From mountains to buildings

Manila may not be the coziest place to live and work in, but it feels good to be back in this great urban jungle.

Nine months ago, I relocated to Baguio City following a directive from my former company’s management due to the need of having someone to oversee the operations in the area. I was directed to handle sales, marketing, training and administrative tasks--responsibilities I never thought or dreamed of performing. Why would I in the first place? They were never in line with my passion!

Moreover, like what I wrote on my blog in April, I never considered living, or working in Baguio City. I saw the place only as a tourist destination--a place I would always love to visit, but would never desire to be my permanent residence.

But I set my personal issues aside for a while and accepted the new role. I thought to myself that maybe, it was God’s way of telling me that I needed that break to learn more about the world outside the passion that I have for writing and discover more of my capabilities other than the craft I have been honing through the years, thereby leading to my career growth. Maybe, it was God’s plan for me to get relocated, so I could interact more and build relationships with the people I would be working with, and help them in their concerns.

So, I told myself, “Okay, let’s give it a try.”

And that decision opened my eyes to a bucket of realities. Some of them were good, others were bad, still others were far worse than the other realities I faced and I would rather not talk about them. But, one reality I like to share is that I never fell in love with the job I had back there. Reviewing and compiling documents, dealing with sales, doing administrative tasks such as overseeing the office’s operations--they were not my thing.

But, I am very thankful to the management for trusting me with such a big responsibility. I learned a lot from that experience. I learned a lot about the company’s processes in terms of sales, marketing, recruitment and training. I got my hands on how to run the office and manage its day-to-day operations. I learned how to properly handle problems involving the project.

I learned how to deal with demanding salespeople, how to address their concerns and grievances, and how to adapt to a whole new environment inhabited by people outside the age group I belong to.

With all these learning and a promise of a bigger break coming my way in the future, why then did I choose to leave? I may have excelled in my role in Baguio City, but the point is I did not enjoy it. I did what I had to do, because it was my responsibility. I participated in the undertakings of the company, but somewhere in the middle, it hit me that I could never enjoy the role I had in it because it was never the one I had always wanted in the first place. Simply put, it is not where my heart is, or where it will ever be.

So I told myself, “It’s time to leave.” And I did.

Now, that decision has led me to where I am right now. I am starting anew, adapting again to a new environment, interacting with a new batch of workmates and adjusting to their culture. There will be times that the whole process will be hard, but it does not matter, because one thing that I have recently learned is that I am too young to get comfortable and play the game safe. I am too young to decide not to pursue what I had always wanted to do. This is not about being idealistic as some people think. This is about being realistic--acknowledging the fact that results would only suffer if I totally lost the drive.

I am grateful to God for giving me another opportunity to continue pursuing my dreams in a career path where my passion is, and for letting my needs and wants meet halfway.

As I embark on this new journey, I also aim to savor the view from the window in front my work station which has recently changed...from mountains to buildings.