My Story

           Every person lives for a certain purpose. No matter how worthless a person thinks his/her life is, he/she sure has a reason for living. Let me tell you a story of how a girl found her purpose in life through faith.

April 1, 1994, at 12:10 am, a baby girl joined the family of Mr. Rudy and Mrs. Corazon Adlawan. They named her Sheba, a name they got from the Bible. That’s right, I was that girl. I was the first daughter and also happened to be the first child they had. And because of that, I was so precious to them. They took care of me and even though they only had a little money and only rented a house, they hired a yaya to keep an eye on me while they were busy with their jobs. Mama was a teacher, while Papa worked for ACS that time.

Then the worst came. My parents were having dinner when this accident happened. I and my yaya were in the living room. She was feeding me. She decided to go to the fridge to satisfy her thirst. She left me with my walker. Our rented house had a 7-step stairs and placed in both sides of it are pieces of pointed metals and rusted galvanized iron sheets. Nobody knew what a 7-month old child was up to. I went near the door, where the stairs that were heading downwards were located. Then, I fell off. The only thing that made my parents aware that something wrong was happening was the noise that seemed to come from below the house. There’s only one thing they could think of: it was my end. My parents rushed to the door. They were stunned with what they saw. There I was on the 1^st step of the stairs, staring at them unharmed, with no idea on what happened. Only the wheels of my walker stopped me from falling on the ground. With the hazards surrounding the stairs, I could have been dead by now and I won’t be able to narrate this story. But I survived and everybody, including me, believed that it was God’s miracle working on me.

My parents worked extra hard for us to have a decent home. It was their dream. Papa even had to leave for Manila every now and then just to earn additional income. Not long after, when the money they had saved was enough, they acquired a house at Bago Gallera Subdivision. We transferred there when I was 3 years old. The house was not one hundred percent ours, but at least, it was a suitable place to live in. There, our family met a lot of friends. One of them was the Lapaz family. Takenoshi, who also happened to be the eldest in that family and who was of the same age as I am, became one of my first best friends. He was like a twin brother to me.

When I was four years old, my mother gave birth to my sister, Cindy. I was happy to finally play the role of a big sister. At the same time, I was also happy that someone would be added to my playmates list. It was also then that I was enrolled in a nursery school in our neighborhood. Among all the students there, I was the most active and the most eager to learn.

At five, I started formal schooling at St. Peter’s College of Toril. I was part of the Junior Kinder class. It was also the age when I did a lot of extra-curricular activities. I sang, danced, and acted whenever they gave me the chance. I also got high marks in class, that’s why when that school year ended, I was awarded for earning the second honors.

Due to flood that the neighborhood always experienced, my parents decided to leave the place. Like I said, it was their dream to have a fully-owned home. And since they both had high-paying jobs that same time, they bought a lot at Upper Mintal, a place not so far away from the house of Mama’s parents, my grandparents to be exact. They said it was more convenient to live there because aside from the fact that flood would never reach the place, my parent’s would not anymore think about monthly fees, apart from electricity and water.

Everything was set. We had to say goodbye to Bago Gallera and the friends we met there. Leaving was hard, but we had to. After the house in Upper Mintal was built, we moved there right away. The place was totally different. We had few neighbors, we were surrounded by trees, and it was quiet there. There were no signs of pollution.

At the age of six, my parents enrolled me in Holy Child School of Davao – Mintal Campus. I was supposed to be enrolled as a Kinder Two student, but because the principal and some of the teachers noticed my liveliness and talkativeness, they let me take a test, to see if I can already pass to be a Grade One pupil. And I did it. I passed the examination and went directly to Grade One, skipping Kinder Two. I stayed for three years at Holy Child.

When I was 9 years old, my parents transferred me to Tugbok SPED Center, a school that offered a lower tuition fee and a high quality education, as well. I could say that the lessons there were harder. In the Fourth Grade, we already used Grade Five, Six, and even First Year High School books. It was really hard to make adjustments. I cried almost every night because I didn’t know how to answer those Algebra problems that the teacher gave us as an assignment. My parents were not Math majors, so I can’t expect them to help me. But in the end, I still adapted. I listened well to the teachers and let my mother’s co-teacher tutor me in some Math and Science stuffs. After that, my efforts were rewarded. Not only did I discover my potentials in Math. I was also one of those 8 students that passed the school’s acceleration program. For the second time, I skipped a year in school. From Grade Four, they allowed me, and those who also passed the requirements, to go directly to Grade Six. So, I finished elementary at the age of 10.

