life is ironic

LIFE IS IRONIC. SOMETIMES, IT FORCES US TO MAKE A CHOICE, WHEN IN FACT, THERE IS NO CHOICE.

I have read this passage somewhere and that captured my attention and left me wondering about the irony of it. It may sound pessimist for some but a lot of us, in one point or another, could relate with this biting truth.

I will share to you a story of a friend who dreamt of having a better life with his chosen career but ended up tilling the lands - somebody else's land.

His family belonged to the lower class of our society - his father was a carpenter and his mother busied herself with farming jobs during planting and harvest seasons. As he was the bunso (youngest) in the family, his parents and his siblings decided to send him to school inspite of the financial difficulties. It was the only means to alleviate their social status.

Manila schools were of course out of the question, hence, he did a computer related study in our province's capital, thinking it will be a job of the future. Everybody in the family shared the same dream - a diploma - providing them motivations to work more.

Hélas, the diploma was on hand. It was time for him to prove himself in the real world. Unfortunately, he never landed in any job related to his line of profession. What was the problem?

Was he not competent enough?

I don't know. I don't think anybody could really answer that. He was never given the chance to prove his worth anyway. He was just exposed to the blatant discrimination of our society. A graduate from a never-heard school in a far away province trying his luck in the busy streets of Manila, who would hire him? Of course there will be some who would say, I was in the same shoes before and I nevertheless succeeded. Of course, of course. Lucky you. But were you really in the same shoes? He was a graduate of the new millennium when competition was stiff and discrimination was rampant.

And yes, to be positive, he triggered some small time jobs in Manila in order to sustain his basic needs...as a karpentero, kargador, waiter sa bar...

Did he exert enough effort to find a job?

Much more than you could imagine. Every CV and motivation letter he sent represented hard-earned pesos for him. Every refuse letter was a disappointment not only for him, more so for his family. Not only his stay in Manila was unproductive, most importantly, it was costly. He then decided to go home to the province - to work as a karpentero, kargador, waiter sa bar...but this time, less the charges.

Was he a loser?

I don't think so. The fact that he gave up in finding a job in Manila doesn't make him a loser at all. It was just the most practical choice at that point. He had no capital, he knew nobody, there was no opportunity - all these circumstances pushed him to move on and find another opportunity somewhere else.

Did he have the choice?

If you couldn't relate at all to his story, that means that you belong to the Elite Filipinos of our country. If you never heard of such kind of story, that means that you frequent the Elite Filipinos of our country. If you refuse to accept that such situations exist in our country, then I tell you, you've been dreaming for so long and it's time to wake up!