Little fall of rain
I just came home from the Philippines when I got the email. “Congratulations,” it said. “You have been selected as a winner of the Soroptimist International of North and West Vancouver’s Ruth Ditto award.” I was awed, and rendered speechless. Soroptimist International is a worldwide service organization for women committed to helping women (and girls) achieve their individual and collective potentials. The Ruth Ditto Award is an award unique to the North and West Vancouver Club. Ruth Ditto is an esteemed and treasured Club member and everyone remembers her for her strength (despite the fact that she was a petite woman), and remembers how unselfishly she shared her talents (she is a painter too) and her time. The award is to honour women who persevere despite challenges (in my essay, I spoke of the travails of being a new immigrant with big dreams). With all of Ruth Ditto’s friends in attendance, I felt empowered, humbled, honoured. Below is my speech.
Somebody looked at my palm to gaze into my future. He smiled but did not tell me what he saw.
I prefer it that way. Not knowing. Because it is enough that I know that my husband and I, we always put ourselves in, well, situations.
In December 2011, we found ourselves in the clutches of winter in beautiful Vancouver.
We were starting a new life, embarking on an adventure.
Until the adventure turned real and the difficulty of finding a foothold in a new country we did not know sank in.
You see, I was a contracts and entertainment lawyer for the biggest broadcasting station in the Philippines. And my husband, he was an artist, painter slash innovator/entrepreneur. He and I, we found ourselves in the most difficult and sometimes desperate of situations in the past but we did not blink in the face of challenges.
We blinked in Vancouver.
We still find ourselves in a haze sometimes, unable to make out a future. I still want to be a lawyer, you see, and in my 40 plus hours of work as editor of a newspaper, I try to find the time to study – try to keep my daughter and 2 year old son at bay – and then try to make it up to them.
Being a woman and an immigrant and having big dreams and juggling it all is daunting. There are times I ask myself how? why? but I keep moving on – or try – because this was my choice. This is what I embraced.
And in the midst of all you strong, wonderful women who are looking out for each other, being bigger than yourselves, making dreams come true for people like me and my family, I feel emboldened, empowered, and see in the distance the glimmer of many possibilities.
To the women of Soroptimist International of North and West Vancouver, to my co-awardees, to our families and friends who are here right now, to Ruth Ditto who is looking down at all of you – all of us – with pride, thank you for giving us a lifeline, thank you for giving us hope.
Again, our deep-hearted thanks.