Regis Cebu Leadership | Leader Melissa Abarrientos | Reflection paper 3 (revised)

Dear

​P​

rof.,

​I am re-sending my RP 3 with my journey's  key moments in discovering my passion. 

Regis Cebu Leadership 

Leader Melissa Abarrientos

Reflection Paper 3 

​

Discovering My Passion

What is my passion? – I remember this question way back after I graduated high school. I was so overwhelmed choosing what course to take for my college degree. Then I thought of taking up Accountancy like my mother. Most of my classmates followed their parent's footprint so I wanted to follow my mother's. When I told her of my decision, she immediately objected and told me to take a course I am good at. She knew I do not love math or anything with numbers. She cited a litany of my attitude, strengths and weaknesses that will precede my success in the course. She knew what and which things will bore me out my enthusiasm; and she concluded that conversation with "take a course that you will love to practice and will perfectly suit your personality and interest so you won't feel like going to school was a task".  She was right. I took up a course that I interested me all throughout and I learned my lessons by heart. My mother was the first to open my awareness about myself and introduced me my first passion: Communicating with people. By studying Psychology my "Inter and intrapersonal relationships were better. 

This passion to connect with people was further enhanced and intensified when I joined the art group. This time, communication was a bit more challenging. In verbal communication, it's easier to communicate and articulate to people what you want to express and say compared to visual presentation and communicate what you want to express and say hoping people will understand what you want to convey to the society. A picture paints a thousand words. (Below was a picture of my artwork way back 11 years ago.)

​​

I engaged myself not only in visual art. I tried to learn the piano, joined a dance group and even joined dance competitions; and I was a very active student leader in the campus where I immersed myself in social awareness and participated in community development as volunteer until I graduated my college, then studied law – and eventually quit. I got tired of studying and I was undergoing a bit of personal crises in my life and I wanted to find more meaning in my life. I wanted to work. I wanted to be self-sufficient. My family wasn't well off although my mother wanted me to reach my dreams and provide me the best education there is but I wanted to be more practical about the situation. So, I left everything and journeyed to Cebu where the path to finding myself  wasn't  an "ALL happy moments and experience". Rather, it was a story composed of tragedy, heartaches, struggles, defining moments, happiness and fulfillment.

Before we were tasked to write the call to arms speech about passion I admit that I am really uncertain to where I am heading. I'm already 32 by age yet I still couldn't see my end. This thought has been my boogeyman for over  a year  when I realized I was already 31. My partner and I even came to the point where he told me that if I really feel empty and unhappy with him and with where I am now and with what I do. He will give me the privilege and he will support  me financially and with whatever I need just  to seek out what  I really want to do with and in my life – try another job, travel  anywhere, hang-out, live like a teen, try having another boyfriend or whatever for 2 years and if I think that I couldn't find more happiness than the happiness he gives me? Then I should come back. A year passed I haven't moved out yet and I had been living everyday with things holding me back to master things until my  first reflection paper in self-awareness.

I couldn't reflect more about myself so I've asked my partner and some people around me to give me their opinion about me and how they see me. I've tried to recall things when I was a kid, teen and when I was younger than now. I tried to recall my dreams my thoughts and what did I hope for before? What made me decide what I decided before. I recalled not only my experiences but also the pain and how it all hurt. The RP1 was a shattering one and made me feel so vulnerable myself but it gave me a clearer view and understanding why I'm here now and what I want. It made me appreciate what I already have and reminded me that what I have now was what I had been hoping for before.

The team building broke my walls and cleared my head. I didn't have to seek out where I should go because I'm already where I wanted to be. I just need to re-discover myself to work on what's holding me back. Perhaps it's true. "People tend to kill the things that they love" –Paolo Coelho.

When I was a kid at the age of 7, I convicted to myself that I'd be a career woman, a business woman. I've envisioned a strong and competent one. I wanted to become a boss. That was all. A childish and selfish dream;  But, as a child I always had a warm and soft heart as my mother said.