During those elementary days, academics was only second of my interests. My passion was really on co-curricular matters, most especially on singing. I, together with my singing partner, Kenneth Mumar, were always brought to interschool competitions. We won several awards. After seeing our potentials, one of my classmates’ parents encouraged us to sing for a local TV show on ABS-CBN called SBD Jam. We were screened and were finally able to sing for that show. Although the show was only local, I still considered it as one of my greatest accomplishments in life.

If only there was a high school department in SPED, I would still study there. But sad to say, the school only catered elementary and special students. Again, I was transferred to Holy Cross of Mintal. I was the youngest first year student there, but the adjustment was easier. I had classmates from SPED who also transferred there and one of them, Kristin Angela Alfaro, became my best friend. It was kind of strange that we became close because during our elementary days, we never made a great team. She even thought of me as her competitor in everything we did. But everything has passed. Every bad thing in the past remained a memory and we hardly even talked about it now.

I studied only two years at Holy Cross. Despite that, I could say that those years were the most memorable years of my life. I still excelled in class and in extra-curricular matters. I even joined a lot of academic and non-academic contests. In some, I won, but just like all other contests, I also lose. But apart from those aspects of my life, I also experienced puppy love and heartbreak when I was in second year high school. During those times, I also experienced the feeling of being courted. It was really, really, really awkward.

When I was in my third year in high school, I moved to another school again. That time, it was at Optaciano Hilay National High School, a public school where my mother had taught for years. With the number of times I had transferred from one school to another, I could say that adjusting was part of my game, and it got easier and easier everytime. In there, I stood out more and discovered unexpected potentials in me. I was sent to different interschool competitions and seminars. It was also during my third year when Papa had to work in Dubai because of the big opportunity that awaited for him there. He was positioned as a supervisor in an oil company and the salary was really high.

During my fourth year in high school, two significant events happened. First, was when I had my first boyfriend. He was really a nice person, but I don’t think love was the reason why I gave him a “yes.” I admit that I was just curious about relationships. I had seen how lovers acted before and I just wanted to experience it, too. We lasted for only 3 weeks, but the good thing was, nobody was hurt during the breakup and until now, we are still good friends. The second significant event that made a great mark in my life was when I graduated as the class valedictorian. In my years of schooling, never did I imagine myself with that title. Apart from the awards that I received, I was proud to finish high school at the age of fourteen.

My father returned after two years of working in a foreign land. He was one of the OFW’s who were sent back to the Philippines because of the economic crisis that the whole world experienced. It was really a bad time for it to happen because the money they saved in the bank was not that big and I was already going to be in college.

Despite what happened, my parents still enrolled me in one of the most prestigious universities, Ateneo de Davao University. To make their loads lighter, I decided to apply for a government scholarship and I was qualified. I took up Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. The course was really hard. I was also pressured because I belonged to the first section where all of the students were really intelligent and studious. While it was stressful to be in that class, it was also fun at the same time. I met a lot of friends and classmates, who were willing to adjust to their new lives as college students, just like me.

Months passed, I realized that I was not anymore happy with my chosen course; that Accounting was not really my calling. I tried my best to like the subject, but still, I wasn’t convinced. That’s why, even if I passed my first year in Accountancy, I decided to shift to Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. Yes, I was aware that there is a scarcity of job opportunities for Masscom graduates, but I also had to follow my heart’s desires. After all, success does not depend solely on the course you take, but also on patience and perseverance.

             As I wrote this story of my life, I realized how God loves me. I was blessed with a happy and loving family, a lot of true friends, a nice home and school, a clear and open mind, and multiple talents that would be of use in the near future. I know there are only a few people who were also given these privileges and I’m happy and grateful to be one of them. I know God has a purpose of giving me all these. I was near to death one time, but He still made me live because it’s not yet my time. So whatever it is that He is planning for me, I’ll accept it with all my heart and with all my soul, for He is God, the Captain of the ship I’m riding in, in the journey called life.