Surrounded with huge buildings, beautiful houses, and flashy cars which are in great contrast to the place where I first witness the realities of life, with rocky roads, old buildings, houses made of empty wooden carts with a roof made of tarps containing political advertisement used in the previous elections and rusty old fashioned cars running around the city. I am embracing right now in a land flowing of milk and honey, compared to that of a single mom scavenging in a big pile of garbage with sweat running down her skin just to earn a dollar a day to sustain her families needs. I am surrounded with people throwing their delicious cheese burger because they are sick of eating it every single day, which is contrast to that of a kid begging, tapping my waist, asking for a peso because he haven’t eaten for the entire day. I am in a land where pepperoni pizza is like eating a slice of bread compared to a country where pizza for some is a once a year thing, or not at all.
Despite the financial struggle home, I am still able to come to United States of America . In awe with the blessings that has bestowed in me by the almighty God. A lung cancer patient who is continuously fighting for her life and a non-government organization worker who only earns $ 400 a month trying to feed his family to the full extent of his capacity has now a student of Moraine Valley Community College. I never thought of being able to study in this country. A dream not even close to becoming a reality. The struggle for survival for a day is what matters to us, not the highest of honors, not the wealth of life, not the prestige of achievement and not the abundance of delicious food.
To earn a quality and high standard education in Moraine Valley gave me an opportunity to hone my skills and earn an American Education that could help me and my beloved country in our continuous struggle for economic freedom. An education for a semester is like spending in my University School in the Philippines for 6 years. And with that said, the value of money is the first thing Moraine Valley taught me. Every penny counts, every dime is important, and every hour that I spent in the school is sweat dripping just to earn enough money to pay for the tuition. A day spent in the College is equivalent to a month of hard work of my fellow Filipino, 8 hours spent in school is enough to feed a poor Filipino family for 2 weeks,and an hour a day is enough to send an elementary kid to school. Every single minute I spend in the College is significant because I am also bringing with me the lives of every Filipinos in me. They are not the ones who are paying for my tuition but the thought of being a Filipino and knowing the realities of my fellowman, just gave me the responsibility to strive hard for success.
During one of my class, an American student asked me where I’m from, and I told him I am from the Philippines. His happy face turned into someone very confused and asked me straight, I’m sorry, where is that located? To my surprised, I just smiled back at him and answered, it’s in Southeast Asia. I felt deep pain when I heard him say those words, the 90 million people is part of the world but seems to be invisible to some of the teenagers in the United States. The reality just hit me real hard but it gave me even more reason to immerse and emerge myself in the community as a representative of my country.
Days rush in and the conversation that I had with the American teenager was still stuck in my head like a blood sucking lint. So I decided to take one small baby step and take the responsibility of introducing my country and my culture. I joined in a school organization that provides the American Student, a ground to know other countries culture, religion, tradition, norms, conduct, etc. Through this program which was offered by the Community College, I may now be able to share my culture to others and not just to that one teenager whom I cannot blame of not knowing something about my country but to every American willing to learn about my beloved Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines.
Finally, as I journey to my student life in the United States, a lot of things will still be explored and a new experience will soon be discovered. I trust that Moraine Valley Community College and the people of the United States of America can share the required knowledge and skills to make the difference in the lives of our people in my beloved country. I am now just a step away from a “dream that I thought will forever be a dream” and now, I am moving my step forward to make it into reality.
Despite the financial struggle home, I am still able to come to United States of America . In awe with the blessings that has bestowed in me by the almighty God. A lung cancer patient who is continuously fighting for her life and a non-government organization worker who only earns $ 400 a month trying to feed his family to the full extent of his capacity has now a student of Moraine Valley Community College. I never thought of being able to study in this country. A dream not even close to becoming a reality. The struggle for survival for a day is what matters to us, not the highest of honors, not the wealth of life, not the prestige of achievement and not the abundance of delicious food.
To earn a quality and high standard education in Moraine Valley gave me an opportunity to hone my skills and earn an American Education that could help me and my beloved country in our continuous struggle for economic freedom. An education for a semester is like spending in my University School in the Philippines for 6 years. And with that said, the value of money is the first thing Moraine Valley taught me. Every penny counts, every dime is important, and every hour that I spent in the school is sweat dripping just to earn enough money to pay for the tuition. A day spent in the College is equivalent to a month of hard work of my fellow Filipino, 8 hours spent in school is enough to feed a poor Filipino family for 2 weeks,and an hour a day is enough to send an elementary kid to school. Every single minute I spend in the College is significant because I am also bringing with me the lives of every Filipinos in me. They are not the ones who are paying for my tuition but the thought of being a Filipino and knowing the realities of my fellowman, just gave me the responsibility to strive hard for success.
During one of my class, an American student asked me where I’m from, and I told him I am from the Philippines. His happy face turned into someone very confused and asked me straight, I’m sorry, where is that located? To my surprised, I just smiled back at him and answered, it’s in Southeast Asia. I felt deep pain when I heard him say those words, the 90 million people is part of the world but seems to be invisible to some of the teenagers in the United States. The reality just hit me real hard but it gave me even more reason to immerse and emerge myself in the community as a representative of my country.
Days rush in and the conversation that I had with the American teenager was still stuck in my head like a blood sucking lint. So I decided to take one small baby step and take the responsibility of introducing my country and my culture. I joined in a school organization that provides the American Student, a ground to know other countries culture, religion, tradition, norms, conduct, etc. Through this program which was offered by the Community College, I may now be able to share my culture to others and not just to that one teenager whom I cannot blame of not knowing something about my country but to every American willing to learn about my beloved Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines.
Finally, as I journey to my student life in the United States, a lot of things will still be explored and a new experience will soon be discovered. I trust that Moraine Valley Community College and the people of the United States of America can share the required knowledge and skills to make the difference in the lives of our people in my beloved country. I am now just a step away from a “dream that I thought will forever be a dream” and now, I am moving my step forward to make it into reality.
