Brave and bold.

I happened to google the meaning of my name. My search yielded these results: origin - French; meaning - brave like a bear.

I smiled at what I found :-) Somehow the meaning of my name speaks of me as a person as I am always considered as brave and bold. And I would like to believe that I am.

Yes, I am brave and bold. When I was five years old, my mother enrolled me in Grade 1. I was the smallest and the youngest member of the class. And I was sickly. But I was brave! I would walk with my aunt for like eight kilometers to school everyday. Sometimes barefoot, sometimes the weather was unfriendly, but I never gave up. I went on to that school until I finished my elementary education on top of my class.

Yes, I am brave and bold. After elementary, my parents told me that they could not afford to send me to high school. Time was tough then. We lived in the farm, and my mother worked as laborer in the farm to feed us. My father was a mechanic and would go from one place to another to look for malfunctioning radios to fix in order to feed us. During weekends, he would help in the slaughterhouse; his labor pay in that slaughterhouse of fresh meat would be made into dinuguan which my mother and I would sell around the barrio. But, our poverty did not deter my dream of studying in the private school run by the Dominican Sisters in our town. Small and young as I was at 12, I took the scholarship exam, and lucky me! I passed the exam.

Yes, I am brave and bold. In high school, I did not join any activity. My mother didn't allow me because we have nothing to finance any school activity. So I did look for a job during weekends - I helped in the store of one rich neighbor, or sometimes, I'd sell anything from ice candy to dinuguan to help augment the family income and for me to have an allowance of two pesos per week. I could not even remember a recess time that I went to the school canteen to buy even a skyflakes and lem-o-lime. Instead, I would hide in one corner of the room pretending that I was studying when in fact I just didn't like that my classamates would notice me eating nothing at recess.

Yes, I am brave and bold. In college, I braved the hardship of being a working student. I'd worked as a house and store helper at daytime and studied at night time. That I did for five and a half years. When I arrived in Manila to work, I did not enrol in college right away. But after a year, I asked my amo if I could study at night. I was allowed to enrol, but I could only take courses from 5-8pm daily. Since I could carry 15 units only per semester, my four-year course was finished in four and a half. And little did I know, I was graduating with honors, too.

Yes, I am brave and bold. I have no regrets. If I have to start my life all over again, I would still travel the same road. Why? It's that road of perseverance, sacrifice, hardship and suffering which has made me the person that I am now. It's that road of inner strength which has built my character and will-power. It's that road of poverty which has motivated me to dream, big and small. It's that road of determination which has sharpened me to become BRAVE AND BOLD.