On Patience

Patience, they say, is a virtue. If there would be a living testimony that it indeed is, that would be me. I have always thought myself as being patient. I guess I have developed being one through the experiences that I have had while growing up.

As a child, I never really got to experience what they call "the good life". Budget was very slim and we made do with what was served on the table and with what we had. Toys, and sometimes even clothes, were hand-me-downs from well-off cousins. But I was not bitter nor envious because I had three siblings to play with the whole afternoon. We would go on that hill at the back of our house and get some fallen palms from the coconut trees and slide our way downhill or we would fly kites that we made ourselves or the ones that we got in exchange for many empty boxtops of our favorite milk brand.

When I got older, I was taught that if I wanted to have something, I would have to work hard for it before I got it. So I learned to be patient and became persevering to reach my goal. I used to be a hard-headed person in my younger years - I had the tendency to do things my way but I realized that this is not always the case in the real world. So I had to make some adjustments - or what others would say, compromise. And I guess it worked.

My long-distance relationship with my first boyfriend, who is now my husband, made it quite a challenge for us. We have been physically separated for more than six years since he had to study here in Japan. And it was difficult for both of us, I tell you. But those long years have taught me to patiently wait and be more understanding with our situation. And so now, we are here - happily living our lives together with our baby daughter.

Patience has also been my constant companion during my jobhunting days. It became even more helpful when I started out in the corporate world and I had to deal with a number of unreasonable colleagues who seem to want to do things their way. And thanks to patience, I was able to endure and still maintain a healthy working relationship with my colleagues.

Patience, if you give it a little more time to grow within you, will be one of your best assets. Indeed, it will take you a long way... Just look where it got me!

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