What Did I Do to Survive?

On June 2007, after my dad stopped his financial support on me due to my own actions, I become a person who can manage to survive alone. As of now, I still am on my senior year in college, civil engineering to be exact and will soon graduate this coming March but if misfortune comes, then maybe this May.

But before I should start my story on how I became a survivor, I must first tell you why I came up with the idea to inquire on what people do to survive in this constantly changing world. And here it goes:

It started with a simple film showing in our STS1-Science and Technology, an engineering-minor subject and depicted in the film are the various jobs that people of different races and in their respective countries or cities do just to feed himself and his family. A very heart-breaking example of the job that was shown is the becoming of a woman to a burlesque queen, a person who dances nude in front of many people-thirsty in flesh, for the benefit of herself and her children. And by this, inquiring how people manage to live no matter how immoral or unacceptable or easy or comfortable it is with their job and show it to the world, then we will surely hesitate to condemn directly people just because of their actions and/or jobs.

Now, I can show my story to the world:

Educating oneself to acquire a good profession for a better career is expensive. However, if supported by parents or someone else then you can concentrate on studying alone and may finish it earlier. Sadly, I, as a civil engineering student in an expensive course, am already cut-off with the financial support, as I have mentioned before. Due to my perseverance and will to go on and continue my studies, I asked for help from brother in the SFC-Singles For Christ, a Christian ministry of the Roman Catholic Church, and fortunately he lend me an amount of money for enrollment. Since I lend it, I still have to pay for it.

I enrolled and for my survival or daily consumption, because I am living alone, I worked in a restobar as waiter during nighttime. Working every night is really very tiresome and has drained a lot of my weight. I even use prohibited substance we commonly name as shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride, an amphetamine, to keep me awake during work. The wage or salary being a waiter is only 90.00 Philippine Pesos or about US$2.00 and it is really very low.

The most crucial time that I hate to come is during the pay for the bills for room rental because this would surely drain-out my finances. When short of money and not enough to buy for food, a solution comes out: “By sleeping everything out-minding not the hungry stomach.” When at work, food leftovers from customers of the bar have to be kept for later to devour, very unsanitary it is but what else can a hungry person do. Almost everyone-waiters do such a very wrong manner anyway.

The most wonderful thing that I learned about during those crucial times is that I have grown more mature spiritually. This is because during those times of no food, I read the Bible(I am a believer of Jesus Christ and His Father the creator) and the Word did help me ease out everything. In addition, keeping my money safe not using it in out-of-nothing things is another good thing that I learned.

Now, I still am on my way to graduating my course and still surviving this reckless but wonderful world with greater strength and will.