nice sister-in-laws.

I started to enter primary school and I encounter rejection and disappointment every time I wanted to please my teacher to give me a high grade and when I wanted to belong in a group. But I met a lot of friends and I learned a lot of things like the stars, moon and planets and plays games like piko, tumbang preso, patintero, chinese garter etc. I also have fond of laughing when my friends tell jokes and blushes when my crushes walked by.

I enter secondary school and I encounter more rejection and disappointment but I met a lot of new friends and I belong to a circle of girl friends where I felt that I am loved and accepted a lot. They are true friend that I have fond of crying and laughing with. I treasure them until today and forever as they became very good friends.

A wonderful high school life ended and a new trial is ahead when I enter college and puberty. I encounter a lot of rejection and disappointment as I strive to belong in a new world where my old friends are nowhere to found. I also encounter a heart break from the first man I loved but I learned a lot of things from my professor, from my new friends and from every people I met everyday. I learned to analyze life and society, I learned to look at different views, listen to different opinions and I learned to decide for myself. My first writing was published when I joined the college publication. Although life at my first college was neither smooth nor ended wonderfully, still I will not try to go back and change it for a better future because I will never learned and grow to a person like me today if I did not encounter all those trials, rejection, heartaches and disappointment.

So my life continues when school ended and I’m in a different world, the corporate world. My first job involved numbers, computation, analyzing and clerical work (such as scanning, photocopying and answering telephone calls). And after seven months of doing this that I don’t like to do; the repetitive scanning, counting and answering stressful phone calls, opt me to quit. And I became a quitter. But I learned a lot; the job itself, the corporate world, the people in the corporate world and I found new friends that always make me laugh and companions wherever I want to go. I also met a wonderful person which I loved so much until now.

My second job is quite an accident, it is another challenge and I encounter new rejection and big disappointment. My second jobs involves teaching but I became more of a learning teacher as I tried to teach little angels to use computer and create website, they teach me how to look back to my childhood and be fond of what I have while bringing out the child inside me. I learned to loved and be loved unconditionally. My students teach me a lot of things and even my co-teacher as I became more confident with the talent GOD gave me. And I never became ashamed to show to the world what I can do and what my brain have to say. But still the quitter emerged.

So I find a new job where I encounter more challenges, disappointments and even harassment. And now I’m thinking of quitting. But whenever I look at the bright side; to all the new things I learned and whenever I look to all the new friends I met, specially my new housemate which I gave and given me trust, companionship, friendship and love, I always felt that I am BLESSED.

I know that this journey is still a long and not an easy one, where I will encounter a lot of bumps, traffic, detour and even a closed road. But as long as I remain a PASSENGER and GOD is my DRIVER, I know that I will always be at peace because I am safe while journeying this road called “My LIFE”.

— Jennifer Natividad—

September 20, 2008