When a person decides to migrate or work overseas, peo­ple close to them, often say “ kung swerte mo, mararating mo ang pangarap mo” if it’s your des­tiny you will achieve your dream. Then these same people will shrug their shoulders, will roll their eyesand sniggerbehindyour back and disbelievingly say you actually have lofty ambitions way up your league. They will start to feel insecure in the knowledge that maybe Pedro or Maria will actually make it and leave them behind.

Working and living abroad is not about being “swerte” or lucky. It is actually a whole lot of hard work on the part of the person who decides to leave for greener pastures. There’s that physical fatigue because one’s body is not use to the weather (colder or hotter, depending on what coun­try in the hemisphere they land).

There’s the emotional doldrums and anguish one feels, leaving families and love ones behind. It is also not true that the people who leave the Philippines for other opportunities overseas are the brightest (think cum laude types), the richest or well-schooled from top notch Univer­sities. Majority are like you and me, ordinary folks who had a dream and by being good at siz­ing that “window of opportunity” were able to leave and make a new life for themselves and their families.

A window of opportunity means that one is given a chance to better themselves. The af­fects are different from person to person. An astute Man or Woman will recognize the signs and will act at once. Whereas, a procrastinator will recognize the opportunity but will not act on it, thinking there’s always anoth­er chance just for them. A ma­lingerer will encourage another to seize the opportunity, then in an emotional blackmail will milk him/her for all they are worth “padalhan mo ako” or you owe me, so send me whatever I want.

In life, all of us, are given the chance to better ourselves. It is up to us to recognize the signs and act on it. It all boils down to believing in yourself and following your vision.