To you who is struggling (To you, the Graduating Student)

Graduating? Or just feeling down and about to give up? Then, let me take 5-10 minutes from you as you scroll through this post 👇

Body pain. Sleepless nights. Eye bags. The early call time every day. Plus the work that awaits at night. Sometimes, I don't take a full bath anymore because I only had 4 hours of sleep; but thank God for the light make up that conceals the stress. 

This has been my routine for almost 2 months. And I tell you, I am tired, but gladly, still keeping on. Disclaimer: I am not complaining, haha! Keep on reading.

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Oh, before I forget, let me say Hi! I am now at my last week of being a student teacher, an intern.  I just wanna write my feelings out to send words of encouragement to you who is also feeling the same way as I do.  

All this time, I have found comfort in sitting in lectures.  It is only during the internship when I felt how exhausting the real world can be. It has only been 2 months. It's even not the real thing yet, but the internship gave me a glimpse of what life could be in the real field. It's not easy. Really not.

You become an all-around person. You won't just give them the lesson. You manage them. You listen to their daily stories. You check them up. You encourage them. You are responsible for the future generation. And many more. 

When you are sent out to the battlefield of your chosen path, life will never be the same anymore.  Every morning, before I enter the classroom, I always take a deep breath, and put a mindset "The class day will only last for 8 hours.You can do this.", then I take a step inside, with a wide smile to greet the pupils and my CT. 8 hours of putting yourself aside. 8 hours of forgetting your own problems, because the focus has to be in the classroom. The classroom used to be my comfort zone before, but now, it's like a war zone to me. Kidding aside! As I said, it will never be the same anymore.

I go home then a work load awaits me. Then, I wake up to the next day pretending I had 8 hours of sleep. Then, the routine just repeats itself. Just that.

Now, how about you? How have you been? Are you tired lately? I guess, we all are! That's okay. Here are some words that I hope, will lift you up:

First, They say, there's a rainbow always after the rain. Your pain right now, that's temporary. The bible says in Romans 8:18 "The pain you have now is incomparable to the joy that is coming." Oh dear, every pain has a purpose. Every pain is something that will strengthen you to what God has in store for you. That pain of yours, will become a joy. And that my friend, is an irreplaceable joy. We just have to endure it.

Second, do not give up. Even when you feel like nothing is in progress. When you feel that you have been doing a lot, but still not moving forward. I repeat do not give up, for Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not become weary of doing good, for in the proper time, we will reap our harvest." If you know that you have been doing something for your good, be reminded that in His time, you will receive what you have been praying for.  Dawaton nimo ang bunga sa imong gitrabaho. Bisaya aron dulot.  Even better than what you asked for.

Third, you might have been asking or talking to your self "What have I entered? Is this really what I want? Will I still continue? Or should I just stop?" Well, I tell you, here's the good news. John 13:7 says "Jesus replied, You do not understand now what I'm doing, but later you will understand." Even when everything is chaotic to you, trust in Him. Always remember that wherever you are right now, God put you right where you are destined to be.

Fourth, we have a good promise from the Lord that He will finish what He has began in us. For Philippians 1:6 says: "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Mahuman ra ni tanan, salig lang.

Lastly, we shall do our part in holding on to the tie that connects us to Him. Romans 12:12 says "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Again, my friends, let us be constant in prayer. A short prayer every day will calm you. After waking up, don't forget to be grateful. Before going to sleep, say thank you. Even when everything seems difficult, it doesn't mean we have to cut our ties with the Almighty.  Pray.  It helps, a lot.

We are almost there, my fellow senior! God did not bring us this far to leave us. Busa, padayon lang. Let us look forward to the day when we can finally say "It's over." That one day, we will just joyfully smile and laugh to our previous struggles and say "Wow, I actually survived! How did I do that?"

And when you are asking why are you STILL doing this, always go back to this question "For whom am I doing this or why did I start all of this?" As for me, what keeps me going are my pupils.  If their thank you's, smiles and love are what I get from what I do, then I am compensated. 

Taken by my CT, Ma'am Verdad :)

Even if some days, I do not want to get out of bed anymore, I'll keep on fighting.  As for now, I have no idea how I conquer every single day, but one thing that I'm sure of: it is His grace that keeps me going.  

All of the things we went through will help us in the future.

To you the graduating student, just keep on. 

Here's a song reco that you might want to listen to. It's one of the songs that motivates me right now: "Even When It Hurts" by Hillsong United (Wow, DJ Hannah is on the mix, haha!)

My favorite lines from the song:

Even when my strength is lost

I'll praise you

Even when I have no song

I'll praise you

Even when it's hard to find the words

Louder then I'll sing your praise

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Even when the fight seems lost

I'll praise you

Even when it hurts like hell

I'll praise you

Even when it makes no sense to sing

Louder then I'll sing your praise

Radiating Sunshine,

Hannah Borja