Reflecting on the Genogram also gave me the key to understand more about why I'm here. I do remember fully when I was a kid whenever my grandaunts tell me the tragic story of how my grandfather's wealth collapsed. It made me dream more and wish I will become a business woman. It also made me conclude why I do not like gambling and why it has always been very difficult for me to play cards.

When we were tasked to write the Call to Arms Speech – I really do not know what to write about my passion since I do not know what really my passion is. To recall:

What really is my passion? I thought over and over again. Mulling over my life's history, I've was engrossed with Art –visual art. Art was my first love. I had been a dedicated volunteer when I was in college. I have a strong passion for entrepreneurship. I have a strong passion for learning and a never ending quest for certainty.

It took me a while to filter my underlying motivation for all the things I do until I realized that all of them lead to one passion – that is to be of service to others.

To be honest, it was difficult to write something you're not passionate about with a topic about passion. That's why it took me a week to think, to scrutinize myself to ask my staff (who answered me shoes) and 80% of my close friends work and my partner who answered me our business but I'm more passionate about how I serve my customers, my staff or employee and the community since I often think of our CSR programs and employee programs. That's was how I discovered my passion. The self-awareness activity really led me to understand myself and motivation, the genogram helped me to look back and the call to arms speech forced me to think and reflect harder!

I've worked with 2 global companies the past years with the same effort and dedication.  Both companies paid good and even more than enough. We had a lot of perks, outstanding benefits, trainings, skill enhancements, team buildings and my colleagues were great but there was still something missing. I did value my work and worked on it diligently but soon time came where energy faded and seek for another job until I was offered this job I have now.

Although, my first day was a distressing challenge since My co-workers weren't easy to get in touch with as there were walls and they were all males and I was the only female. The work seemed not fit for a woman like me. The environment was too hot and humid and we worked under the heat of the sun. My office wasn't done constructing yet and I only set up a table made from unused woods and scraps in the garage; and I wasn't provided any office supplies and equipment yet. I enjoy every single day I go to work. I meet people from different places different backgrounds and different profile and often with the same interests. I love looking at our units while I take a walk in our yard to inspect. I'm always excited whenever we have new container arrivals and I always feel enthusiastic and proud when I offer them to my customers. Going to Japan to inspect and view trucks is like going to the mall window shopping while for others they think it was work. Sometimes, the feeling of not being able to get the truck we vied for feels the same like when I don't get to buy the shoe I wanted because it was sooo expensive.

Apart from this, I enjoy all of my tasks. From procurement to Import to marketing and to selling and I'm quite proud of it. At first I thought my passion was confided to selling and marketing and my love to communicate with people and the entrepreneurship only until I realized that my passion is actually with serving others  when we opened another business recycling waste rubbers converting it to additives and industrial fuel. The whole process and experience taught me that entrepreneurship is not all business. We have advocacies and we open establishment to provide solution to changing times. We create jobs, develop technology, and enhance a community's living. We serve people.

Entrepreneurship creates development to serve the community and that is my passion and vision. For me I am giving opportunities for contractors to afford trucks and equipment for their project to be completed on time. We import and sell bolts and nuts and other fasteners at a competitive price thus making the market price low and cut contractors and developers cost by buying it directly from us at wholesale price. Our renewable energy plant from waste rubbers will soon address the environment's issues of never decomposing rubbers that contributes greatly to global warming.

My impact may not be so great and noble like the others who have donated millions to the community or whatever; but advocating entrepreneurship to serve other sets a bar for others to develop too and move forward instead of just sitting down the alleyway doing nothing.

When somebody sees improvement and success it creates awareness and eagerness on that somebody to succeed too. It ignites a desire from that somebody to work hard and to succeed rather than wait for any charity or someone to help him and give him food. 

With my passion as an entrepreneur, I want to be the kind of leader who will lead people to move forward and upward by encouraging people to work, develop and lead others too.

Entrepreneurship is also leadership by leading people and organizations to build a great nation.