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6:30AM, and the alarm rang next to my ears.
Refusing to open my eyes, I tried to press the snooze button hoping to catch another 10 minutes of sleep, but it didn’t work, and the alarm goes off again, screaming for attention.
I struggled to open my sleep-deprived eyes and the last thing I remembered was the finishing the assignment at 2am. I stumbled to the bathroom dragging my alarm clock along the way and started shampooing while still struggling with my alarm clock.
I then heard my second alarm going off. I quickly rinsed off and got dressed. I rushed downstairs and started preparing a nice breakfast while checking my phone for messages and my schedule for the day at the same time.
7 different meetings and 1 assignment was the agenda for the day.
Sounds familiar? Looks like a typical workday right? Just that the first alarm clock is actually my 3-year-old daughter, and the second alarm clock is 7-year-old son.
And the shampoo was not for my own hair but my daughter’s. Wondering why I must run downstairs to make breakfast?
Because I’m a single mom and this is the typical start to my weekdays.
Some of us are forced into single motherhood by circumstances and others by choice.
I asked myself repeatedly, “Why” and “How will I do this?” while being pregnant for the first time at 22 years old.
“Where will I find the strength to do this?” rings throughout my mind.
I was alone without a committed partner, and I was staring a long road ahead wrought with many challenges and pitfalls.
“Can I do this?”, I heard my second angel asking my third angel. The answer came very clear to me - “I can, and I will”. I know my Why.
I was halfway to my dream of being the valedictorian. I know I must give up this dream. So, I stopped my university and ended my pursuit of being the valedictorian.
I then started my first job in a call center, trying to make my first pay cheque and paying for his milk and diapers. I struggled but my son was my driving force.
I know I must do this for him, and I will never let him end up on the streets begging and being delinquent.
My son was 5 years old when a familiar “How will I do this?” rang through my mind again. I was pregnant with my daughter.
This time I did not have to struggle to wait for an answer as I know exactly what to next. I was steadfast and firm against all odds and all calls to abort her.
In 2018, I landed an exciting career in the financial sector, and this paved the way forward.
I was the top sales in a country that was deemed to fail. I was handed lucrative accounts in other countries to manage. I was ahead of my peers in the company. I even won an overseas incentive trip.
Fast forward to 2022. I restarted my quest for a university education. I’m currently pursuing Journalism and Media while juggling work and family.
I’m now a Marketing Strategist handling 4 top beauty brands for one of the biggest e-commerce companies. My sales results are flourishing and I’m ahead of my peers.
My achievements were just recognized last week by my CEO in front of the company. I have a private place of my own now and I have already been on 2 holidays paid by my own hard-earned money while still providing for my 2 children and family and scoring well in my studies.
In the next two months, I will be making 2 more trips to Vietnam and Singapore.
The journey was hard.
Working and studying 15 hours a day juggling 4 jobs while getting my university education. I never thought I could do it. My driving motivation is clear – Juli and Maki.
If a person like me – a single mom with limited support and hours a day can do it. YOU can do it too. Just have belief.
My Why was crystal clear. My success today started with a simple “How will I do this?”
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