Let me tell you a story about a girl. There was this girl who liked to dream big. She dreamt of being a princess once, live in a castle, marry a prince but thought that it was too big of a dream for her. So she dreamt of something else, she dreamt of being rich! A millionaire! A billionaire! But then again it was still too big of a dream. So she settled for something simple, something she knew she could achieve and that was giving her family a comfortable life. Give her parents a house of their own and let them be free of their problems, mostly financial.

She was the happy-go-lucky kind. The kind that stays happy even when things get out of hand. Playing around with her brother and cousins. (She grew up with boys so she’s a little bit boyish). Things were doing fine for a while, spending her childhood playing basketball with the guys, racing with their bicycles, just doing what kids were doing at their age. “Happiness doesn’t last long” said a quote. A day started like any other day but ended in a tragedy. That girl had to wake up at night, pack her most precious things and run for safety. Safety was right across her house. She had to see her house burn down. An accident that changed her life and that accident happened not only once but twice. She and her family had to live in a house not their own, it wasn’t even a house but a shelter. Months after the last fire incident, their house was rebuilt and their life continued but it left a scar on that girl. But that scar somewhat made that girl stronger and pushed her to achieve her dream. She went to school diligently knowing that, that was the first step towards her dream.

She went to school with her brother who was 5 years older than her. At that time she thought of her brother as her hero. She knew that her brother would be the first one to help their parents, help them have a better life. She graduated elementary and was happy but was even happier because her brother graduated high school and was on his way to college, a step closer to her dream, their dream. But then again, “happiness doesn’t last long”. Her brother started college but got involved with the wrong type of people. He started skipping class, ditching school. He asked their parents for allowance but didn’t go to school, he continued doing that until their father caught him. He quit school soon after that. They asked him why he did those things, begged him to go back to school, kneeled and cried in front of him but it was of no use. At that moment, the girl saw her hero disappear. She was alone now in her way towards her dream.

Her journey continued, she graduated high school, then graduated college. At last! She was very close to achieving her dream. She would find a job, save and gather enough for a house. She was happy! Ecstatic! Overjoyed! But you can never be too happy. There was still an exam left for her license and at the same time her father got sick. While she was studying for her exams, her father underwent a series of medical check-ups. Coincidentally, her father’s results were on the same day as the first day of her exams. The first day was done, it was hard, she thought, but pushed it all aside and asked for her father’s results. She saw her mom with tear streaked face, but she told her that the results were good. Nothing was wrong with her father. Maybe those were tears of joy. She was happy. She thought that as long as her father was okay, she wouldn’t mind failing the exam. At the end of the last day of the exams, she went home. Her mother pulled her to a corner and gave her papers. It was her father’s results, the real results. Her father was diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 4. And three days later, she found out that she failed the exam. The dream she had as a young girl seemed so far away now. It seemed unreachable with all that happened. But she is still holding on to that dream. She’s still young, she knows that if she tries, continue to try, she will achieve her dream, someday. By the way, she’s 23 years old, daddy’s little girl, daddy’s angel, daddy’s princess. That girl is working as an engineer now, and is currently making posts on steemit. Yes that girl is me. My name is Marie Therese but everyone calls me Therese.

Let me explain why my introduction is that detailed. It is actually one of my speeches for Toastmasters, specifically, Speech #1 which is "Introduce Yourself". It occurred to me that it can also be used here, thus, i used it. As I've said earlier, i am currently working as a field engineer, here's a picture of me and the workers under our company during our yearly Christmas Party.

Let's move on to another side of my life. I am a frustrated writer, yes, frustrated, coz' i love to write but cant seem to write good or interesting things. I am currently learning though, thus me being here as practice . I am also a wannabe singer. I sing at home and at karaokes, sometimes at bars when my friends drag me to the stage. Being a professional singer will always be my dream, just a dream though. I loooove cats. I have 5 cats and 2 kittens, yes i do have a lot. This post is getting quite long, so i'll end it with a picture of me and one of my cats. Say hi to Moy-moy!