To Boyet,
Maybe your nickname is an unfamiliar sound to those people who are keen enough in observing of what they hear and putting meaning on it. In China, most particularly the Fokienese speaking people of Xiamen, and the dominant ethnic group of Taiwan, they give meaning to characters they’re unfamiliar with like; Boyet, your loose nickname of sort- since “Bo” is “nothing, nil, or without” in Fokien, and “Yet,” as you have known, is an English word of “Up to now.” Yes! You keep on trying to figure it out of what it does it mean to you personally. Indeed, you didn’t mean anything about that.
But what the heck, life is beautiful as you had been saying to your self. Life is full of opportunity that you were almost experienced all of them. You started at the tender age doing menial jobs, ignoring the pains and sufferings that entails with it. Because attaining a better life is part of your dreams, as you endured everything from humiliation to degradation.
Since you’re still in the early stage of your dreams, you did not bother the exacerbation of your woes, but instead you continued with your life, predicting that you could hurdle the thorny part of your life by just pushing your self to the limit, doubling your effort in every jobs available, day-in and day-out.
Although, you had done all the hard work in your childhood and adolescent days, it seems that failure is already part of your life, blackened by what you called your “fettered persona.”
But not again, as you hollered to your self. That “fettered clause” in your person is out of the question, considering that you’re getting older and wiser (?) now. You started to get tired of your usual self and feel the heat of getting rid of what you think can help uplift your way of living, of being a “jack of all trade” worker in your own land.
And then a changed in your life was sudden that you were able to believe that your new chance is now at your doorstep. Excited as you were, you never dilly-dally in grabbing the opportunity and immediately put into order all the papers and documents that you will need in your new endeavor, to become as a guest worker in a foreign land.
As expected you were overwhelmed by happiness and excitement, because green bucks is in your mind and fulfilling your dream is now an easy task to do. The passing of days, weeks, months, and years were so fast that you didn’t noticed that you are now at the threshold of finally ending your short but memorable experienced abroad.
You safely returned home, but no trace of excitement could be seen in your proud self, and you exclaimed WHY! But you ruefully composed your self and bitterly accepted the reality that your being an OFW is not an overnight solution to your dream. True enough, you never lied and even erred in sending your dollar back home, to your big family indeed. “Is it a curse or a spell?” you often ask to your self.
NO! It’s a big NO, that is. You always try not to link misfortune to curses or spells for that matter. And for the last opportune time, again you bargained for another chance to touch down on your long overdue claim of success, your “unfinished business” to be exact. But unfortunately, you unwittingly splurged into the other facet of your never ending saga of misfortune. This time, you were forced to suffer the unspeakable experience of your life. Away from your homeland, away from your family, and away from your God, you almost gave up hope and totally gave up your dreams.
You were made to believe that you had violated their sovereignty, their immigration law, and their custom law, and as such you were held liable and incarcerated in their own backyard. But a sigh of relief was assured to you and a slight pat on your back was applied. Two months and ten days later, you were freed, a “freeman at last” as you stand and shouted in a loud voice atop of the vow.
Yes! As you may have assured to your self,” I’m home at last.” But then, as you keep on recalling of what really happened to you in those dark days of your life, contemplation is gaining ground in your inner self. Asking your self “what next” and “what shall I do now.” And after a prolong assessment of your self, you resoundingly uttered “I am not through yet” and “I have to go on with my life and finish my unfinished business.”
As it is, you’re still looking for some opportunity to knock on your decaying door of hope. But again, what, where, and when it would become a reality. You are now approaching the halfway mark of your life, and yet success is still far from getting it right. Maybe, you could no longer be able to dispel or demystify your misfortune in life. Hope that God’s compassion will be put upon your self.