Kapiolani Community College
Diamond Journal 2004

The Journey of My Life
Florily Baylon

There was a time in my life when I asked myself, “What will my life be like if I do not return to Hawaii? What would be the differences in my life if I lived in Hawaii versus if I lived in the Philippines?” One day everything suddenly became perfectly clear to me and I knew where I should live my life.

Living my life in the Philippines, my home country, was difficult, but I was happy. My family and I used to live in a house with a lot of holes in the roof. The house had holes in the roof because it was made of coconut leaves and this type of roof is only good for one to two years. I still remember when it rained how the water would go through the holes in the roof and fall on us and onto the place where we slept. Not only did the roof have holes, but the walls of our house had holes. The walls were made of coconut strips, and these only lasted for a couple of years too. The coconut strips dried out after a few years which made the strips loosen. The loosened strips opened and became holes. My sisters and I used to stay under the table to wait for the rain to end. Sometimes my mother covered the table with a plastic cover so that we did not get wet. My father would cut up cardboard boxes into small squares to repair the holes in the roof. We watched him place these squares in the roof where it was leaking. In the Philippines, my family was very poor. In spite of being poor, we were still happy, and I did not know that there could be a better life.

Everything changed when my grandparents decided to take my mom to Hawaii. Years later, my siblings, my dad and I followed my mom to Hawaii. This was more than ten years ago. Back then, I was not aware of the advantages of living in Hawaii. I thought that as long as I was happy living in the Philippines, then everything was fine, even though I lived in an old house with lots of holes. When I left the Philippines and moved to Hawaii, I really missed the Philippines. I found life difficult in Hawaii because everything was strange and unfamiliar to me. I did not do anything for fun and was unhappy. I did not even go to school everyday because I had difficulty understanding English and my mind was always in the Philippines. Almost everyday I begged my parents to go back to my home country. I told my parents that I would die if I had to stay in Hawaii for one more day! At that time I was going to Farrington High School. My mom said, “Just finish this year at school and I will let you go back and continue your studies in the Philippines.” The time, days and then months, passed slowly at Farrington High School. Finally the school year ended. Finally summer vacation came. Finally I was free to go back to the Philippines. I returned by myself.

Back in the Philippines, at first, I was happy and enjoyed being there. With all that had happened in Hawaii, I had forgotten what it was like to live in an old house with a lot of holes in the roof. I had forgotten that the roof of the house leaked in rainy weather. My mom sent me money to fix the house. One day while my uncle was fixing the house, he suddenly asked me,
“ Why don’t you go back to Hawaii? Don’t you feel stuck here?” He told me that very little changes in the Philippines, no matter what you do to try to change it.

“ You are still young and can change your life. There are lots of opportunities for you to better your life in Hawaii, and there could be a good life waiting for you there.” In that moment I suddenly realized that what my uncle said was true. Everything suddenly made sense to me. There was a world of opportunities for me in Hawaii and hardly any opportunities for me in the Philippines.

Suddenly I felt I had made a mistake by returning to the Philippines. I began thinking about earning a living in Hawaii, making money! If I stayed in the Philippines, I would possibly end up stuck in the Philippines like my uncle. I could possibly end up living in an old house that leaks like the one I grew up in. While I was standing there watching our old house being repaired, I knew the house would be better when it is done. However, I said, “Yes it will look good for a while, but it will still be the same house, the same size.” I realized that if I stayed in the Philippines, it would be very difficult to find opportunities for me and my future family to live a better life! I did not want my future family to be like me, sleeping under the table to avoid the rain. I did not want to stay poor like when I was young. I did not want my roof to leak! I made my mind up not to stay in the Philippines.

Just before my high school graduation in the Philippines, I called my mom and told her that I would like to return to Hawaii. I made a promise that I would be good and work very hard. I told my parents that if they gave me a chance to return to Hawaii, I would help them earn and save money. After my graduation, my grandparents sent a plane ticket for me to return to Hawaii. Two days passed and I was again back in Hawaii.

Now I do not waste any of my time as I live in Hawaii. Right after I got here, I went straight to a job agency. I got some help quickly when one of the agencies gave me an application to get into a training program for a job. I was very thankful that I returned to Hawaii. I found a place where people helped me prepare for a job and then I got a job easily.

I have earned money and sent some of it to the Philippines to make our house bigger. I can imagine myself sitting in the old house and watching the days go by, not knowing that there was a better life here in Hawaii. I am now taking full advantage of the wonderful opportunities in Hawaii. I have a great job with benefits, I live in a nice house (with a good roof) and I am striving to further improve myself by pursuing more education.