Ang hirap maging mahirap

I hate that dreams have a price tag. That no matter how much I want something, how much I’ve worked for it, reality doesn’t care. I hate that I have to let go of something I love—an organization that felt like home—just because I need to make money to survive. It’s not even for luxury, not for anything extra, just to keep going.

We’re stuck in this cruel middle ground—too “privileged” for scholarships, but not privileged enough to afford a prestigious university without struggle. It’s frustrating. It makes me want to blame someone, to scream at the unfairness of it all. But who do you even blame? At the end of the day, you just have to swallow the pain, and move forward, even when it feels like you’re losing a part of yourself along the way.

Why is it that the ones who are most desperate to climb out of this hole are the ones it swallows whole—without a choice?