Rejection or Redirection?

Jastine Ped

Rejection is no news to most of us—that's for sure. It is an inevitable occurrence whenever we try to win on something yet it seemed our efforts were not enough.

Can you recall one moment in your life where you felt a great excitement over something, total happiness; considered to be the biggest turning point of your life? The thought of having and being that thing made you sleepless and thrilled. Then bam!

It didn't go as you imagined. The worst was, it was the exact opposite of what you initially felt. You recognized the feeling, "What do you call that thing again? aaah, defeat!"

Rough, but it is what it is, right?

Recently, I made a massive decision that its preparation alone cost me a lot of money and lasted me months. I was bound to work overseas and I could never think of any unfavorable event that could happen. I got my passport and documents ready, I even bid goodbyes to my closest people. All I was waiting for was the authenticated contract to finally book the ticket. It was about 3 weeks before my expected departure. So close.

Unexpectedly, my employer found our country's processing complicated and time-consuming. I gave all the assurance, presented all the documents, and even sent proof of how close I was to traveling there. She wanted me to go there as a tourist instead and basically, to lie at the immigration. It was my dream! My ultimate desire was to teach abroad, to earn that kind of money, but I called it off. I couldn't afford to risk my security in a foreign country. The sponsorship is gone, all my hopes were nipped in the bud. I felt truly devastated. Crying was the shallowest thing to do for that ruin. Imagine...just three weeks before my supposed travel. Rough, but it is what it is, right?

In the midst of disappointment, a glimmer of hope emerged. While my dream of teaching abroad took an unexpected turn, life had something else in store. Two great job positions: teaching and marketing, landed on my lap, unexpected yet warmly welcomed. I could maximize my skills and talents now. I get to teach IELTS and Business English to foreign people and just today, the marketing company I am working for finally published my first global article!Sometimes, when one door closes, others open, and I realized that maybe this setback was leading me toward an even better path.

But that's not all. As I navigated through the disappointment and the unexpected job opportunities, another surprise awaited me. My Instagram and TikTok accounts, which I had been using as a creative outlet only, suddenly became a source of unexpected revenue. I have been offered a lot of sponsorships to promote brands and be one of their ambassadors. Note that I have less than 1k followers in both platforms but universe didn't mind that. Thousands of pesos a day flowed in – something I had never anticipated. I truly value this as I am considered to be the last card of the family, paying thousands of pesos a month for bills, mortgage, etc. They expect so much from me.

It's so funny how life can take unexpected turns and lead us to opportunities we never even thought of, hihi.

Looking back, I couldn't thank the Lord enough for guiding me through this rollercoaster of emotions and experiences. I had constant episodes of anxiety attacks which almost sent me to hospital. I was so drained and hopeless. While my initial dream was to teach abroad and find financial stability, life's detour led me to not just one, but multiple fulfilling job positions and hustles. The disappointment of the sponsorship falling through was painful, but it paved the way for new doors to open, bringing in unexpected blessings.

Frankly, I still haven't reached the point of life I really wanted the most for me. We'll get there, yeah. I just wanted a soft and slow life but ugh! For this, thank You, God!

So, even though the path I envisioned took an unexpected turn, I've come to realize that sometimes, life really knows what we need better than we do. It's in those moments of doubt that we truly blossom, adapt, and seize the unexpected. The road may have been really really bumpy— muddy even, but it's the journey that counts – and "what a journey it has been."