Real world

Over the years, I have looked up to a handful of people as my role models. Some are well-known around the world, while some are local heroes. They belong to different professions or fields of endeavor, but the one thing they have in common: they did not achieve success overnight, their success is a product of hard work and sheer determination.

I was reminded of this when I got an unexpected message from my cousin. He welcomed me to the “real world.” I read the message with a smile, quite aware of what he meant: the days when things were planned mostly depending on curriculums or class syllabi now belong to the past.

In this latest chapter of my life I am expected to build a career, my own road to success. And now without the help of a handy syllabus, I am experiencing firsthand how tough the competition is in the job market. At times the situation looks bleak, even frustrating. Even with a “a killer resumé” which took you extra effort to produce, or even if you go for continuing education which means more spending, you still get turned down. What is most disheartening is when you find out you just lack the right connections inside the institution where you applied for employment, and to be told indirectly that the transcript of records and honors only give you a head start but not a surefire guarantee of getting a job.

My cousin suggested that the only way for me to get through these obstacles is to continuously prove my worth, and carve a name for myself. A number of doors may be closed on me as I hop from one company or office to another in search of a job, but that does not mean that I should stop knocking, he counseled.

I understood and thought: Perseverance and hard work. To develop these virtues is one of life’s challenges. These make us better persons and they will be very useful in our future battles and as we are faced with more and bigger responsibilities in life.

Life is full of obstacles that can either make or break us. But they can also “make” us. It’s matter of choice, for each and every one of us.

True, the road to success is long and bumpy. But one thing you can be sure, at the end of this road, success awaits—as long as you persist and work hard. The presence of many successful people is a testament to this.

Frenissa Mae C. Riconalla, 23, is a post-graduate student at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.