Vacation to vocation: An effect of a month-long break

Being a teacher has its perks. One of them is the long vacation in between the school year. Since I’m still on a vacation mood, I will continue musing here and this time it will be about schooling, education, career, vocation, heartbreaks, intimate celibacy, and dreams.

A career or calling?
To be honest, I never dreamed of becoming a high school teacher when I was still a child or even a teen. The closest would be my dream of becoming a professor in college. Now one of my college pals just finished his master’s in Clinical Psychology. I could not remember if I mentioned that being a Marist Brother was one of my dreams as a teenager but anyway I’m telling it now. And since I am already a Marist Brother, I still dream of becoming a professor. But if I would do that, would it make my religious vocation not as a vocation (i.e. “a calling”) but as a career? Well, I would not really pursue it and just make it happen when I am told to teach in college. That’s out of the equation at the moment since I don’t have yet a master’s degree. I had some post-graduate units taken last year but that’s all I have. So that’s just one of my many desires and I am just being honest by writing it out.

Schooling and education
Seven years ago, I don’t even have the financial means to enroll in a post-graduate school before I entered the Marist Brothers. That time, I thought of going back to school again right after graduating in college. I still wanted to study. I was still unprepared in the transition of working right after college graduation. Just like my long break now, right after my college graduation, I was so restless in having a break in studies, thinking on my bed, and playing computer games. I had lots of exercise though. I was tired in studies but I want to keep on going. Mark Twain said he would not let schooling interfere with his education. I too had to keep that in mind. I was too selective in accepting job offers. I had my options: study again and/or work. Out of the blue, I entertained the thought of joining the Marist Brothers. They invited me when I was in second year college; I am Marist-educated; I am single; I know the life of St. Marcellin Champagnat; I lived with the Brothers in Mindanao for a week when I was still in high school; and I dreamed of becoming one. So, why not become a Marist Brother?

And these thoughts occurred to me so I contacted the Marist Brothers and told them that I am interested to become one of them. And they gave me one year to decide if I am serious with my decision or not. That’s why I worked as a property consultant and as a technical support representative even though I was underemployed as long as I can save money for my future trip to Mindanao.

Heartbroken?
I don’t even know if my close friends know about this. Maybe they just thought I was heart-broken. And if their reason is true, I should have been out a long time already. Or maybe that’s part of my unconscious motivation of joining religious life.

I remember in a dream six year ago in the Aspirancy House that I was being chased by some hooligans and I was shot dead. I woke up in the middle of that night and even posted in my Facebook status that I was thankful to be alive. The only explanation I can come up with that dream was that I was eluding something that I can’t accept or I don’t like and that my death was a reminder of my spiritual death since I was not a practicing Catholic when I was in college. So maybe the heart-broken part is true based on that dream but I would deny that consciously of course. Or am I running away from something other than that?

Intimate celibacy
The problem now is that I learned in religious life how to love many without being exclusively in a relationship with a woman; that I can be intimate while being celibate. (I will tackle this in the future.)

A recurring dream
But my death in my dream? I cannot really make sense of it. That dream recurred a few days ago. Again, I was riding a vehicle and I was being chased by some hooligans. But on this second time, I am alive. What does that mean?

And that’s it for an episode of my free-writing. Thanks for reading.

Please pray for me and my companions for our tomorrow’s trip to General Santos City. I would be there for a two-week training.

And that means a hiatus.

Again, let us pray for one another.

Poverty should not stop kids from dreaming

Dreams of Becoming a Brother despite of poverty

When I went to a medical clinic in Kawas Alabel last August 13, I met Jomarie Baynosa, the nephew of Br. Briccio Baynosa.

Though he, a Grade 5 students, has difficulty in speaking Tagalog to me, I was able to talk to him about his school life and ambitions in life.

He told me that he wants to become a Marist Brother like his uncle someday.

Schooling is hard for a poor kid like him

Coming from a very poor family, he and his older brother are neglected somehow by their parents because of the nature of their work.

He and his brother did not attend school that day because they don’t have money or food for their lunch.

It’s just hard for poor kids to survive school without eating their meals.

Poverty should not hinder kids from dreaming

Being poor should not stop kids like Jomarie to dream of their future.

He has a dream to achieve to he doesn’t know yet how to fulfill it.

I told him that he needs to finish his schooling first until high school.

He needs people around him to support fulfill his dreams no matter what it is.

He needs people to support him achieve his dreams no matter how hard it is.

What can I do to fulfill the dreams of poor kids like him?

I want to be a Resource Speaker someday

I was able to attend a leadership training not as a participant but as an observer. With a very good resource speaker coming from De La Salle Manila, I’m very inspired to be a resource speaker as well in the future.

While observing, I can feel the inner desire of bringing out the best of other people. I know I am called to be a teacher but there’s still a long way to go for me in terms of public speaking. I have the brains and I have the voice but what I need is the self-esteem.

I hope talk watching more TED Talks will inspire me to conquer my fear of public speaking, just like what Susan Cain did in her wonderful talk about introverts.

I know I can do it. I just need to stick out with my purpose and be a BOBO:

• Bring Out the Best in Ourselves

or

• Bring Out the Best in Others