CHARGE TO EXPERIENCE

Working on a normal nine-hour shift from 8 am to 6 pm exclusive of an hour of lunch break and pretty much of ten to twenty minutes of short breaks in the afternoon filled up my first three years of working under a corporate set-up. Five years prior to starting to delve into the “real world”, as they call it, I started studying as an engineer. Studying is different from working in the sense that studying a course is an everyday struggle to be better and learn more about the profession with a path already laid upon us as students. Whereas, working for a living or even for another purpose is also an everyday struggle but the challenge is that you are the one to build your path, to choose which blocks to shape your success, to choose which people to bring along with you in your journey, and to be responsible for EVERYTHING.

Entering the real world is not scary, staying in it is. Three years ago, every single day has been exciting because there was a lot of things to learn from. Back on those days, I had a boot camp before being given a project in the company to have an introductory course on “what to do”. May reason of getting up every morning is just to know if I can prove my worth, my intellect, and whatever I believe has been given to me by years of studying. So there after two months of waiting for a project, my instinct already tells me I am not worth it, but it was a blessing in disguise because, last as I may seem to have a project from my boot camp starter group, I was placed on a project which catered to my abilities and whatever I could offer. Every year is still a struggle to be better rewarded by promotions, incentives and salary increase. Apart from the project, the people I have worked with came from different lifestyles and cultures, that became more exciting for me, knowing about them and knowing the impact they have on my life and beliefs. So, there goes another reason to get up every morning.

I knew that even if I already established a sort of impression as a role model to my co-workers, having been promoted every year, knowing the proper thing to do every day, and having a work-life balance as well; there is something missing from what I already know and where I am in is a treadmill rolling back and forth, doing the same process every single month which in turn will slowly diminish my learning process as I grow older. I had to search for another job. It was hard to let go of things I was already used to and of the people I am really fond of to be with. But harder than that, it was harder to find another corporate place to accept me with the abilities I have. I already knew by then that I have a lot more to learn and work hard for. There were a lot of jobs I have to turn down and another set to rejections I have to accept. Then, just with a strong heart and competitive spirit, I have finally landed on a job paying me more than I expected, and of course, expecting more of what I can give in return.

From a nine-hour shift, I am down to an eight-hour shift from 9 am to 6 pm with an hour of lunch break every day. Ever since I started working, entering this company was the second time I felt really incapable of anything. I started to question every single decision I made. From having a license of engineering to entering the world of SAP, from being an intelligent and strategic woman to a newbie crawling in the abyss of real world nothingness. Yes, it’s starting to be more and more philosophical each day of my stay here; my thoughts were everywhere and they were always interrogative.

In this abyss, I found a new challenge to be more real and better, not just professionally but also spiritually. In this new part of real world, I was already given business opportunities to travel locally and internationally which really taught me the value of responsibility not only for myself but also for the people who are really counting on me. I am with a team, but I myself is also a team. In this part of my career life, I learned to charge on experience. Not that I have not considered the previous years to be experiences, but this time, I am literally on my own, not on anyone’s or anything’s cradle. I am totally responsible for what I do, what I submit and whatever I may sign for the business. Whenever I fail, which believe me I cried on many times in a span of just three months, I always discover what I lack and what I have to build on. These past three months taught me to be stronger and as what I’ve said, charge to experience. I don’t have all the luxury in the world to charge everything to a project or to anyone, at the end of the day, it was just me, everything was charged to my life, my choices, my experiences. The good thing about this is that whatever I charge to my experience, I always gain something new, something to make me a better person, hundred percent guaranteed. It was freeing and was admiringly a good way to construct a life of meaning and purpose.