Acknowledge how you feel. Find strength after.

It scares me but it’s okay.

Rhea Santos De Guzman
Nov 7 · 3 min read

My interest for Philippine news will never cease. Thanks to technology I can still feed my curiosity about Philippine politics, latest showbiz happenings and inspiring stories of Pinoys (which I love!) through news websites and through my Viber chat thread with my former colleagues.

Being an international student in the Broadcast and Online Journalism program of the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Canada is quite a challenge. Frustration kicked in on the first week of school when I can’t keep up with discussions on national and local news. I’m not used to that feeling because I was always up-to-date when it comes to news — nationally, locally, even on updates about personal lives of other people (ooops!) — throughout my broadcast career. My classmates in the program are young, assertive and very opinionated. So during the first few weeks in school, I’d sit quietly and observe how discussions go as I get a feel of the program and get to know some of my peers. Two months since I started taking the program, the feeling of having to do a marathon on brushing up with Canada’s national and local news, as well as international events, has been a challenge until today. I feel I’m starting all over.

Aside from catching the headlines early morning, I’d get the local newspaper being distributed for free when I get off from my train ride. News apps come in handy because it allows me to skim through current news items and read discussions while riding the bus or train or while waiting for my next class. Several times I’ve seen fellow Filipinos taking part in pickets. I’d stop by and talk to them to get to know their working conditions. If there’s anything I’m thankful for, it’s having my fellow Pinoys around to familiarize me with how things go here. I try to breathe in news, day and night, but it seems I still have a long way to go.

While enjoying my lunch alone in school, someone whom I met during the orientation for international students sat with me and asked how I am. It seems we were both undergoing the same feeling being new, not only in school, but in a new place. I told her that I’m overwhelmed with all the changes and I get frustrated because I feel I have so much to learn. I told her I’m struggling with a few things. What followed struck me. She said, “do not look at it as struggles, but opportunities.” For an optimistic person like me, I was too preoccupied with the changes that I lost sight to look at it that way.

In moments like these, you seek what’s inside you and relive your strengths. You remind yourself that YOU have the power to make things happen. You find excitement in this new opportunity given to you to learn, to connect with new people and to discover things about yourself.

Yes, this new adventure scares me. But I can’t live my dream if I don’t face my fears. Let’s turn what scares us into opportunities to grow, and be better.

-END-

Written by

Broadcast Journalist in the Philippines who decided to go back to school to chase bigger dreams for the family.

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