A letter from Sep 4th, 2021

Dear FutureMe, Hola, Guapa! Como estas? Your 18-year-old self is reaching out to you with a message for your future self. I'm hoping you'll read this message until you're 22. So, I'm assuming you recall the period when you were still in Senior High? Your ambition is to become a doctor one day, therefore it is your responsibility as a student to work hard and fulfill your objectives. You were so enthusiastic in your first year of college that you persuaded your parents to let you enroll in a nursing course as part of your Pre-med program; it only took a few days before they agreed to let you enroll in your ideal medical school and attend your dream course! At first, you were overjoyed, until you saw the tuition cost. You were terrified, thinking about what would happen if you failed this course and had to pay more tuition. So you made a vow to yourself to study hard in order to avoid failing marks. Mom and dad decided to switch you to a new course a few days later, but you're still in the same school. Your aspirations and ambitions are going to be dashed, but you never lose hope since they chose you to enroll in a Radiologic Technology course, and you're OK with it. You've already studied and participated in class for one week, you were an excellent student who enjoyed studying and was eager to learn more about Human Anatomy and Physiology. Until you got an email from the institution where you were taking the USTP entrance tests during your first week in Radiologic Technology. When you first saw the email, I recall you being overjoyed and proud of yourself since you had passed the Entrance Exam for your first choice, the B.S in Civil Engineering! So you notified your family about the results and kept it a secret from everyone else since you didn't want them to know you took the admission exam and passed. My family chose to seek a college education in Engineering by keeping it a secret. When I heard my father advise that I should drop out of Medical School and continue my studies in Civil Engineering at USTP, I was bemused and my dream were torn into a million pieces. I had no option but to follow my parents because they were the ones who paid my tuition costs, but they had no idea that I worked several jobs to keep my tuition fees and financial situation afloat. And now, it's been one week since you accepted the offer and began studying the Engineering course, despite the fact that becoming an Engineer is not your dream, but you remembered that becoming an Engineer is my family's dream, and as a daughter, I may not have the strength to disobey my family's rules. They may be difficult to adjust to now that you've entered a world that isn't even your own in medical school. So, here is my letter to you, I hope that after 5 years, you have graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines. I know you will struggle with your studies during your college years, but I believe in you, and you must believe in yourself. As you may recall from your RadTech instructor, from the Bible Proverbs verse 3 chapter 5 to 6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; acknowledge him in all your ways, and he shall direct your paths." Since you were in 11th grade, you've been thinking about this quote: "Everything happens for a reason, and sometimes not getting what I want is a beautiful stroke of luck." God has a purpose for everyone of us, and we may feel as if our aspirations and ambitions have been destroyed just because we didn't get what we wanted or planned. And I hope that this will be your first step toward a successful future, even if it isn't your dream course or you aren't in your dream medical school. I wish you luck and promise me that you will do everything in your ability to make your parents and yourself proud, among all your hard work and those days when you were mentally unstable. And I keep hoping that as you walk the stage, all of your hard work pays off, those restless nights, you cried till 2 a.m. because you didn't comprehend the problem and were having difficulty studying since you were taught not to seek for help and to be independent, so you studied all night to achieve high grades. And after your graduation from USTP with a B.S. in Civil Engineering as a Freshman, I look forward to you treating yourself to whatever you want, eating whatever you want, and traveling to any places you've always wanted to visit since high school, and being proud of yourself because you've made it this far with the Lord by your side and your trust and faith in him. Even if you don't have a medical doctor's or the M.D in your last name, becoming an engineer is a wonderful place to start for your career. Also, don't forget to take the board examinations immediately after graduating from college. Once more, congrats to yourself! You've come this far, and I'm so proud of you. I love you forever!