You Will Overcome (Dear Younger Me)

DEAR YOUNGER ME

You Will Overcome

by Badette Santos

Dear 32-Year Old Badette,

So you just lost your job, and you’re worried. You’re worried how you will be able to help your husband when you have an infant whose needs are still costly, when your eldest is studying in a private school, and when there are more bills to pay.

You’re about to apply for another job. You’re nervous, thinking that you may fail the interview because you are too shy or may give the wrong answers. But hey, this job is in demand right now, so go for it! Don’t worry – even if you’re scared, you’ll always be doing the right thing when persevering for your family. Believe me.

At first, you will not be happy and will be afraid of the people you try selling to each day you go to work. Even though it is Sales, which you hate because you aren’t comfortable talking to people, you won’t even notice that you’re improving and starting to enjoy it as the days go by. You will continue, you will be determined, and you will overcome. And I admire you for doing so.

“You will continue, you will be determined, and you will overcome.”

One day, you will be given an opportunity to handle a team. You will accept it without hesitation. Here, you will learn how to be a leader – you will be better at communicating with people and will inspire and motivate others both at work and in their personal lives. You and your team’s achievements will bring great happiness to you.

Then another opportunity for a higher position will come. You will handle a greater number of people and have bigger responsibilities. Of course, you will accept it because at this point, you will see it as another opportunity! But I have bad news for you: you will struggle. You will become too stressed managing work amongst important people and will have difficulty setting aside time for family. Yes, you will be back to your old you – a turtle hiding in its own shell. No confidence. A failure.

But you have grown, Badette. You shall always think that nothing good will come out of your regrets of your failures. Let your positivity prevail because your time there isn’t really a disappointment but an experience you will actually learn from. You will be gaining skills in preparing reports, navigating a computer, communicating with management people, and organization and time-management skills. These will help shape you to what we are today.

I am writing this now and becoming emotional just thinking about how your effort and persistence have helped us to who we’ve become today. You are shy and lacking in self-confidence. You know very little and just want to make enough money for the family without aspiring for more. But because of you, this is us now – we’ve become fighters who want to learn more and to be positive in life. Because of you, things look a lot brighter.