I Celebrate Me
Today I am celebrating who I am and the better person I
will grow into tomorrow. Every day I realise there is more to
learn about life, myself, others, and my relationship with the world. If I could maintain that positive attitude,
then life would be easy sailing for me.
Truthfully, as the captain of my ship, I have weathered many
storms. I navigated through rough waves,
strong winds of tragedies, heartaches and loss.
Each setback made me lose my confidence, doubt my abilities; and I
grasped at the helm how flawed I am as a person. Mistakes I made are my history that I learn
from. I will never attain perfection,
but I will always do and give my best in life’s changing tides. I choose to celebrate me.
Who am I? That is
a question I come face to face with every moment. I seem to evolve day by day. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I can
and cannot do. By moving and doing things, I learn what my limits are. If it is
a worthwhile endeavour, I will keep striving and pushing beyond my boundaries
until I can do well at a particular task.
If education told my identity, then I am a writer, artist, entrepreneur,
and chef. I attended schools that developed my talents and skills. However, the grandest school in my book is
life itself. Life is where the real
challenges and rewards are. I could keep
attending different schools, amassing collections of certificates and diplomas,
yet not live up to my full potential if my real life application does not
exist. As they say, the proof of the
pudding is in the eating. I have to constantly
put myself out there and challenge myself. Recently, I made artworks, baked
breads and cakes, then joined a fair. Of
course, I wrote up and designed my leaflets to distribute to prospective
clients, too. That entrepreneurial activity
made use of my abilities, enabled me to know what customers want, and made my
pockets full as well. I even received
orders for customised cakes!
The United Kingdom is a
place I call home for more than a year and a half now. Originally from the Philippines, I moved into
the UK to start a new life with my husband, John. We married in the
Philippines, had our honeymoon there, then flew to the UK together. My love story with John began when I met him
at a cooking event in London three years ago.
To this day, we both enjoy cooking and eating meals we prepare together.
Love makes starting over seem easier. I left behind the
life I was comfortably well-adjusted to: a thriving career in entrepreneurship,
family, relatives and friends back home.
I chose to be with the man
I love and have no regrets. I only wish
we could have our own family soon. I
suffered a miscarriage on the early part of our marriage. I grieve the loss of what could have been our
child. One tragedy should make the love I feel for my husband stronger, not
weaker. I am a wife and a future
mother. John is my best friend and
partner in life, not just my husband. Together
we could shape an even more blissful destiny for us and our future family.
In today’s modern post-Brexit era, I believe that it
might take herculean task to stay true to my identity. Others will look at me, notice my skin
colour, facial features and think to themselves that I am not one of them. When I walk into town, from time to time, I
get stopped by a stranger and asked “are you visiting?” followed by “what do you
think of the British?” I find the Brits a friendly bunch and I earnestly hope that would never change. When I watch news on TV or read the
newspaper, I am informed that hate crimes are spreading across the UK. There are those who endure intimidation, fear,
and even violence for being who they are.
These are supposedly civilised times. If anything is to be learned from
the internet, it is that we are all connected. While I celebrate me, I also
celebrate you.
