I GRADUATED AT LAST. THANKS TO STEEMIT.
I cried again yesterday, but this time it was that release of overwhelming emotions of relief, achievement and gratitude, i made it at last, i have crossed to the finish line of my Masters degree in Public Health.
Graduation photo shoot with Toga
Few years ago, i made the decision to be financially independent and take my self through post graduate studies. I had a perfect plan set up that would finance my Tuition and bills. In fact, i had a plan A,B and C. With all the plans i had, nothing could go wrong, right? Atleast i convinced my self.
I was a fresh graduate from Nursing with no working experience or savings whatsover. Going home to startbmy career as a nurse did not seem as perfect idea as nurses are highly under paid in Tanzania. I knew i needed this advanced degree in order to make it in the medical field back home, and unlike Nursing, a degree in Public Health would put me at a more advantagious position both at home and abroad.
I come from an ok family, we dont struggle to have 3 meals on the table, but basically manage from pocket to mouth. With my mother being the sole provider, i wanted to take this burden off her. After all, they had tried theor best to take me through School , up untill my Nursing degree. It was time for the to focus on my siblings and other issues at home. I was going to manage by my own.
I began off the pursuit of this degree in November 2014, ideally i was to be done by march 2016, but things never go as planned. My main plan A got shaky right from the beginning, it was truly a test. Well, it did not destabilize me so much, i still pushed on.,
Plan B, which was also my overall support system eventually seized to work half way though my program. With plan A shaking and B not functioning, i had to skip a few semesters of school to raise money and catch up on bills.
Me in A Filipiniana , i think i looked great. Still on graduation photoshoot.
In the Philippines , foreign students are not allowed to engage in any profitable employment, getting a job to boost finances was out of the equation. I actually secured a job once, but could not keep up because of lack of working permit. At that point in time, i had noo idea of the endless opportunities the Internet has to offer. I did not know that one can work remotely from wherever they are as long as they have good internet and a laptop, damn i wish i knew.
As a lady in dire need, many temptations arise, and as desperation arises, one is prone to give in , just to get an extra buck. But that will be a story for another day. (When i get the courage to speak about it).
With all the happenings (i did no go into deep details) , school had to be pushed forward to two more years. There were times that i fell into depression, with atrocious thoughts of ending my life,(Yes it was that bad). Especially when i logged in to social media and read about other peoples success, I felt like a failure. I allowed my self to cry, but at the end of the day, dusted my self, killed the negative thoughts and continued to push forward. I did not give up
To cut the long story short, i never thought i'd see my graduation day come to pass.
After paying quite a huge amount for my Research just two weeks ago, i was not ready for any extra expenses. I thought i was done, atleast for now.
Just for me to receive a text message that i was to pay a certain amount of money in order to graduate. To make it worse, i was to pay that amount the following day as it was already the deadline.
I did not have that amount on hand, and i was already thinking i will miss my graduation ceremony. The One day i have looked forward too for four years. For those who dont know, in the Philippines, you pay for everything. Even for Toilet paper in a public Toilet.
I convinced my self that its okay to miss the ceremony, as long as i will be getting my certificate at the end of the day.
I was told that i still have to pay 80% of that amount weather i will be attending the ceremony or not and i told my self if i still have to pay even if i will not attend then there is no need for me not to attend.
Thank God, i had accumulated an amount here on steemit that was equivalent to what i had to pay for graduation. Even though i was trying to save that amount to something tangible to pay off with. i was okay to sacrifice it and start a fresh in order for me to experience that Feel of achievement marching at my graduation. Its something i have toiled too hard for.
So for the success of this event , i owe my gratitude to steemit family for the unwavering support. Especially to @surpasinggoogle for his continued support in helping us all make something out of this amazing platform. I was able to march at my graduation because of steemit. It was a steemit powered event. Here are some photos.
Thank you for reading lovely people. See you again on my next post.
Wow! Congratulations girl 😍🍻
Many thanx dear.
wow....congratulations mam....
Thank you
Well Congratulatinos to you mam.
Thank youu.
Congratulations! Don't stop moving forward @purpletanzanite.
Thank u so much. Forward ever, backwards never.
Wow, this is quite a touching story and I'm glad it ended well for you.
In life obstacles will come, they always do, but it's how we react to this problems; our ability to hang on while we try to surmount them is what makes us champions.
Congrats on your graduation. Here's wishing you all the best.
Perfectly,said.. Thank u very much @paigegirl.. Be blessed .
oh you look super good in that filipiniana dear... i salute you for your courage and persistence.. God bless!
All hard work paid off! it was all worth it! I am glad that steemit was a medium for you to march for graduation!
Thank u soo much maam. Its always a pleasure reading from u and thank u for the support. God bless.
you always write something worth reading and am learning alot from it...you are welcome!
Congratulations darling, so proud of you!
OMG. I am so proud of you for everything. Even though you went through trials, what matters is that you emerged victorious. You are glowing and look so beautiful. I wish you all the best.
Jean, you are Gem of a lady, thank you so so much for love and encouragement . Your gesture left me speechless. Thank you, God bless you real good for me.
You are welcome and your story touched me. I related so much with it because I am also applying for masters abroad and I am just getting rejection letters. However, I know that where there is a will there is a way. Thanks for the encouragement and congrats again. Cheers!
wow..congratulations..i admire your fighting spirit and how you overcome the challenges that come your way..
Thank u, thank u very much po.
Congratulations, @purpletanzanite! I felt that your hard work has been paid off. It's really worth sharing! I'm moved with this achievement and it made me reassess my situation. Maybe I should pursue a masters degree soon. Congrats again!
Go for it, and go for Gold kim.. Totally worthy. Thank u very much for your encouraging comment.. Appreciate it much. Thank u.
congratulations once again Maggie
Thank u sharon. Please keep steeming., dont lose hope. People make it on this platform.