𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝑰 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓?

When I first arrived in the province of Isabela in January of 1992, I found myself feeling homesick and disconnected from my life back in Cebu. Despite the distance, I tried to stay in touch with friends and loved ones through snail mail, eagerly waiting for letters and cards to arrive in my old shoebox. Reading news from Cebu lifted my spirits and helped me feel more connected to home. However, as time passed and technology advanced, snail mail was replaced by email, and my shoebox remained empty.

As I sit here tonight, searching for inspiration, I reach for Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist. Even though I've read it countless times before, I still find myself drawn to the idea of a personal legend and the search for meaning in life. As I leafed through the pages, I came across one of my favorite quotes from the book: "𝑇𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒'𝑠 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐿𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛'𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡." This idea has always resonated with me and has encouraged me to continue pursuing my dreams.

Suddenly, I was struck by a memory of my old shoebox filled with letters and cards from Cebu. I decided to go through them, and I stumbled upon a letter from my college mentor and adviser. He was not only the dean of instruction but also a man of great integrity and a wonderful example for young people like me to follow. I was touched that he had taken the time to write me a letter and keep in touch after I graduated.

The letter itself was simple, full of updates on the school and its graduates. However, the best part of the letter was his advice to me to do well in my current job. This was both reassuring and challenging, and it made me wonder why I couldn't be like those graduates who had pursued noble careers in teaching. What was holding me back from achieving my dreams, and why did it feel like the universe was not conspiring in my favor?

These questions are still a mystery to me, even now. Maybe being a teacher is not my personal legend, or maybe it is. Either way, I am grateful for the letter from my college mentor and the reminder that I can still pursue my dreams and find my personal legend, even if it takes time and effort. As I continue to search for inspiration and meaning in my life, I will remember that all things are connected, and the universe will conspire to help me achieve my goals.