Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome aboard Victory Liner bus 2084 bound for Manila.


So that's me stowing our carry-ons before our bus leaves Baguio. Feeling FA much! Loljk. Just missing my sibs who are busy flying. I’m often asked why I don’t try applying as cabin crew as well. The truth is, I already have – twice! PAL and CebuPac (with my brother and his friend; CebuPac wasn’t hiring male crews that time so I was the only one who got to apply, now both of them are already PAL stewards!). In both I didn’t make it to the final cut for the second stage. You see I always made it to the final interview of the first stage, it’s just that I guess God wants me to look after my parents and be their only (favorite) child! Kidding aside, I guess God has other plans. Being an FA hasn’t been a dream of mine anyway and I’m beyond blessed with where I am today for I still get to travel on almost a monthly basis.

Upon graduation I spent about three months bumming out. Not that is was a choice, but I still couldn’t figure out what I really wanted to do in life. (In fact, I had a blog entry dedicated solely to quarter-life crisis on my former blogsite.) I tried applying at different TV networks (Broadcast Communication graduate right here!) but I was slowly getting depressed as I was starting to see posts from my batchmates already landing jobs while I still hadn’t been receiving any calls. Eventually I was hired as a Production Assistant in a music television but under the website wing. I thought it was a great opportunity because (1) it’s under a popular network, (2) it’s where I spent half of my internship hours so I already know who I would work with, (3) I’d get to apply the knowledge and skills I learned undergrad for I was a production and performance major, and (4) I’d get to meet more celebrities!

I was in the network for about a year and a half. It was a total blast I had used the #ilovemyjob too much too often it’s almost a crime. Many people said they’d love to land that job of mine too. And the fact that even if I was working for the website department, I was assigned to do the Behind-The-Scenes (BTS) of the tapings in the studio so it’s as if I’m part of the TV team as well. I also got to be on television as a partner of (my childhood crush) Sam Concepcion in two of its episodes. Probably one of the highlights of my career there was getting to see Bruno Mars up close for I got to cover his charity event here in Manila. Of course that’s aside from the regular perks of getting to interview local and international celebrities and getting free access to concerts.

For I wasn’t getting much from that job, I eventually worked three jobs. My flexible schedule allowed me to work as a part-time Events Specialist/Marketing Trainee in a multinational company in Ortigas so in the morning I was a corporate person, in the afternoon I was a PA and in the evening, I was a Math tutor for my cousins living in the same neighborhood. Eventually I was offered a full-time job in Ortigas so I decided to leave my very fun and enjoyable job as a PA. There really will come a point where you would have to think long-term. No matter how much I loved my PA duties and its perks, I had to make the hard decision to (at least try to) “adult”.

My work experience as a marketing trainee plays a huge part on where I am today. I was trained by my boss there (whom I consider as my life and career mentor) to be who I am today. The discipline, the ins and outs of the retail/corporate world, the proper way to make a deal and most especially the confidence. But that job was also short-lived because I wouldn’t be absorbed as a regular, I would just stay as a contractual employee so when I got an offer to be part of a pre-opening HR team in a hotel, I quickly grabbed the chance. But I ended up going back as a marketer in the previous company due to some reasons. However, despite the talks of me getting finally absorbed, I stayed as a contractual employee so when another opportunity presented itself, my boss pushed me to try and just go for it. I did and I’m now a regular (finally, for the first time) handling two brands which I love! So far the best adulting decision I made.

That’s just a gist of my employment history for my ups and downs as a young professional would make another blog entry so let me just get to the point of this entry.

You see, rejection after rejection, there were moments I felt so lost and confused on what career path to take. From being a media person to an events specialist to HR coordinator, back to being a marketer and now an assistant brand manager – imagine the choices! But my experience just proved me one thing: It is true that His plans are always better than what we have always imagined. You may not understand the magnitude of the battle you’re fighting, but eventually you’ll see the size of the blessing coming.

Growing up I’ve always wanted to travel (and I may not made it as a cabin crew), now my work needs me to be out of town at least once a month! It’s exhausting and stressful (I think all jobs are!) but I enjoy every minute of it. I can finally say I found where I belong.

So if you think you haven’t found your place yet, that’s okay. Don’t be anxious and don’t ever give up. Your time will come. Best thing to do is try to learn all you can because, trust me, all of those will come in handy. There will come “Aha! Moments” wherein you’ll realize you had experienced all you’ve experienced because they were preparing you for the greatest moments of your life. You may not understand everything that’s happening in your life right now but all you have to do is trust the process. Trust Him, keep the faith. Everything is part of a bigger plan. All you have to do is believe and enjoy the moment.

You’ll get there.

And while you haven’t, enjoy the ride!