𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Once upon a time, an Ilongga took the courage she always had within to take a path harder than what she had anticipated. Two days after her graduation, she flew almost 300 miles to start a dream she once thought impossible.
But it was like a gladiator battle. Alongside the struggles of turning a stranger’s room into her home from scratch and finding ways to survive every day in the new city away from her loved ones, she also stepped in to take all the learnings and the challenges that come in agency work in the public relations field.
Nevertheless, she embraced it all. She’s not going to be there if she wasn’t meant to be there.
AirAsia, the first account she handled, is like a walk in the park – a dinosaur park. On the event day, she felt like a puppy in awe to see the plans illustrated in PowerPoints come to life, to meet media and bloggers in person, and to have become a part of a successful big event. But it’s not just a walk, it’s a survival game. She composed herself to look as knowledgeable as her colleagues when she didn’t know half of what she was doing, focused when she was filled with nervous thoughts, and did her best when she felt disappointed in herself.
In the weeks leading up to the event, as a beginner, she often got lost and made countless mistakes – from seeding a press release, forgetting to inform a supplier, missing a step in the process, even sending kits to the wrong media, and more. There were so many unfamiliar things she tried and embraced wholeheartedly. It was like staring into a mirror with no reflection staring back. Every correct action she took was easily overshadowed by her mistakes, at least she thought which made her feel like a disappointment. Still, she was stubborn and thick-skinned enough to continue.
Almost nine months later, she’s already promoted and well-adjusted. She can now easily share her dark humor, ask questions unapologetically, and share her knowledge with others. Behind the awful story of her struggles lies a more beautiful tale of how her mentors supported her when she was down and guided her when she was lost.
There were two words that could make her feel that there was no other sound louder than her heartbeat. That makes her hands feel stiff and her ears ring. “𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥…”
It means she did something wrong, and it’s not just twice or thrice but many times. What follows those two words are actually what helped her to avoid committing mistakes, overcome challenges, and learn. Those wise words were provided by her mentors freely and carefully.
You see, I am that beautiful gorgeous woman from Iloilo now changing my voice from third person to first person because there will be no ending to this story yet.
As a work in progress, it’s not just my ultimate struggles, but also the wise words, compassion, and understanding of my mentors (sexbomb Paula, macho gwapito Justin, and almighty coach Ferds) that make up my COMCOre memory which I’ll always carry in my heart as I continue to move forward and write the best COMCO story that I can.
Indeed, diamonds are made under pressure but only in the right environment. Salamat, Puhon. ✩°｡⋆˚⁺