Jolly and happy-go-lucky— this is how I can best describe myself. I am an achiever; from elementary to high school I had been a consistent honor student, usually at the top two or three of our class. My life was planned out: graduate high school and take up Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management as my course in a college in Iloilo city.
Unfortunately, sometimes life does not go according to plan.
Hi! I am Rosa, and this is my story.
Instead of going straight to college, I stopped my schooling to work in Iloilo city so that I could save for the expenses during college due to financial hurdles. In order to do this, I asked for help from an acquaintance of mine and he gave me the number of his friend, Rudy who works in the city to help me find a job there. Rudy and I texted for a year and endorsed me a job as a housekeeper at the place where he works. So far everything was going good— I have a job that can help me finance my studies, plus, I have a boyfriend! Months have passed and then suddenly one morning I was feeling nauseous and from then on I was frequently vomiting. Little did I know that this was the start of yet another challenge. I was 18 and pregnant, with Rudy being the father. It was already in the second trimester of my pregnancy when I found out. I was worried about the reactions my parents would make when I would confess. I had thoughts about them scolding me to the point where I could no longer stand on my own or worst, they would disown me. However, my worries were for nothing because they were considerate of me and accepted the situation I was in. I gave birth to my son at the Anilao birthing center and I must say that pregnancy is not hard, but giving birth is.
Now, I am 20 years old and high school is my highest educational attainment. Raising a child is not actually that hard for me but my husband Rudy is not present at all times because he works at a construction site in Iloilo city in order to support us. I do still want to go to college and my sibling encourages me to go because I am still young. And if I have something to do, my parents are always there to lend a helping hand to take care of my child. This is me carrying my baby boy.
I can’t let you see our faces because I want to keep our identity a secret. Even though you can’t see my baby boy’s face, I promise you, he’s really cute. All I wish for him is that he will be able to finish college; a feat that I have yet to accomplish, and grow up to be a good person.